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Can someone recommend an "ideal" size for a guest bedroom. My builder charge me $95 per sq ft to add an extra bedroom for our future new home. I want it to be comfortable for my parents/relative to stay when they come and visit but at the same time need to watch my budget. What do you vote/recommend: 11'x12', 12'x12', 12'x13', 13'x13, 12x14, ?????
A guest bedroom is just that, a bedroom for a guest to spend a few nights.
It does not have to be large, it only has to be enough room for what you want to put in it.
What size bed will be in there? Are you going to have a tall dresser or a long dresser or both and a night stand?
Is the closet going to be used mainly for storage of your items?
Are you going to put in a television? What size? Will it be on the wall or on a stand?
Are you going to be a computer in there? What size? Desktop or Laptop?
Do you want a chair or two for reading?
Floor lamps, ceiling light, table lamp or all of the above?
Is it going to be limited to a guest room or will you use it as an office? Will there be a desk? Filing Cabinet?
Once you figure out all of this then you can decide what size room you need.
I think 12 x 12 is a good sized bedroom. Our current guest room is 9 x 10. It servers its purpose but a queen bed with a dresser was a bit too much. We opted for a double sized bed, a dresser, small chair and a night stand.
We have a small guest bedroom - it's about 11 x 12. It's got an odd little nookish sort of area in one corner, and an armoire fits in that nook without taking up the 11 x 12 area. Anyway, I wanted it to be comfortable for guests, and I also have grandkids who visit occasionally, so here's what works for us:
Queen size bed with two small nightstands and one small lamp on one, clock on the other (these tables are really small!). Room for a drink (coasters provided) and a book and/or glasses on those little tables as well.
Small dresser, mostly for looks, because it's filled with family memorabilia actually. This is nice though because when family comes to visit, they love to dig through that little dresser and look at stuff.
A small rocking chair in one corner - good place to sit to put on shoes or whatever.
HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PIECE OF FURNITURE FOR A GUEST ROOM (I just recently discovered this when I was a guest at someone else's house):
Get a bench to put either at the foot of the bed or against the wall. This is GREAT for suitcases, pillows, coats, purses, etc - whatever people have with them that they need to put someplace easy to get to. I was so impressed with this arrangement at my friend's house, that I went right out to Pier One and bought a small bench.
Then I moved the small chest thing that had kids' toys in it inside the closet. It fits fine and visiting kids can get to it easily but it's out of sight. I also make sure that there's some closet space for guests to hang clothes or coats.
Another nice little hint I picked up by being a guest elsewhere was this (maybe everyone else knows about it, but it was a new one for me!) - my friend picks up travel sizes of shampoos, lotions, toiletries, etc and has this wide variety of items in a basket in her guest bathroom. Some of it is really nice stuff by the way - maybe she got some of it as parts of promos from cosmetic companies or something. Anyway, she said, "Use whatever you want and just keep the bottle." She also had extra new toothbrushes. I just thought that was a nice touch.
We have two "guest" rooms in our house. Since we now live in Florida and expect lots of family/friends coming to visit we made a conscious effort to buy a big enough house so that we can have plenty of space. Basically we have two extra bedrooms that we set up for multiple purposes. The "primary" guest room is 11' x 16' and doubles as my mother-in-law's sewing room. We have a queen-size Murphy bed in there, and when guests come, all of her sewing stuff gets stored away into a big built-in that takes up one of the 11' walls (and has additional space for guests to use). There's a small table, and two chairs in there as well. Plus, the closet is completely empty so there is even more space for guest belongings.
The "secondary" guest room is 11' x 10' and it doubles as our home office. We have a queen-size sleeper sofa with a 4" memory foam topper. It is extremely comfortable. Generally, this room is where the "kids" go. There's a compact computer desk in there, and we have our filing cabinets in the closet. Half of the closet space in that room is available for guest storage, plus there is an extra (unused by us) linen closet right outside that room.
Finally, we've got a leather sectional in the living room with a queen-size sleeper that serves as overflow space should we have an unusually high numer of guests at once.
I am hoping to convince my parents to come down and stay for a month or two over the winter, and our primary guest room is more than enough to allow them to be comfortable for that long of a stay.
I don't know if there is an "ideal" size but for a couple hundred dollars, I would put in the biggest room you can. Not only does it give you extra living space, it will increase your home value by way more than that and will help with resale down the road.
Think ahead, waayyyy ahead. Current usage is easy to consider.
What do you see as the long-term use for that room? Is there any likelihood that your parent(s) may visit or even stay with you once they get old? Consider the mobility of your guests. Is it wheelchair accessible? Can a wheelchair get through the door, around the bed/furniture...? If this is a possibility, also consider using a hard floor surface instead of carpeting.
Think ahead, waayyyy ahead. Current usage is easy to consider.
What do you see as the long-term use for that room? Is there any likelihood that your parent(s) may visit or even stay with you once they get old? Consider the mobility of your guests. Is it wheelchair accessible? Can a wheelchair get through the door, around the bed/furniture...? If this is a possibility, also consider using a hard floor surface instead of carpeting.
I like this way of long range thinking. Personally, I would also add an en-suite bath (easy for us to spend your money ). The room itself just needs space for a bed, a bedside table with a lamp, an easy chair for reading, a floor lamp next to the chair, a computer table/desk with a straight back chair of course, and a small dresser.
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). The room itself just needs space for a bed, a bedside table with a lamp, an easy chair for reading, a floor lamp next to the chair, a computer table/desk with a straight back chair of course, and a small dresser.
