Planning, special touches make guests feel welcome

Furnish a multitasking room

The guest room serves many functions for Tammy, a Miami Beach, Fla., homeowner. On weekday mornings, the spare bedroom with its own bathroom doubles as a home office. In the evenings, it becomes a media center for her children. But on weekends when guests visit, it turns into a bedroom.

A large cabinet, which houses the media center, also has clothing hooks and extra pillows and linens. A couch converts into a bed with a festive quilt added for guests.

Create a gift basket

From sunscreen to new toothbrushes, Tammy provides guests with a large stock of personal-care products in an attractive basket. She purchases travel-size containers of shampoo, lotions and other grooming products and refills them from economy-size bottles as needed.

Use color wisely

Walls painted in soothing colors, such as soft greens and aqua blues, can create a relaxing retreat, says Jane Heaton, owner of Designing Woman, a design firm in Broward County, Fla. She recommends against wild and hot colors, which can make some guests feel claustrophobic.

Stock up

Supplies of festive hand paper towels, fluffy towels, appliances (reading lights, an iron and a clock) and extra pillows make guests feel pampered. Another nicety is to provide visitors with a wide selection of reading materials: novels, nonfiction books and magazines.

Be prepared

An inflatable air mattress, additional blankets, sleeping bags and cots are helpful if guests arrive with children.