Be My Guest

IT’S TIME TO PREPARE FOR ALL THOSE HOLIDAY ARRIVALS, SO WHEN DESIGNING A SPARE ROOM – WHETHER BRIGHT, SOOTHING, SPACIOUS OR COSY – PUT COMFORT FIRST

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GREAT ESCAPE

A trick often missed when revamping a spare room is to make it feel as comfortable as other rooms in the house. Add cushions and layer fabrics, or carve out a snug sleeping area and decorate with dark, cosseting tones. If the room layout is narrow, a single bed might slide in horizontally under a window. Then one option is to hang a curtain at each end of the bed, creating an alcove. Alternatively, copy Beata Heuman’s scheme shown here, which boxes in the bed area with a theatrical frame. To ramp up the cosiness, paint the interior of the alcove a different colour from the exterior. Use the same treatment for the curtains by interlining them with a shade that matches the bed nook.

UP AND DOWN

If you’re likely to be hosting large numbers of guests for short periods of time, bunk beds are a convenient way to fit everyone in. When ceiling heights are generous, consider a triple rather than just a double, or have a double bed on the bottom level with a single on top. Larch or bleached pine add an instant holiday freshness to a bedroom, so are ideal in seaside environments at all times of the year. This scheme was designed and made by the husband-and-wife team, interior architect Jennifer Valone and furniture designer Halvor Thorsen of Odd Thorsen. The blue and white colour combination will never fall out of fashion.

WELL DRESSED