They say your favorite room in the house says a lot about who you are as a person and what you value.

It’s not hard to guess when you walk into my house that my favorite room is our guest suite. There are plenty of days where I just want to be a guest in my own home because of how intentional we’ve been with that room.

Lane and I were originally inspired by friends of ours who live in California. We went to stay with them for a few days and they made the coziest little space for us and stocked up on all our favorite treats. I still talk about this trip and how much it meant to me. I think it’s an actual ministry to be able to make someone feel at home and hospitality is a trait I am always striving to be better at.

With simple bedroom and private bathroom, I’m really intentional about making our guest room room feel like a home away from home for any guest who comes and stays with us. As someone who travels a lot for work, I know the importance of feeling the peace and little comforts of home when you’re far away from your actual home. Here are some of the simple things we’ve done to make our guest feel more at home:

CONVERT A BAR CART

Lane and I decided to convert the bar cart we got as a wedding gift into the ultimate hospitality cart in our guest room. We keep the cart stocked up at all times and sometimes switch up what goes on it. Here are the things you can count on seeing on our guest room bar cart:

• Fresh towels. We keep the bar cart stocked on towels and wash cloths (in addition to the towels we set in the bathroom).

• Linen spray. It’s a nice touch and it serves as a reminder for me to spray down the room before a new guest comes to stay.

• Essentials. I’ll share about this more below but we keep a small basket full of travel essentials on the bar cart for anyone to take and use.

• A diffuser + oils. Some people love essential oils and some people don’t. Regardless of preference, we like keeping a few oils by the bedside for anyone who wants to diffuse while in our home.

HAVE A GUEST BOOK

We have a guest book for our little guest room and it’s so fun to flip through it and see all of people’s messages about how cozy we made the space for them. I didn’t spend a dime on our guestbook, either. I grabbed an old notebook I’d never used and made a label for the front of it with my label maker. I keep the guest book in a prominent place (with a pen tucked in the pages) where my guests can see it so they know to sign it before they leave. It’s a cool way to remember who has stayed in your home over the years and savor the sweet visits.

FAVORITE THINGS

I send a text the week before a guest’s stay so I can make sure I stock up on their favorite things. Because I’m close with most of the people who stay with us, I am able to head to the store without texting them. I love grabbing things like chips and salsa, a good bottle of wine, chocolates for their pillows, and fun snacks for them to munch on during their stay. I grab their favorite coffee, stock up the bar cart with water bottles (like they do in hotels), and place their little gifts on the bed in a nice basket. My goal is to make people feel loved, known, and taken care of from the second they walk into the room.

DOLLAR ESSENTIALS

This gives me the ultimate excuse to hang out in the dollar toiletry aisle of Target: my favorite. I know that I often forget things as I am packing for a trip so I like to keep this station stocked up with all the things you might easily forget while getting out the door. In our essentials basket, we keep the following:

• Toothpaste + toothbrushes

• Tampons

• Hand sanitizer

• Mini bottles of dry shampoo (have to be a little bougie)

• A few fun face masks

• Makeup remover wipes

• Chapstick

LITTLE COMFORTS

There are certain little comforts that aren’t mandatory (by any means) that I like to include in our guest room. I keep a Bible in the cupboard for them (the way you see at hotels) and I keep a book on the bedside table called “The Book of Comforts.” It is prayer that our home would be a sanctuary for others and I think these little reminders that God is present and with them are great final touches for the guest room.

GO LOCAL

Whenever my mom or guests who aren’t too familiar with the South come to stay with us, I always love to make sure I include some local favorites in their room: local honey, Georgia pecans, a carton of Jeni’s ice cream in the freezer, and whatever new, fun local goods I find. You can typically find local buys at your Whole Foods or sometimes at your local grocery store. What’s a staple of where you live? Is there a barbecue sauce they must try? Is there a local coffee shop where you can get them a gift card to during their stay? I love sharing Atlanta with the people come and visit and my mom cannot get enough of Savannah Bee Company Honey so I always make sure it’s mixed in with her goodies.

GOOD READS

I love using our guest room as a space to keep some of our favorite books. The first thing I gravitate towards when staying at an AirBNB is the book collection. I like to keep my guests stocked up on plenty of good reads in case they are looking for something new to start during their stay. We like mixing up the books on display so there’s a good blend of coffee table books, page-turners, and insightful reads. Here the books currently in our guest room:

the need-to-know

When someone new comes to say with us or is coming to house sit, I like printing up a sheet of essential information so they have everything they need to feel the most at home. I like doing this for the babysitters as well! The little list includes info on the WIFI, how to use the TV, where to find essential things in our home, alarm codes, and all they need to know about making coffee in the kitchen.

THE ULTIMATE BATH STATION

I’m a sucker for soaking in a tub after a long day and I want my guests to make themselves at home in their private bathroom. I stock up the bathroom with different soaps and shampoos that I love. I make sure the bath salts are fully stocked or that bath bombs are available so they know they’re invited to take a bath. I even like to put some mini bottles of champagne at the foot of the tub so they feel elegant, like they’re staying at a 5-star hotel.

A PLACE FOR THEIR SUITCASE

We invested in a suitcase holder a few months back and it has been the perfect addition to our guest room so that guests don’t have to set their suitcase on the floor when they visit. I love having it as a staple piece in that room.

SET THE VIBE

I’m a big fan of “hygge.” Hygge is a Danish word used to describe when an environment is cozy and inviting. I’ve been reading a book on the Danish word lately and gathering a lot of knowledge from it. I’ve incorporated the style of Hygge into our guest bedroom by using low-lit lamps to set the mood for the environment, lighting candles that smell super cozy, and having plenty of blankets and bedding for our guests to snuggle up with.