Making a one-bedroom apartment guest friendly

Making a One-Bedroom Apartment Guest Friendly

Karen Lau

July 11, 2024

Hosting guests in a one-bedroom doesn’t have to be a squeeze. With a little planning, you can create a guest friendly space for your visitors, even if they’re staying overnight.

Here are some practical tips to help you maximize your space while ensuring your home remains livable for you.

Food & Drink: buy in advance, and stage it with style

Keep some cans of sparkling water in your fridge, and buy a few bags of chips or trail mix to store in the back of the cupboard. You can easily offer these to your guests as soon as they arrive. Additionally, this is a great trick for unexpected guests. While they’re sitting down and sipping on their drink, you can subtly dash into the bathroom to wipe down the sink.

Another way to add a special touch is to use uniquely shaped plates and serving dishes. You can find lots of options at the thrift store — look for the long-narrow appetizer trays often donated by catering companies, or wood cutting boards. A little staging goes a long way to making whatever food you have on hand look special.

Coats & Shoes: make it obvious

As soon as they arrive, most guests will want to know where to stow their shoes, coat, and bag. Having a coat rack or shoe bin right by your front door is an easy way to visibly guide people towards the right thing to do. Help them feel at home by having a clear place for their things.

Some people like to post a sign, saying something like “Shoes Off, Please”. Signs are a great way to communicate with guests, and they can save you the time and energy (and sometimes awkwardness) of asking guests to remove their shoes or hang their coats.

Bathroom: make it easy

This is an easy one. Of course, you don’t need a label on your bathroom because you know where it is. But your guests don’t know! After all, who hasn’t been that person wandering around, looking for the bathroom and praying you don’t open the wrong door?

Look for a discreet sign you can mount on the bathroom door. It should be something you won’t get annoyed looking at every day. The sign could be something as straightforward as a classic bathroom icon decal (get a free gender neutral one!), or something artsy, like a poem or sketch about the fabulous joys of taking a bath.

Another great trick is to keep a collection of travel-sized toiletries. When you’re having people over, it’s easy to swap out your regular soap for a fresh, guest friendly one. You can also set out a set of shampoo and conditioner with their towels, which helps them to not use yours!

Wifi: don't make them ask!

Displaying your WiFi code is not just a tip for Airbnb hosts! This is the ultimate way to make your place guest friendly. It’s kind to help your guests conserve their data usage, especially if they’re coming over to work on a project with you. But for overnight visitors, it is absolutely essential that they know how to access the Internet.

Plus, WiFi networks and passwords can be a fun opportunity to share your personality! It’s fun when a visitor can guess the name of your network based on your interests. So write out and frame your network and password, and mount it in your living room somewhere obvious.

Sleeping Arrangements: easy set-up, easy to hide

For one-bedroom dwellers, this can be the trickiest part of having guests over. It can be challenging to figure out how to provide a second bed, a set of bed linens and towels, and create room for your guest’s belongings without totally destroying your living room. Lots of people use futons or sofa beds, of course, which can be a couch during the day and a bed at night. A nifty idea is to apply smart glass film to the windows in your guest’s area. This way, they can control the flow of daylight.

But our best tips for overnight guests involve clever storage. An ottoman with storage provides the perfect way to add extra seating to your living room while also stowing guest linens invisibly inside. Similarly, if you can spare the space, it’s really lovely to be able to offer your guests part of an empty console or bureau in the living room to store their items.

This tip works in the bathroom too. By using containers in your bathroom, you can easily gather up your own stuff and set out an empty container for your guest’s items.

Your Own Stuff: quick storage

Finally, our best tip for making your one-bedroom guest friendly is to have quick storage options around for all your own stuff. This way, whether you have lots of notice, or none at all, you can use your baskets or crates to quickly contain your mess and tidy up, leaving more space for your guest to feel at home.

Guests generally care more about the cleanliness of the room and bathroom more than anything else! Don’t sweat! Check out our cleaning guide for guests.

There you go! We hope these tips are useful for making your one-bedroom space more guest friendly.

Just remember, most people aren’t coming over to inspect your house, they’re coming over to hang out with you. Being present with your guests and checking in about their needs are the simplest ways to be a good host, no matter the size of your home.

Happy hosting!