A NEST FOR GUESTS

A Nest

TEXT MARTHA UNIACKE BREEN PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK BILLER STYLING PETER PAQUETTE

forGuests

Style at Home contributor Karl Lohnes shares his tips for creating a welcoming guest room.

“You can be a bit more free in your decorating,since guest rooms aren ’t used as much as other parts of the house. ”

Function First

In the Off-Season

The best guest rooms emulate a hotel experience in that they are functional, welcoming and designed for comfort. Think of what a guest might need, like extra blankets, a place to stash their suitcase, and little touches, too, like water on the night table. Double-duty furniture like an upholstered storage bench gives you a spot for guest linens and your guest a place to sit.

Guest rooms are great for overflow storage when not in use, but don ’t go overboard and hog all the space! Here, the top two dresser drawers are left empty for guests, while the bottom drawers hold out-of-season clothes.

DESIGN, Karl Lohnes, KL Decor. Pierre Frey’s Djembe WALLPAPER; custom upholstered BENCH; Traces I ARTWORK; 1982 Design. Caroline Cecil’s Gamal FABRIC in Dark Navy (on bench), Memo Showroom. Vintage stripe PILLOW and DUVET COVER, Italian Tipped Satin Stitched BEDDING, RH. Indigo block-print SHAMS, John Robshaw. Blue percale PILLOWCASES; Apoteke CANDLE (on table); Easy Living cotton BLANKET (inside bench); Au Lit Fine Linens. Aerin Toulon TABLE LAMPS, Robinson Lighting & Bath. Helen SIDE TABLES, Maison Corbeil. Silk Shadow RUG, Ecarpetgallery. Asha CANDLEHOLDERS, CB2. Fiona PLANT BOWL, Elte. Cello upholstered BED, EQ3.

“I like to reverse the balance of colour between the bedroom and the adjoining bath:here,we did 70/30 cream with blue accents in the bedroom,then blue with cream for the bath.It’ s much more interesting than just matchy-matchy!”

Make ItTheirs

While the guest room should feel like part of the home (blue is a colour theme throughout this house), avoid displaying personal items such as family photos or mementoes. Karl likes contemporary art for this reason, too, since it appeals to many different tastes.

Reflect onThis

You don’t usually need a medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom, so it’s a great opportunity to hang a big decorative mirror. Here, the gold frame (as well as gold-toned faucets, hardware and other details) makes the room feel light and luxurious.

Fayce Lapel WALLPAPER in Navy and Cream, Memo Showroom. Krema SCONCES, Luminaire Authentik. Cody MIRROR, CB2. REM Natural Collection Dekton VANITY TOP, Consentino. VANITY, Traces II ARTWORK, 1982 Design. Soho FAUCETS in Aged Brass; Crawford Alabaster Collection ACCESSORIES (on vanity); pleated linen HAND TOWEL; Ginger’s. Caspian TOILET PAPER HOLDER, metal WASTEBASKET, West Elm. CEILING PAINT, Newburyport Blue HC-155, Benjamin Moore.