Oh My Styled Life

Here’s how O’Hara Interiors designers approach designing a memorable holiday guest suite

The holidays transform a home into the backdrop for meaningful moments like late-night conversations, multigenerational traditions, and the quiet comfort guests feel when their space is truly considered. For hosts who value ease and elevated experiences, the design of a guest suite or gathering space becomes a defining part of that hospitality, from a bedroom that restores after cross-country travel to a kitchen that accommodates multiple hands without chaos. Exceptional hosting begins with intentional design and spaces that anticipate needs, adapt to fuller homes, and heighten the magic of the season. Whether planning ahead or navigating a time-sensitive project, read on to discover how expertise and timeline guidance ensure your home welcomes every guest with effortless grace. 

How to Design the Perfect Guest Suite 

When starting fresh with a new build or refining what already exists through a remodel, our role is to interpret how your space will support guests while also strengthening the overall flow of the home. In a new build, this can mean exploring where the suite belongs within the architecture. Some families imagine it as a light-filled retreat on the main floor. Others prefer a more secluded placement on a lower level or a dedicated wing entirely. Privacy, natural light, circulation and access to shared spaces all shape the experience of your guest’s stay. In a remodel, we reconfigure underused rooms like offices or once-childhood bedrooms.  

Guest suite interior design must also be ready to transform for the holidays, and designers help homeowners envision how the space can transition as the season changes. Evaluate where holiday greenery might hang without crowding sightlines, how bedding can be layered for more warmth, and what types of materials and seasonal decor transition gracefully from fall to winter. Just as important is thoughtful storage. We often integrate a linen cabinet or concealed shelving for extra towels, blankets, and pillows, ensuring hosts can refresh the room quickly between visitors. We also plan for guest-use storage, whether that means a properly sized closet with hanging space, a dresser with deep drawers, or built-in cubbies that keep personal belongings organized. These touches allow guests to settle in comfortably and feel as though they have a true home away from home. 

In this interview with Austin Woman Magazine, OHI shares expert advice for holiday decor and hosting. 

Guest Bedroom Comfort Considerations 

The best guest bedrooms have a sense of calm from the moment the door opens. Layered bedding with silk sheets allow for comfort and rest. Lighting is soft, warm and adjustable, often paired with sconces or lamps for late-night reading. A chair or bench becomes a perch for suitcases or laying out outfit options. Window treatments frame the view and give guests privacy. Closets feel generous enough for formalwear and winter coats that accompany holiday celebrations.  

Read how OHI senior designer Krystal Kellerman layered textures in the Hayward Summer Home guest bedroom in this Architectural Digest article.

For families who host larger multi-generational gatherings, additional bunk rooms ARE not only fun but sometimes essential. In this case, custom built-ins and bunk beds are designed within the space. While built-ins might offer more architectural presence and make efficient use of every inch, individual furnishings can offer flexibility as families evolve. 

Read our bedroom interior design blog for 5 tips to improve your primary suite.  

Balancing Space & Style in Guest Bathrooms 

Guest bathrooms need the same level of consideration. Surfaces like quartzite countertops are chosen for durability, beauty, and ample space for getting ready. Outlets are placed where guests naturally reach for them. Floors are often heated, which adds subtle luxury to winter mornings and is energy efficient for an occasionally used space. Vanity and cabinet storage incorporates both the guests’ needs and the homeowners’, providing space for toiletries as well as room to hide extra linens and seasonal hosting essentials.  

The upper level of this Lake Minnetonka home is a private guest suite designed for extended stays. See the rest of this award-winning home in the spring issue of Minneapolis-St. Paul Home & Design Magazine.

Our Approach to Holiday Decor 

We add holiday warmth to guest suites through thoughtful, understated details that feel festive and refined. We layer in seasonal bedding such as winter-weight duvets, flannel sheets, and textured quilts, often pairing them with a wool throw or a pair of subtle holiday pillows to shift the palette for the season. Gentle lighting is always part of the design plan, whether through bedside lamps or candle-style LED lights. Natural elements like small vases of winter greenery, cedar garlands, or dried citrus arrangements add organic texture, while decorative textiles, including plaid throws, heavier curtains, or a winter rug runner, help transition the room into colder months. Our designers often incorporate small-scale, personal decor, which may include finding the perfect spot to display family heirlooms or finding framed seasonal prints from local artists. Just as important, they build in functional storage solutions such as a lidded hamper, a bench with hidden compartments, or deeper nightstand drawers so seasonal items can be stowed neatly when not in use.  

Read our recent holiday greenery blog for our designer’s advice on how and where to decorate with these timeless pieces.

Thoughtful guest suites are ultimately about anticipation and courtesy. The best spaces feel collected rather than staged, prepared rather than overthought. This is the quiet ease that defines a happy holiday at home, and the style of design that our interior design brings to your life all year long. 

As the holidays approach, a home’s functionality is especially important. Inquire here to set up an appointment with an OHI interior designer and discuss how key spaces in your home can be improved with better layouts, more storage, or different furnishings.