Cottage Guest Room: Creating a Cottage Bedroom with French Blue and White
In this post: Looking for ideas for a cottage guest room? These bedroom decor ideas will help you create the perfect cottage bedroom using blue and white.⇒
Several years ago I had the pleasure of visiting a friend’s country home outside Paris and I was struck with how well appointed the guest room we stayed in was.
The windows were opened to a delightful breeze, the sheets were a crisp white and ever-so-enticing, and the comforter was as fluffy as any I’d ever seen. On the bedside was a carafe of fresh water and next to the nightstand was a charming basket brimming over with home and garden magazines.
How did they know?
The en suite bath afforded us comfort and privacy, while offering every amenity one might wish to find. I made the decision right there and then that this was the quintessential was to treat guests and it was the only way I’d want to welcome guests to my home.
It had such a lasting affect on me that I’ve strived ever since to achieve exactly that. I’ve worked hard to ensure my own guest room offers all the comforts a visitor could hope for.
French Blue Cottage Bedroom
Of course, it starts with decorating the room in a most charming way, welcoming and inviting with a serene environment. I opted for a cottage look in our main guest room, as for me it evokes a sense of peace and tranquility. Blue, in particular, is a well loved tone and one most people find to be very calming, so I built a room around French blue, country toile, ticking stripes and checks and an abundance of crisp white.
Guest Amenities
At the same time, while decorating your guest space, it’s imperative to ensure that the room is outfitted to serve the guests who will be staying there. The key to offering a pleasurable stay is anticipating the needs of your guests and providing these things in easy to find places so they don’t need to search or ask.
Start with the night stand, the one tiny bit of real estate a guest can claim as their own for the duration of their stay, and the place they can reach when grasping in the unfamiliar dark.
If you do nothing else, be sure to provide the aforementioned carafe of water, or simply bottled water on a small tray. For those who’d like to go the extra mile, a sweet or two is a nice touch, or if you’re going for the ‘host gold medal’, a bowl of fresh fruit would be awesome! But in any case, fresh water is an absolute must.
I’d gotten used to equipping the bedside table with an alarm clock in each room, although most people bring a phone these days so it’s no longer essential. Instead, a charger has become a more practical need, along with the wifi password.
A reading lamp, however, is still an appreciated convenience, so we keep one within reach on one of the nightstands. Our guest room is blessed with lots of natural light but for evening reading with a cup of tea, the lamplight is a welcome addition.
Blackout shades, in fact, are also welcome, as I’ve come to recognize that not everyone loves waking up to the blazing sunshine streaming in in the morning, as I so love!
Guest Furniture
The best guest rooms include a desk, which one can use as a vanity, and seating in addition to the bed. If you have any room at all, a small settee or even a side chair will suffice.
Drawer space is often sought after, as well. I like to use chests of drawers for my nightstands, as they offer great storage, and why waste the bedside with a table that serves no other purpose? If one of the nightstands has 3 empty drawers, the rest of the room is then free to furnish with pieces that are accommodating for guests.
Paint Color
The guest room is not the best for experimenting with strong colors, as it should be a space to retreat and refresh. The more tranquil the better, so in this room I chose a pale blue hue called “Sweet Bluette”.
The pale blue walls set the tone for a peaceful stay with creamy whites and light toned woods sprinkled about.
A cane back settee sits across from the bed beneath a lovely framed print of the French countryside. The gorgeous French blue toile pillow punctuates the space with a provençale feel.
Tucked in the corner is a knotty pine writing desk, equipped with notecards and writing instruments, as well as a luscious scented candle.
Above the desk is a wall mounted TV, because y’know… 21st century.
I keep fresh towels in the room at all times, so I never forget to leave them for my guests.
I’m a huge fan of Rancé soaps and they’re a nice luxury to treat visitors well.
The vintage suitcase was actually passed down in our family and it’s where I keep some antique linens.
A Comfortable Bed
Of course the centerpiece of the room is the queen sized bed with a super comfortable mattress and a soft cotton sheets. I’m a huge fan of sleeping on white sheets, especially in the guest room where they ensure a sense of cleanliness, so despite the patterned pillows and coordinating blankets, the sheets and sleeping pillows are pure white. I use sateen or linen, always natural fibers and as fine a weave as I can get.
Our cottage bed is dressed in a mix of patterns in French blue and white, with toiles, ticking stripes, tattersals and checks.
The botanical prints were purchased online and were deliciously inexpensive.
The throw pillows in the front have a bit of a back story. I’ve had them, in some form, since the 1980’s.
The larger tattersal ones were originally napkins and the smaller boudoir pillow was made from cotton placemats. They came from one of the first Ralph Lauren Home collections and I got them when I worked in the design department about 30 years ago!
Fresh Flowers
In my book, almost as essential as the water by the nightstand, a guest room should be blessed with fresh flowers. It’s the most delightful touch and tells your guests that you truly value them. They are uplifting and fragrant and add a note of cheer to the space.
And if there’s one thing a French blue room needs… it’s delphiniums!
Reading Material
It’s nice to leave something to read as a treat to your guests. It could be the newspaper, although they can get the news on their phone. More fun is to leave art books, magazines, or something else they might not normally read.
At the foot of our guest bed is a tiny chippy bench with some of my favorite French decor books.
If your guest room has an en suite bath, leave towels, soaps and other bathroom necessities. If the bath is down the hall, is nice to provide plush fresh robes.
These ‘grainsack’ hand towels are brand new but they work so well with the vintage textiles in the room. Wherever possible, I made an effort to approach each item with an eye for cottage style, while ensuring it was useful for serving guests. The homespun textiles provide a lovely counterpoint to the blue and white chinoiserie around the room.
In addition to the botanicals, the artwork in the room tends to be cottage inspired, mostly watercolors that depict a cottage lifestyle. I collect these watercolors from local artists whenever we travel, a far more useful thing to purchase than garden variety souvenirs. I enjoy sharing these little treats with those who visit and they often spark interesting conversation.
It’s truly a delight to entertain guests!!
Tips for Using Blue & White in a Cottage Style Guest Room
- Soft Blue Walls: Paint the walls in a soft, calming blue to set a serene and inviting tone.
- White Furniture: Choose white furniture pieces like a bed frame, dresser, and nightstands to create a bright and airy feel.
- Blue and White Bedding: Opt for blue and white bedding with classic patterns such as stripes, florals, or checks for a cozy, cottage look.
- Mix Textures: Incorporate a variety of textures like a chunky knit throw, linen pillows, and a quilted bedspread to add depth and comfort.
- Patterned Curtains: Hang blue and white patterned curtains, such as toile or gingham, to enhance the cottage vibe and tie the color scheme together.
- Vintage Accents: Include vintage or antique accents like a distressed mirror, an old-fashioned alarm clock, or a weathered picture frame to add character.
- Rustic Wood Elements: Incorporate rustic wood elements like a reclaimed wood headboard or a wooden bench at the foot of the bed for a touch of natural warmth.
- White Wicker: Use white wicker furniture or accessories, such as a chair, a basket, or a side table, to add a traditional cottage feel.
- Blue and White Rugs: Lay down a blue and white area rug with a classic pattern like Persian, geometric, or striped to ground the space.
- Botanical Prints: Decorate the walls with botanical prints or paintings in rustic frames to bring a touch of nature indoors.
- Fresh Flowers: Place a vase of fresh white flowers, like daisies or hydrangeas, on a bedside table for a simple yet elegant touch.
- Porcelain Decor: Use blue and white porcelain vases, jars, or lamps to add a touch of timeless elegance and reinforce the color scheme.
- Throw Pillows: Pile on throw pillows in varying shades of blue and white with different patterns and textures for added comfort and visual interest.
- Light and Airy: Keep the room light and airy with plenty of natural light. Sheer white curtains can help maintain a bright and breezy atmosphere.
- Personal Touches: Add personal touches like framed family photos, a favorite book on the nightstand, or a cozy reading nook with a blue and white patterned chair.
Resource Guide
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More Bedroom Decor Ideas
So very beautiful Lory….Love how you took the RL towels and placemats and created the beautiful accent pillows. Such a most gorgeous room that any guest would not want to leave!
So where is the reservation book?!!!…..So great to party with you today! Have a wonderful day!
Ha ha, thanks, Shirley!! I actually think it would be really cool to have a guest sign in book, but mostly it’s my parents who stay in this room… 😉 In fact, they like to call it their room! Great partying with you, as well!!
Always the most elegant details Lory and I’m sure that any guest would feel most honored! xo
Thanks so much, Janet! It means a lot coming from you, with your exceptional taste… 🙂
Lory, this room is gorgeous and I know your guests will be so comfortable and may never want to leave. Do tell where the hand towels and soaps are from?
Thank you so much, Kim! I always love your guest room posts, so I really appreciate your comment… 🙂 The hand towels were actually one of the cheapest things I’ve ever bought (I think it was $12 for 12)… right from Amazon! In fact I meant to add the links in today and I’m glad you reminded me. The soap is from Rancé, also bought online. Can’t remember if I got them direct from the company or not, but if I can find that link, I’ll add that one in too. So glad you joined the party!!
This is beautiful, Lory! I especially love your bed frame and linens~ so fresh and inviting! You’ve paid attention to every little detail and it’s charming!
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal
Thank you, Lynda! I love the bed frame too, but I cannot take credit for that one. It actually came with the house! The people we were buying from were nice enough to leave it and I knew it would go perfect with what I had planned for the room. Thanks for stopping by, as always… ?
Hi Lory! If there’s one thing a French blue guest room needs it’s delphiniums . . . and an old blue bench with great books . . . and lovely bed linens . . . and, well, everything in this room is just perfect. Are you taking reservations? Beautiful room, superb taste! I’m a new follower, can’t wait to see more Frenchy things.
Ha ha… great comment!! Thank you so much! Delighted to have you following along and I promise there’s a lot more coming… 🙂 Thanks for visiting!!
Lory: What a complete delight to be a guest in this room! I love the headboard, the linens, the wall color, the Rance soaps, the hand towels, the pillows, the tray with the water . . . I like the tablecloth on the round table, too. Oh, and the natural light! What a bonus! My guest bedroom right also happens to be my son’s room when he’s not in school, which means I still have a lot of his stuff in there until he moves out completely. I’d love to do a complete makeover on the room, but I’m also dreading letting go of he idea that, well, my son has finally moved out. One thing that I do like in guest bedrooms is a lot of empty counter space. When you are traveling, you end up laying a lot of stuff on surfaces that might normally be stored elsewhere in your own home, especially the night stand. I’d need room for my iPad, glasses, phone, and water for both, me and my husband. One little touch I’ve added to my own guest/son room is an open trinket bowl. All my female guests love it because they use it to drop their jewelry in it overnight. I’ve also added a charging station so that my guests can charge all their electronics, with enough empty counter space in front to lay their things. The one last touch I’ve added is a small framed sign with the wi-if password, in case they want to connect to the Internet. My room is quite functional, but nowhere near as appealing as yours! Now you’ve gotten me excited about decorating it as a proper guest room! Thank you for so many inspiring ideas!
Maria, I absolutely love the idea of the framed wifi password! I might have to borrow that one… 🙂 I, too, have 2 other rooms that are dedicated to each adult child but they don’t really live here. Fortunately both are close by and come home often, so while I did re-do their rooms, I did it with their needs in mind and both still keep a lot of their things here. I actually like it that way!! Thanks for the kind words, as well!
So beautiful ~ I am loving the blue ~
You put it together so well.
The pillows are beautiful, and what a great idea to use old place mats to make the pillow.
Anyone would love to sleep in your guest room.
Have a great weekend.
Much love,
Rose
Thank you, Rose! I’m so glad I got to use the old textiles for a new use… 🙂 Glad you appreciated the post too!!
As usual, lovely, comforting and beautiful!!
Thanks, Pamela!
Loved, loved, loved! Loved all: blue & white, furniture, style, light but yet quite room, care in details w/guests what will really make them feel at home! Hummm… they might not even want to go back home kkkk
kisses ML
Thank you so much, Marcia, for such a thoughtful comment! I love that you noticed and appreciated all the details… 🙂 So glad you stopped by!!
Lory,
Your design of this room is so inviting and is done in my favorite style too! I used to sell the soaps in my store years ago. Rance soaps from Provence France are not inexpensive but they are heavenly scented and well worth the price. They also last a long time. Having said that I am wondering if everything else in the beautiful room are somewhat as expensive? Can you share with us where you bought your linens? Can I come live with you for about a month? I will gladly stay in this room! I just want to follow you around and watch you work.?
Thank you so much for the kind words, Christine!! You ask a very interesting question that I’ve been meaning to address on my blog. (Maybe will be an upcoming blog post, in fact!) I tend to mix very inexpensive pieces with somewhat more costly items so that the blend looks well balanced. Generally the place to spend money, in my opinion, is on small luxuries like the soaps, because they make life more enjoyable but the total investment is not that high. I’d rather buy a reproduction piece of furniture and save thousands, and then have plenty left over to spend $60 on soaps… 🙂 That said, I also think a few really great antiques can upgrade the look of your home, so that if you mix in some less expensive pieces, they’re not that noticeable. In this guest room, in particular, I don’t think there’s anything that’s terribly expensive. The bed we got for free from the previous owners. Most of the other furniture are new pieces from online resources and the bed linens I got from ebay! I’ve been meaning to go back into the post and add sourcing info, so I will definitely try to get to that this weekend. Thanks again for your wonderful comment!
This is so pretty! Thanks so much for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!
Thanks, Rina!
Oh, I like to be a guest in that gorgeous bed room! Stunning! 😉
Thanks, Rebeca!
Best decor I’ve seen today, thnku
What a nice thing to say!! Thanks you… 🙂
Blue is my favorite color and this bedroom is lovely.
Thanks, Carol!
Who wouldn’t enjoy staying in this beautiful guest room! Every detail is wonderful. How lucky that you ended up with the bed frame from the previous owners. I never would have noticed the cable box had you not mentioned it- very cleverly disguised! My favorite is the quilted coverlet- love the two patterns and color. I’m sure your guests love this room!
Thanks, Liz!! Yes, we were so lucky about the bed frame… 🙂 My guests definitely love the room, but that’s because most of the time it’s my parents staying in there and they’re just happy to be here… lol!
This room is beautiful. Would you share information on this bedding please?
Hi Trish, Thanks for the kind words!! Yes, the bedding is mostly Ralph Lauren. The toile & stripe blanket and pillow shams are Ralph Lauren Cottage Blue Rose Floral Bedding (found on ebay). The white euro shams are Ralph Lauren white paisley suite. There’s also a blue and white stripe pillowcase that’s also RL. I’ve had those for a long time. And the tossed pillows are vintage RL from the very first cottage collection which were napkins and placemats that I had made into pillows. Thanks for visiting… 🙂
Absolutely stunning! Every detail ties nicely to the next…what a welcome retreat for your guests.
Stunning! Absolutely beautiful.
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy
Thanks, Cindy!!
I love the room. I am presently changing my guest room from Americana to French country and have been searching for more ideas. Going slowly since my 11 yo grandson is here for July and there is no hurry to dress it up as yet. Thanks for the inspiration.
It’s my pleasure to share, Linda… 🙂 Enjoy your time with your grandson and your upcoming decor changes! Thanks for visiting!!
I absolutely love your blue room and I love the botanical prints. I found the prints on Etsy. I was wondering what size frames you have and where did you get your frames?
Hi Marsha, I just measured and the frames seem to be an odd size, so I must’ve had them made. I usually just go to Michaels to do that (when they have their sale), because they’re just regular frames. The size 15 1/2″ x 19 1/2″ and they have an off white mat.
Thank you for your reply. Are the prints 8 x 10 or 11 x 14?
Sorry for the delayed response but I had to climb back up and measure. they’re 11”x15” showing with a mat around them (so probably the original is larger).
What a gorgeous guest bedroom! I love the mix of patterns on the bed and the pine writing desk is so pretty!
Thank you, Julie!
What color and brand is the blue paint? Just the color we are looking for.
The paint is Benjamin Moore, Sweet Bluette 813.
La Bonne Nuit
I knew someone would correct that… 😉 Thanks!
I love this room, it has been the inspiration for our master bedroom. Everything about it is calming and beautiful.
Thank you so much! That’s really nice to hear… 🙂
Gorgeous gorgeous Lory! Love those blues!
This is one of the prettiest and most welcoming guest rooms I have seen. You have done a remarkable job, and I feel certain your guests will feel very comfortable and pampered while in it!
I have two of lamps exactly like yours in my living room.
I bet it looks great!
Lory,
This is perfect! You won’t believe it, but we’re almost ready for guests coming tomorrow in the newly styled guest suite that was our newly married daughter’s room and it is sooo close to your guest suite!
I chose a SW light blue for the walls and BM White Dove for the trim and it’s made such a difference from the pastel pinks and greens that it was. I painted the window seat white and covered it in a French blue and white Toilé, which was my inspiration. Since I couldn’t find an affordable blue and white Toilè bed set, I went with a solid white metalassee comforter and the blue comforter folded at the end of the bed. My pillows are a combo of bed set, Pottery Barn, and Etsy.
I found cute chandelier lamps for each bedside table and have some Chinoiserie on each night stand as well. As someone mentioned above, I have our wi-fi info framed on the bigger bedside table. When we visit friends and family, I send them their framed wi-if info in calligraphy as a thank you gift. I always have a tray on the bed that has bottled water and glasses plus 3 cute snack bowls with something salty, something chocolate, and something special to those guests. I also put cocktail napkins and a couple plates on the tray.
My tab curtains are hung from door pulls that are screwed into the wall for something different. Over the bedroom windows, the pulls have lovely golden bees sculpted on a white background and in the bath they are white with painted blue flowers that match the specially made blue and white shower curtain showing a classical scene.
I was able to find cute chandeliers for the hallway to the bath and over the toilet area and my gorgeous blue and white towels are from Turkey and are a great Florida weight that dry quickly.
One thing I always appreciate in a guest room is a full length mirror so we have an easel full length mirror in a corner of the bedroom.
It has been a blast putting this room together and it has taken time since we weren’t rushed We’re blessed with another guest suite so we could still accommodate visitors. I have collected everything over time so it is truly delightful to finally see it altogether.
To see your guest room makes me feel so validated. Thank you!
Blessings,
Teresa
Love the caned back settee. Can’t find one with the rounded back anywhere. Can you point me in any direction?
Thanks! Mine was from Wayfair, but I haven’t see it there in some time. Here’s a curved back one, but not really rounded in the same way: https://rstyle.me/+rCLxKxuq8RfeeRk0Nt_NGQ. Here’s my shopping guide for settees: https://designthusiasm.com/french-settee-bench/
This room is just beautiful! Do you mind sharing the paint color of the walls?
Yes, sure. It’s Benjamin Moore Sweet Bluette.
Thank you!
What color and brand of paint are on the walls?
Thank you
It’s Benjamin Moore Sweet Bluette.
Beautiful room and I love how you have changed it out in your most recent post. What kind of paint did you use and the name, please? Thank you.
Thank you! It started as Sweet Bluette and now it’s Tapestry Beige. Both Benjamin Moore. I always use flat on the walls.
It’s such a pretty room. Do you know the paint color/brand of the chippy bench?
I don’t. It’s antique and it came that way.
Lory
Always enjoy your French country decor. Any chance you can share the beautiful blue paint color/brand on the walls shown here in your guest bedroom?
Thank you and I sure can. It’s Benjamin Moore Sweet Bluette.