When we were looking for a home in Virginia one of our top priorities was having a space for our California family to stay in. After browsing a few homes we came to find that many of the homes here had basements (something that was not as common where we lived in California).
We loved the idea of having a whole floor designated to our guests. Having visitors come for a week or more sounded lovely, but the idea of a little space for all to breathe sounded even better! We love our family dearly but having them stay with us for long lengths of time was going to be a new experience for us!
Now that we have had visitors multiple times I have come to find that we would have been just fine in smaller quarters. We are just so thankful that they take the time to come see us. But they definitely do appreciate the comfortable space to themselves. Something I was so worried about for myself has actually turned into a luxury instead for our guests. We want to keep them coming so we strive to make their experience as wonderful as possible!
We ended up really lucking out that this house fit all the criteria we were looking for in a home including a finished basement (with newer carpet!).
To furnish the space we purchased a Saatva matress and bed frame - the same as what we bought for our own bed but in a queen size. We then found a neutral and fairly inexpensive headboard on Overstock. The bedding is all from TJ-Maxx. I tend to repeat things I like so I printed out some botanical prints like we have in our
master bedroom. And we purchased the same Ikea side tables and Target lamps as well.
Our sectional couch that we purchased a few months before we moved ended up not fitting well in our living room. So we were able to order a section of the couch that is the opposite side to our set up so that it would fit (I apologize if that doesn't make any sense!). Of course we had to get it shipped from California which was not cheap. But it was cheaper than buying a whole new sectional. And honestly we really loved our couch and wanted to make it work plus it was so new it just felt wrong to not enjoy it a little longer.
And though inconvenient, it allowed us to use the piece we no longer needed downstairs in the basement for our guests. It ended up all working out pretty well!
Since we do not use the basement as regular living space, we don't spend much time down here. So I wanted to bring in a little green without having a live plant to care for. This little faux succulent in combination with the botanical prints add just the right touch of green. We also found a smaller round coffee table for our living room allowing us to move our old one down to the basement.
My goal for this room was to make it feel sort of like a hotel suite so providing a separate space to sit besides the bed feels really nice. We joke that we just need a little kitchenette and then we could rent the space out!
On the other side of the couch is a corner that trails around to the bathroom. I use that space for working out. Next to it is the door that goes out to the backyard. Again, I am repeating some of the looks I like in the rest of our house with these World Market hooks, a hat, and baskets.
In the basket I leave a pair of sandals in case I need to go outside when I am down here.
This beam in the middle of the room limits some of the configuration of the space but we were able to work around it. The basket by the couch is from World Market and it holds extra blankets. We have the same one upstairs in our living room as well. They come in three sizes and are very affordable for baskets of that size.
Brent really liked the idea of having robes for our guests so when we found these four at TJ-Maxx we had to get them! They come in size S/M and M/L. We used this kitchen bar from World Market to hang them. I had originally bought it for our dining area but didn't end up using it after all. It ended up working out perfectly for the basement!
We also leave out this garment rack that we had from our yard sales back home. Since we use the storage in the basement for all our junk, this rack has worked out well for allowing guests to hang some of their clothes.
The door in the basement opens out to the lower patio of our backyard. The cell phone reception is not great down here so it seems like the patio space is mostly used for gaining a few bars!
We have started to collect travel magazines and flyers for local tourist spots and keep them in a basket for guests to rummage through.
The basement bathroom recently got painted (thanks mom!). And one of these days we will get to the rest of the basement. But it was a turquoise blue before and the white calms it down quite a bit.
Another basket serving as some large scale art. All the bathroom fixtures seem fairly new and up to date. The only thing we changed out was the mirror which we already had from our old house.
The same white waffle textured shower curtain from Target that we used in our old house now is being used in all three bathroom showers. I have been really happy with it the past seven-eight years so I continue to go with it! Much like our beloved white Ikea curtains, I believe them to be timeless, neutral, and bright. I change out things like art and throw pillows. But the larger pieces I like to keep the same.
In case you notice, we do not have a toilet paper holder at the moment. The one on our main floor broke so we borrowed the basement one. Getting a new one is on my to do list before our next guests arrive in a few weeks.
The towels are similar to the towels we use for ourselves. They are from Target and are nice and plush. One of our guests recently commented on our "hotel style" towels. That obviously made me quite pleased. We wash them with bleach and on the sanitary setting and they seem to be holding up well.
Can you tell I was talking on the phone while taking these pictures?! Talk about multitasking. When the baby is sleeping I am very focused on getting my to do list checked off...while still catching up with a friend! :)
I really love the feel of this bathroom. I love the bright white with touch of shimmer and natural texture. I would like to try to give our other bathrooms the same look.
While it is hard to be so far away from our loved ones, we do feel really blessed to experience this different dynamic of having them visit. The time together is so special and we are lucky enough to be able to also do a lot of site seeing while they are here. Providing such a warm and welcoming space for them means so much to me.
When it comes to hospitality, the last few years have been about parties and having people over for dinner. And now in this new season it is more about having house guests. I enjoy both in different ways but the simpleness of preparing a room and planning dinners fits well in this season of new baby and new home. It can still be tiring in other ways but just as rewarding if not more.
