Guest Bedroom Dilemma

My apartment, at times, has become something of a Motel 6.  The old adage that you don't know how many friends you have till you buy a beach place also holds true if you have a NYC apartment.  I've had to get creative in turning my tiny little living room into a place for dear friends or families to call home for a night or two. (I have wised up and now limit visitors to 2 nights as it gets a bit...hum.. tight...after that.)  Unlike folks who have an extra room to send guests, my living area becomes someone's bedroom so each morning I rearrange the bed back into a sofa and return the room's purpose back into a living room. I've found this to a be a key to hostess sanity.

My sofa is super comfy for my Bravo marathon watching Saturdays AND as a pullout for visitors.  The smartest thing I ever did was purchase two slipcovers for it so I have a dark chocolate for fall/winter and white canvas for summer. Having tested a lot of sofas, this one passed with flying colors.

Bayside Full sleeper, $1899, Crate & Barrel

My lack table serves as a coffee table in the living room senario and as a suitcase rack in the "guest bedroom."

Lack, $7.99, ikea-usa.com

Visitors use to get their own set of keys on a Tiffany knock off keychain but  after six sets  returned home with the visitors,  I wised up and now hang extra keys on a hang tag labeled with my address.  

Tags, $8.79/1000, Staples.com

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I bought towels monogrammed "Bailey's Bed & Breakfast" after a particularly brutal month of constant visitors.   My guest towels are yellow while my personal towels are white. This helps me organize for visitors so they don't get the old college towel that I can't seem to part with.

Towels, $9 with FREE monogramming!, Thecompanystore.com

The old standby of putting out extra shampoos from nice hotels always seems to go over well. Because the sofa is by the window and gets light early, I also set out an eyemask. Rarely used by guests, it adds a Gia Gia Gabor feeling to the set up and makes me feel better as a hostess that I offered my version of a black out shade.

Eye masks, $19, pbteen.com

If I have my act together, I'll leave out a New York Post, New York Magazine or a New York Time Out & glass of wine to welcome them.  Being provided up to date local news has always been appreciated by my inner tourist guide when traveling.

Live Large,

Frances

ps And come visit!