Guests are far from home and a well-decorated cosy bedroom can always make them feel welcome and comfortable.

For some, a dedicated guest bedroom is simply not practical and the demands on the home mean that this room will need to be dual-purpose. With careful planning, there is no reason why we cannot have two rooms for the price of one.

Our obvious solution might be a part-time home office – cum-guest bedroom. The key ingredient here is the computer cabinet if you have one – it will need to look more bedroom than office perhaps a painted armoire with a pull-out desk area and filling drawers underneath. Provide empty hangers and ample closet space. A desk chair can be re-positioned and double as a clotheshorse when required.

Built-in storage to the eaves areas, perhaps creating benches under windows, with pull-out drawers and furnish with a tailored cushion placed on the top. Provide wardrobe space to either side of the bed positioned centre to the apex overhead. Where space is confined you need to utilise every centimetre. Additional shelving and filling may be housed in fitted cupboards where appropriate with a small area of hanging shelf and shoe storage dedicated to guest use.

In more conventional guest bedrooms, try to reflect the general character of your home and feature all the luxuries that make your bedroom so comfortable. Be creative, if space allows and you can furnish the room with twin beds, a pair of larger singles are luxurious. A stack of fluffy pillows makes the bed more inviting.

Where space is tight to opt for a single bed with pull-out bed underneath. This bed really does cover all eventualities single, couples and children furnish the walls with some carefully chosen pictures and avoid the room becoming a graveyard of discarded works of art. If you want the cosy guest bedroom to appear bigger than it actually is, you can use a full-length mirror ideally served nearby or as a grand headboard. If space allows, guests will appreciate a bistro size table and comfortable chairs in which to relax and enjoy the view or perhaps have a cup of tea before joining the rest of the family.

Essential toiletries

Stock the bathrooms with essential toiletries plus some luxurious soaps and shower gels other finishing touches might include water carafes to bedside tables, up-to-date magazines, a cosy dressing gown with slippers and always freshly-cut flowers in the room. Keep quilts and blankets in an armoire for extra warmth on chilly winter nights.

Help guests sleep soundly by spraying sheets with a calming scent, like lavender and an alarm clock lets guests set their own morning schedule.