Wallpapers for guest rooms - how to make your visitors feel welcome and comfortable

Wallpapers for guest rooms - how to make your visitors feel welcome and comfortable

When visitors come to stay the night - or even longer - the ideal situation is when there is a separate room available. After all, we all like a bit of privacy, even when we are staying with someone as a guest. Depending on space and requirements, this might be a specific guest room or a multifunctional space that can easily and without huge effort be transformed into a bedroom for visitors.

In order to ensure your guests' well-being and comfort, a few points should be considered when it comes to wallpapers and furnishings. There is no reason why the host's personal style shouldn't play a role in designing the guest area, as this is what differentiates it from sterile and impersonal hotel or B&B accommodation. However, one can still draw inspiration from design ideas in hotels or commercial guest accommodation.

The new Guide Blog contains everything there is to know about choosing appropriate wallpapers for guest rooms or multi-functional rooms that can be transformed into guest accommodation. The emphasis is on a degree of neutrality to ensure each and every visitor will feel comfortable in this space. Wall design with wallpapers should always complement furniture and accessories to create a consistent style.

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Why wallpaper are always the right choice for guest rooms

Compared to painted walls, wallpapers provide some obvious advantages. They create an ambience of warmth, and some materials and surfaces can even have a real insulating and sound-absorbing effect. Wallpapers are decorative items that speak for themselves - a great advantage, especially in guest rooms. Regardless of the style of furnishings, wallpapers should neither be too overwhelming nor too cold. Aim for the right mix to make your guests feel comfortable. Designer pattern wallpapers or extravagant materials replace the need for pictures and other decorative items on the wall and create a tidy yet interesting overall look.

A skilful combination of colours, shapes, and materials also provides a sense of harmony, and wallpapers are the most important element. The visual variety of designer wall décor, together with the psychological effect of colours and patterns as well as the impact on room parameters, e.g. size, width, lightness, work as a tool to improve the ambience of your visitor space.

Exclusive wallpapers replace superfluous, dust-collecting and potentially overbearing decorations and accessories in guest rooms whilst providing fascinating features. In terms of style, there is a plethora of possibilities, as this Guide will demonstrate.

The most convenient situation is, of course, a separate room just for your visitors. In many cases, however, we do not have that luxury. Thankfully, there are many solutions to transform an ironing or hobby room into a temporary guest room, and by minimal means. For those arrangements, it makes sense to plan ahead for the dual-purpose by selecting wallpaper that fits all requirements.

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Some basic principles for furniture in guest rooms

In order to create a cosy atmosphere in a guest room, you should slip into the role of a visitor. What would you expect from or enjoy in a guest room in a more or less unfamiliar environment? What items of furniture are important?

A place to sleep is of course the most important element, especially if it is comfortable and allows for a good night's rest. This could be a traditional bed or a comfy pull-out sofa-bed, a travel bed or a good-quality air bed, depending on whether the room is only temporarily used as guest accommodation and has other purposes besides. In addition to a place to rest one's weary head, there should be a bedside table or a small occasional table, preferably with a reading lamp, to keep personal belongings like jewellery, mobiles, glasses etc. close to hand. For clothing, a wardrobe or chest of drawers, or even a movable coat rack are useful. A large wall mirror makes the room feel bigger, a chair or armchair and perhaps a small desk complete the picture.

Placing a beautiful rug in the middle of the room provides a point of interest and creates a sense of homeliness. When it comes to windows and/or French doors, blinds and curtains keep the light out in the early morning and protect your guests' privacy from nosy looks.

Always remember: The guest room is no exhibition space for collectables, no museum and no storage room. Instead, it should be cleverly planned and structured with your visitors well-being in mind. It should combine charm and practical needs without neglecting style and quality.

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Wallpapers for guest rooms - "unisex" and with bags of charisma

"Unisex" means: suitable for all genders. Wallpapers for guest rooms should meet this requirement, so that each and every guest can feel at home. There are all sorts of visitors, be it in terms of gender, age, relationship to the hosts (relatives, friends, acquaintances, au-pairs, couch-surfers, etc.), or character (easy-going, conservative, hip, extroverted, introverted). The room where guests sleep should offer an appropriate and pleasing environment for all of them. Of course one cannot please all of the people all of the time, or appeal to everyone's specific taste. But choosing the right wallpaper is a big step in the right direction and will ensure that every guest feels happy in their temporary home. Compromise is the main point - between your own ideas and the limitations posed by the room layout and/or its purpose, especially when it is used for other activities, too.

Pattern and design wallpapers should be gender- and age-neutral. Take a step back from your own preferences and ask yourself: What design would be appealing to man or woman, child, teenager and adult? The answer is often not limited to as specific pattern theme as every type of pattern (e.g. baroque, Art Deco, geometric, graphical, flowers) can be perfectly suited for a guest room. What is much more important is the size, direction/orientation, and colour of the pattern, its effect on the room, and other details. Exclusive wallpaper surfaces like, for instance, imitation leather, natural or metal finishes, offer fantastically tactile and visually appealing structures which often create delicate patterns that will please anyone's eye. This is why unusual materials are a fantastic option for guest room wallpapers.

Walls, ceilings, flooring, furniture and accessories should all complement each other to create a harmonious over-all picture. A slight detour from the basic style is allowed, just as long as it doesn't disturb the general ambience of well-being and comfort.

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Wallpaper colours for guest rooms: Psychological impact and room layout

The study of colour psychology reveals inspiring, refreshing, calming, balancing and neutral colours. Both base and pattern colour(s) should correspond to the character of the guest room. We want to enable our guests to enjoy a calm and quiet atmosphere, get a good night's sleep and let their thoughts roam freely. Perhaps they need to relax after a stressful day, regain their strength and get into a good mood.

Blue and purple in various light and dark hues are colours that promote calmness and sleep. A dark brown exudes warmth and cosiness, it reminds us of sweet chocolate. Light brown hues also create a sense of well-being. If your heart is set on grey and white, choose soft nuances to prevent the room from coming across as too cold or sterile. Green is another great choice for guest rooms. It stands for nature, spring freshness, it's the colour of hope and harmony. Pea green, pastel green or moss green are all very suitable.

Bright yellow or orange work as energy boosters, so pastel hues of those two colours might be better for guest rooms. They should have a positive impact on one's mood without the adrenaline level rocketing. Fire-red is a signal colour, and as such not suitable for this particular room. Darker or lighter variations of red can complement a chosen interior design style, for instance combined with warm golden hues or a creamy white.

There is plenty of choice when it comes to wallpaper colours. The colours or colour combinations of patterned wallpapers for the "spare room" just shouldn't be too garish, loud, energetic or explosive. For mixed colours, this room requires a good balance between dark and light hues. If the walls are all decked out in dark shades, it can easily become too overwhelming. Patterned wallpapers often have a base colour and one or more pattern colour(s). Pick up at least one of the wallpaper colours (or THE colour if your wallpaper is plain-coloured) and incorporate it in the interior design concept, i.e. furniture and accessories.

Wallpaper colours can lighten a room and create more (or less) space, depending on requirements. Light colours make a room look more spacious, dark colours make it appear smaller. In cool rooms away from direct sunlight, warm colours have a "heating" effect.

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Wallpaper patterns and exquisite materials for guest rooms

The choice of wallpaper patterns and surface materials is often based on a preferred interior design style. Again, there is hardly a limit to your imagination and the style of furnishing should reflect your personality - in fact that is not an unwelcome effect in the context of private space. Designer wallpapers and top-quality materials provide the perfect solution for realising any popular interior design concept whilst making sure that guests feel comfortable and not overwhelmed by the ambience of their temporary abode.

When it comes to a feature wall created with patterned wallpapers, one of the important issues to consider is whether the bed is facing it. Patterns tend to stimulate imagination and contemplation, they can be calming, thought-provoking, dreamy, but also confusing and energetic. So the eye being drawn by the pattern isn't necessarily a bad thing, just as long as it triggers relaxing thoughts and lulls the beholder into a restorative sleep. Anything too stimulating, challenging or vexing is simply not appropriate for the guest room.

Generally speaking, patterned wallpapers have an impact on the proportions of a room (especially in combination with colours), i.e. they make it appear longer or shorter, wider or narrower, higher or lower. However, strict rules like "large patterns must only be used in big rooms" are more and more a thing of the past. Having said that, large patterns do require sufficient room to unfold their full effect. Vertical patterns make a room feel higher, horizontal patterns tend to visually decrease the size of a room.

We have analysed popular wallpaper patterns, designs and materials within this context, and the result is the following list of tips and tricks as to how to create harmonious concepts for guest rooms.

Guestroom-Wallpaper

Floral wallpapers

Flowers, branches, twigs, leaves, depicted in an abstract, stylised, or figurative way, are the hallmark of floral wallpapers. They can be trendy, romantic, imaginative or delicate. In guest rooms, modern, stylised and abstract pattern motifs in unobtrusive colours are all good options. Feature walls can also be a great solution. Floral wallpapers exude a certain dominance and emotionality, but in guest rooms, they shouldn't lean too much towards quirky romanticism. Floral or flower wallpapers are perfectly suited to interior design styles like Country Look, Modern Art, Bohème and Asia Style. Our collection includes beautiful examples like Kyoto, Glorette, Indra, VanGogh Blossom and Wanda, all offering huge potential for the guest area.

Kyoto

Glorette
indra

VanGogh-Blossom
Wanda

Baroque wallpapers

In guest rooms and bedrooms with a sophisticated, elegant and very modern style, baroque wallpapers frequently adorn a feature wall behind the bed. There is hardly a baroque pattern that isn't suitable for feature walls in guest rooms. This specific type of design is incredibly versatile as it matches the popular Country Look just as much as a glamorous and sophisticated boudoir or an upscale natural look. The only elements that need to be taken into consideration when choosing baroque wallpapers are colour combination, pattern orientation, and potentially the size of the pattern. Too intricate details like flowers or animals should be avoided in baroque guest room wall décor as it can make it too fussy. Some interesting examples from our range: Esiko, Leandra, Nemesis or Priolaf.

Esiko
Leandra

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priolaf

Geometric patterns/stripe wallpapers

Checks, stripes, squares, rectangles, circles, dots, lines - geometric patterns can create a sense of movement and suspense in guest rooms, whilst at the same time not being too stimulating. Three-dimensional geometric wallpapers create potentially confusing depth and can even introduce a touch of the psychedelic - not a good choice for the area where your visitors are trying to relax and slumber. Another example for less suitable geometric patterns are compositions with ornaments put together in a mosaic style, as they simply demand too much attention. As is so often the case: less is more, and subtlety should prevail.

Stripes, squares, diamond shapes, delicate lines in clear arrangements, and structures with delicate and unobtrusive visual effects are best suited. When choosing wall coverings with stripes or diagonal lines, consider their direction. Designer wallpapers with material imitations like wood and stone can form natural geometric patterns and introduce a sophisticated charm into the guest room. Stripey wallpapers provide a huge plethora of style combos and enormous versatility. Some fabulous examples for geometric wallpapers for elegant guest rooms from our Shop: Elma, Eulan, Mariza, Origami, Orthos and Svarog.

Elma
Eulan

Mariza
Origami

orthos
Svarog

Retro wallpapers

Retro patterns are very much on trend and exceedingly popular right now. They provide a sense of fun, a party or lounge feeling, and a good dose of nostalgia. As for retro styles for guest bedrooms, there is a huge variety of patterns, with subtle geometric movement and harmonious, somewhat muted colours that will make your visitor's hearts soar (whether it's your grandma or your hipster mate!). Some examples from the range in our Shop are Eldor, Juno, Loki, Orischa, Osiris and Tamaki.

Eldor
juno

loki
Orischa

osiris
tamaki

Special material surfaces

Unique wallpaper materials provide additional structural effects, and the material itself can create delicate patterns.

Natural wallpapers made from cork or bamboo introduce Mother Nature into your guest room. These materials exude warmth and cosiness and are a particular highlight in natural, purist and minimalist interiors. Their typical material structure forms its very own, unique pattern. Grasses are woven or arranged to create geometric patterns. The natural sparkle of Mica stones transforms a feature wall in a guest room into a starry night sky.

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Textile wall décor is especially captivating due to its warm, velvety surface. Many of these models come in plain colours, but their woven structure or warp threads provide movement and the sense of additional colour. The material presents a delicate stripe pattern, sometimes with glittering threads to add interest and glamour. Our Wallpaper Shop also offers textile wallpapers with gorgeous floral or baroque patterns: An incredibly stylish choice for your guest bedroom. Variations like Flock and Crush wallpapers provide soothingly tactile structures.

Odilia

Exotic and exclusive - imitation leather wall décor transform your guest room into a luxurious, classy space fit for a king or queen. Croc grain, animal skin imitations, 3D effects, and a select range of colours - the possibilities are nearly endless!

croco

The surface of metal and effect foil wallpapers is treated with special high-quality foils. Their metallic effects create reflections, prisms, light fluctuations and holograms. The range in our Shop includes guest room-ready models like Izanula, Kewan, Nandi oder Nemesis. Generally speaking, the impact of metal and effect foil wall coverings and their patterns and colour arrangements should be thoroughly considered to make sure the impact is not too overpowering for the room you want your guests to be able to relax in.

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Only the best for the guest! Glass beads and glass stones or crystals can be the main attraction in pattern motifs, or frame them beautifully. This kind of luxury on the wall will make a lasting impression on your visitors who are bound to feel like they have just arrived in heaven! Please remember to consider our hints and tricks regarding patterns and colours for your guest bedroom.

zelor