Martha Stewart's top 10 tips for preparing the ultimate guest room

1. Have a place for guests to put away their clothes. “Place hangers in either an armoire or a closet. They shouldn’t have to leave their suitcases lying on the floor. A suitcase rack or a little holding rack is nice to have in the guest room.”
2. Have water by the bedside. “Leave either a couple of  bottles of water or a carafe of mineral water.”
3. Make the bed for guests using a duvet, not a blanket. “I have a warm, thick duvet, which is down-filled with a cover for winter, and then a light down one for the summer.”
4. Opt for 100 percent cotton sheets. “Linen is also very luxurious but it gets wrinkly."
5. Wash the sheets often. "Guest rooms are changed every two days at my house. I advise people to change their beds at least once a week. You don’t have to wash the duvet cover every week, but you should definitely wash your top and bottom sheets and your pillow cases."
6. Add a throw to the end of the bed or on a chair in case your guest gets cold. "I use throws made from cashmere or wool, or a knitted throw."
7. Don’t put TVs in guest rooms. “We all watch TV in one communal spot, like the library or the kitchen, but not in the bedroom. Bedrooms are very quiet.”
8. Load up the bathroom cabinets. "I stock the bathrooms with my favourite products, like soaps and moisture creams and shampoos, just so people have something. And toothpaste and an extra toothbrush, in case people forget."
9. Keep the room feeling comfortable. "It’s clean, ventilated, cool enough without being cold, the bed is nice. It could be a pull-out couch just as long as it the host has taken the care to make it a nice space."
10. Take inspiration from hotels. “Think about the fanciest one you’ve stayed in and do something like that at home.”

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