House & Home Magazine recently published a story on upgrading guest suites, and we were glad to be part of it. Kristen Dowd’s piece, “Home Away From Home,” looks at how a guest room can become a place friends and family actually want to stay.
The themes in that article are the same ones we hear in our showroom every week. Below is how we think about this work — and how we help clients turn an underused room into something that feels both beautiful and useful.
What clients are asking for
When clients come to us about their guest suites, the request is almost always the same: they want a room that feels like a high-end hotel suite — cozy, comfortable, and a little luxurious — so family and friends actually enjoy staying. The space needs to work for different kinds of guests without feeling locked into one person’s style or needs.
Many of our clients are thinking about how the room will serve their adult children and grandchildren, their own older parents, or friends from out of town. Flexibility is essential. We’re frequently asked to include a small desk or work surface so guests can check email, pay bills, or take a Zoom call without feeling like they’re camping out in the living room. The goal is a space that feels welcoming for a weekend or a longer stay — never precious or off-limits.
This desire is part of a larger shift we’re seeing. More families are thinking in terms of what some are calling the “family compound” — homes designed to bring multiple generations together comfortably, whether under one roof or across connected spaces. It’s less about formal entertaining and more about creating places where people actually want to linger, return, and make memories over years. Guest suites sit right at the heart of that idea. Done well, they become the quiet engine that makes multigenerational living feel natural instead of forced.
How Townehaus approaches the project
At Townehaus, we work with clients across a range of budgets throughout South Jersey, Philadelphia, the suburbs, and the New Jersey shore. The most important thing we do is listen. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, so we take time to understand how the room will actually be used and what the budget allows.
We guide clients through clear options at different levels — from in-stock collections by Universal (our Coastal Living line is a frequent favorite at the shore) and Vanguard Furniture, to fully custom pieces designed with our Amish partners. The custom work is especially valuable when the architecture or the client’s needs call for exact sizing, specific wood species, or particular finishes. We often meet clients in their homes so we can see the space firsthand. Beyond furniture, we can help coordinate paint, wallpaper, lighting, flooring, and window treatments so the finished suite feels cohesive. Many clients appreciate having one point of contact who can handle both the furniture and the supporting finishes.
What’s trending right now
In general, styles have shifted a bit more traditional than they were a few years ago — but not fully traditional. Most clients are landing in a transitional sweet spot: clean lines, comfortable proportions, and a cozy feel that appeals to a wide range of people.
It’s also very regional. Our licensed designs are in about 300 stores across the country, and we do strong business out west, including places like Montana and Wyoming, where the aesthetic is quite different from what we see here in New Jersey. Locally, the priority is practical comfort. Clients want spaces that feel lived-in rather than precious. That means durable finishes and a heavy use of performance fabrics so no one has to worry about a spill leaving a permanent mark. Guests should feel welcome to relax, not like they’re walking on eggshells.
We’re also seeing a preference for softer, warmer neutrals and natural wood tones rather than stark whites or very dark finishes. The pieces that matter most tend to be a comfortable bed with good nightstands, solid storage, a small desk or work surface, and seating that can handle everyday use. These are the same practical considerations that support the broader family-compound approach — spaces that remain useful as the family changes over time.
What the process looks like
We’re intentionally easy to work with. The process usually starts with an appointment at our showroom. We keep it by appointment only so we can give clients our full attention with no distractions.
Once we have a clear sense of their style and needs, we schedule a visit to their home. We take detailed measurements, create floor plans and elevations, and make sure every piece will both fit the room and actually make it through the doorways and stairwells. That’s especially important in older homes and shore houses built more than 50 years ago, where access can be tight. In those cases, we’ve designed custom pieces that can be broken down and reassembled on site. For smaller rooms, we often turn to sleeper sofas from Luonto.
Clients often tell us the home visit feels more like talking with friends who happen to know furniture than a typical sales call — there’s no pressure, just focused time to figure out what will actually work.
From there we present thoughtful options, refine them together, and place the orders. We also personally attend every delivery. We make sure the furniture is placed correctly, artwork is hung, rugs are positioned as intended, felt pads are on every leg, and lamps have bulbs in them. Those details matter to us. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything, and our goal is always to go above and beyond.
One last thought
The goal is never to create a perfect, untouchable room. It’s to create a space that feels like a high-end hotel suite but still lives well — where family and friends can actually relax without worrying about the furniture. Quality should support real life, not get in the way of it. And because we’re a small, hands-on team, clients work directly with us from the first conversation through delivery. That personal attention is something we protect carefully, because it’s what allows us to get the details right.
You can read Kristen Dowd’s full article in House & Home here:
Home Away From Home
Thank you to Kristen and House & Home for including us in the conversation.
Whether you’re refining a single guest suite or thinking more broadly about how your home can better serve the whole family for years to come, we’d love to help you think it through.
Ready to start a conversation?
Reach out to schedule a showroom appointment or a visit to your home. We’re happy to walk through the space with you, talk through options, and help you create a guest suite that feels both beautiful and genuinely useful.
— Mike & Carrie
