These 4 Items in My Guest Room Always Get Rave Reviews — And They’re All Under $20

Guest rooms are the most relaxing when they’re simple: All that’s needed is the essential furniture and room to set bags, shoes, and maybe a few souvenirs. But there’s a fine line here, too. You don’t want to go so minimalist that your guests feel as though they’ve checked into a bare-budget hotel. After all, they’re staying with you to feel closer to your warmth!

Thankfully, you can add a few extra items to turn your guest room into a boutique-level experience, starting at just $5. These are the four items I always have in my guest room, and my loved ones routinely mention that they add a nice touch. I’ve even had guests tell me they bought them for their own home after they left, and that’s the best thank you a host could ever receive. 

How many times have you arrived at your destination only to find you forgot your phone charger? Or, maybe you were prepared with a charger in hand, but there’s not an outlet to be found. You’re moving chairs, looking behind the dresser, hoping to find an open outlet, with no luck. 

That’s a situation I hope my guests will never encounter, and an under $20 bedside power strip on every nightstand makes their life easier. With three appliance outlets, three USB ports, and a USB-C port, your guests have multiple options for charging all their devices. Plus, they don’t need to unplug their iPhone to plug in their computer or their hair straightener. 

One of my pet peeves while traveling is that my husband will empty his pockets all over the dresser and nightstands, leaving change, receipts, tickets to attractions, and museum brochures in his wake. At home, these items would be put in their place, but with nothing but a flat surface available, they end up running amok.

I solve for this in our own guest room by placing a simple dish on every nightstand and a tray on the dresser. I love to find vintage ashtrays while thrifting to use as jewelry dishes, though you can also find them easily on Amazon. A catchall tray does the job for larger items. 

I live in fear of leaving a black smudge across a friend’s fluffy white guest towels. But it seems I never know if all my mascara is really gone. I don’t want my own guests to deal with the “Did I ruin your towels?!” stress, so I always have a basket of black washcloths available by the sink with a little handwritten label that says, “Makeup Towels.”

You can buy fancy black makeup towels, yes, but I prefer to buy a set of eight black washcloths from Target for just $5. I stock up and use them both for my guests and myself. 

Who doesn’t love going to a hotel and seeing the high-end shampoos and conditioners in gorgeous bottles? But those are pricey, and you may not want to keep them continuously stocked in your house. I’m someone who prefers shampoo and conditioner of the sub $5 variety, but I doll them up both for my guest room and my own room. 

I have large black and white pump bottles with waterproof labels and decant my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash into them. From a guests’ perspective, they look minimalist and high-end sitting in a shower and just as chic as any luxury bottle.