Be our guest...

Ensure visitors this Christmas and New Year are made to feel truly welcome with a guest room to remember, writes Gabrielle Fagan...

Staying in someone else's home for Christmas can be a bit of a mixed blessing. It's true that as a guest you're probably spared a lot of the preparation and work, but as the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch, not even a festive one.

The price you may pay is being accommodated in a spare room, which often lacks the traditional qualities of comfort, peace and joy. Too often 'spare' means a neglected space the size of a cupboard, where you compete for room with junk and sports kit, sleep in a lumpy bed that resembles a badly wrapped parcel and are uncomfortably close to the children's rooms and their escalating noise levels. It's hardly a recipe for holiday harmony and will leave even the most easy-going visitors tired, grumpy and putting every, energy into plotting an early escape. So, hosts and hostesses, it's time to give that spare room some seasonal TLC. If the budget's tight, just add a few welcoming, personal touches and improvements like a new lamp, stylish bedding, or a screen to hide that clutter. Alternatively, redecorate, invest in a versatile sofa bed or wall-bed, add a portable television and you could enjoy the long-term benefit of a 'room for all seasons' which you love using as much as your guests.

The basics
A comfortable bed is a vital ingredient in a successful spare room. A wall-bed is ideal because it leaves oodles of floor space when it's closed up. John Lewis' Roma wall-bed, £1,800, is streamlined and in a non-dominating pale wood finish.

Its compact Dizzy sofa-bed is hard to beat on price and style at £450 for a double size and £250 for a single. It comes in eight colours including a bright Russet and neutral Mushroom.

Good storage options will help your visitors feel organised. Stores such as Marks and Spencer and Laura Ashley are good sources for storage from cupboards to natty boxes. Look for the latter's Mulvey woven boxes with leather straps, £50 for three. The Cotswold Company also has storage covered and its Stroud Blanket box, in rich sheesham wood, is roomy and has the bonus of a lift out tray - useful for spoiling guests with breakfast in bed.

In a dual-purpose room use a screen to hide away a home office. A maize triple screen in rich brown, £79.95 from The Cotswold Company, is ideal. If you haven't got room for a wardrobe or want to give extra hanging space put up some hooks. Rack oh Deer's silver coat hooks shaped like reindeer antlers are very appropriate for the season. The six-antler coat rack costs £42.50 and the two-antler version costs £19.50. Both are available from Graham and Green, which also has a chic assortment of products to make any spare room special.

A bedside table is essential. Marks and Spencer has a simple oak bedside unit, Sonoma, with one drawer and a glass undershelf, £199.

Soft lighting hides a multitude of sins, and a pretty bedside lamp is essential so guests can read in bed. B&Q's ivory ceramic Kushiro lamp with cream shade is £39.97, and Laura Ashley has a fashionable glass lamp base, Rivett, £35, well complimented by a pink Maylis candle shade, £20. Oka has a versatile Butler's Tray and stand in bamboo style, £135, and a matching faux bamboo lamp, which starts at £54 plus shade.

Welcoming touches
Prints on the wall, cushions, a vase with fresh flowers and best of all fresh, crisp bedlinen will make guests feel they're really wanted - and give them a sanctuary where they can retreat if the festivities become stressful! Dress the bed with a Hudson Bay floral white quilt set embellished with pink flowers, £19.98 for a double, or a Sophia Embroidered quilt set, £29.98.

Add Shaggy Chenille cushions, £9.98 each, an oval lacquer gold vase, £6.98, and a couple of prints, Shoe Canvas and Handbag canvas, £9.98 each. All from B&Q.

Cover a bedhead or a screen in fabric to give an instant lift to a room. A bright red and white gingham check, £13 a metre, is festive and can be teamed with Freya bedlinen, which is a lovely mix of a floral pattern with a gingham border. The double duvet costs £60. All from Laura Ashley.

Add a touch of luxury with beautiful throws like the Phillipa throw, £100, or Erica throw, £70. Take the pressure off the bathroom by hanging a wall mirror, such as a carved Verona mirror, £150, in linen or white. All from Laura Ashley.

One handy little volume is brimming with ideas for bedrooms or spare rooms of every shape and size. Be inspired by 101 Ideas For Upstairs (BBC Books, £4.99).

STOCKISTS

B&Q 085 850 0175 www.diy.com

Cargo 08700 112 119 www.cargohomeshop.com

The Cotswold Company 0870 550 2233 www.cotswoldco.com

Graham & Green 0845 130 6622 www.grahamandgreen.co.uk

John Lewis 08456 049 049 www.johnlewis.com

Laura Ashley 0871 230 2301 www.laurashley.com

Marks & Spencer 0845 603 1603 www.marksandspencer.com

Oka 0870 160 6002 www.okadirect.com

Paperchase 020 7467 620 www.paperchase.co.uk