Articles about the well-appointed guest room aren't really relevant to me considering that my home's second bedroom now serves as my study. If, however, that well-appointed guest bedroom can serve as inspiration for my own bedroom, well then, that is relevant. Such is the case with this January 1999 House & Garden article, which featured a guest room that was exquisitely decorated by Howard Slatkin. Slatkin also penned the article's text, which laid out the gracious necessities that all guest rooms should have. According to the designer, these include adequate light for reading, snacks, a well-stocked medicine cabinet, and disposable slippers.
As helpful as this checklist is, it is the room's decor that is the real draw here. The painted floor, the lit à la polonaise, and the rose-print fabric used on walls, windows, and bed canopy all help to create a space that few guests would ever want to leave. And then there are the details: small wicker baskets that hold roses and hyacinths; elegant notepads with matching pencils; Porthault bed linen. Really, it is enough to make me exasperated by my own bedroom. Perhaps I need to spoil myself as I would a guest in my home and create an oasis of beauty in which to slumber.
P.S.- The rose-print fabric was custom designed by Slatkin.
All photos from House & Garden, January 1999, Claus Wickrath photographer.