Often times our spare bedrooms end up being untouched spaces or unofficial storage units where all of our miscellaneous belongs get shipped off to. Creating a space for houseguests that is inviting while still versatile for your needs when no one is visiting can be a bit of a challenge, but with a few simple touches you can ensure your guest bedroom is no longer an underutilized area of the home. Your first step is to clear the clutter. This is especially true when guests are due to arrive soon. Investing in storage boxes and bins for your personal items ensures you won’t need to clear all of your belongs each time someone visits and it also keeps the room airy and appealing for your guests. You also don’t need to settle on boring and unstylish plastic storage bins either. Here are some inspiration photos for storage containers that can add a stylish flare to any room:http://www.pinterest.com/rlsenn/storage-containers/. Check out this unique storage idea for utilizing the space under your bed:http://www.pinterest.com/pin/83527768060324674/. Having trouble organizing your closet trinkets? Take a look at this organizational idea:http://www.pinterest.com/pin/48976714667186686/.

The next step to making your guests feel at home is to set the scene with extra pillows, blankets and towels placed out for easy access. Adding in a small vase of fresh cut flowers is a perfect way to gain some extra hospitality points as well.  If you have your seasonal clothes in the drawers in your guest room, you can still accommodate your guests with some inexpensive luggage racks so clothing is easily accessible. Here is a visual list of a few more items you may want to include:http://www.pinterest.com/pin/103301385174128872/. When it comes to beds, the common thought is a queen or king sized arrangement. If you find yourself with a higher traffic of visitors, you may want to look into the two twin bed configuration. Here are some ideas on how to implement this design style:http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/161978/

Details make all the difference when it comes to guest bedrooms. Having a motion-sensor night-light plugged in alleviates the confusion when shuffling around an unfamiliar place in the dark of the night. Make sure the light bulbs in the table lamps work and the television remote has batteries. Another welcoming touch is having a toiletry bag ready and available in your guest room for your future visitors. Include that with some extra towels, a washcloth and toilet paper. This will keep your guests out of the linen closet searching for these essentials and you happy.

Something simple and elegant like this: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/460704236850865878/is universally appealing.  Some other great touches are hyper-local magazines, brochures of attractions nearby, a list of your address and cross streets and a spare key. This is an obvious fit for visitors renting but also perfect for friends and family. When it comes to the time of the year where you have your home all to yourself, it’s nice to add some elements into your spare room that give you incentive to use it more often. Daybeds provide versatility and invite you to use the room any time. Add some of your favorite books, which can lead you to using the room as a quite space to read and offers your guests some more entertainment.

Sometimes the latest in design trends can sneak up on you and become immensely popular before you even thought of making some changes. Now that you have come up for air, it’s good to know that precious and semi-precious stones are an in thing.

It might not have been an obvious direction to take to turn to semi-precious stones in your home interior design choices. But they can be applied in numerous ways in different rooms, adding a dramatic, eye-catching and sometimes glamorous impact. Here are five emerging trends for home decorating with precious and semi-precious stones:

Countertop slabs. Many high-end kitchens are adding the dramatic effect of semi-previous countertop slabs like this one. Popular for kitchen center islands, these slabs can add a serious pop of color.

Pop to the fireplace. The fireplace surround is a popular place to showcase the color and shape of semi-precious stones. The eye-catching effect creates a true focal point of a room, such as [this example http://www.houzz.com/photos/3509769/Semi-precious-Stone-Fireplace-traditional-living-room-orange-county].

Outdoor paver designs. Decorative stones of all kinds aren’t limited to inside design trends. Elaborate designs using precious stone pavers can be used in the driveway or to [showcase a fountain http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Other-Spaces/Porphyry-Pavers-Front-Driveway/detail.esi?oid=7502847]. On a smaller scale, semi-precious stones can create a dramatic statement in pathways, [courtyards http://www.houzz.com/semi_precious-mosaic-stone-designs] and breathtaking [mosaic decoration http://www.pinterest.com/pin/202591683212332350/].

Feature wall focus. By design, feature walls are made to draw attention. Adding semi-precious stone slabs [around a fireplace http://www.houzz.com/photos/10177690/Semi-Precious-Stones-modern-london] or creating an [entire feature wall design http://www.houzz.com/photos/10177694/Semi-Precious-Stones-modern-london] to encase a fireplace or flat screen TV is a hot trend.

The table trend. All types of precious and semi-precious stones can be used to fabricate tables that add flair to any room. This [agate table http://www.pinterest.com/pin/92675704805914864/] steals the show in a neutral room, while modern looks are in play for [dining tables http://www.pinterest.com/pin/241013017531588794/] and [sleek coffee tables http://www.pinterest.com/pin/417638565417216149/].

Louis Zamperini is the epitome of a true American hero.

Many people have heard of Zamperini, but not always for the same reasons. His life story is an incredible tale of determination, achievement and perseverance, one almost unimaginable to believe. As a distance runner he set the world interscholastic record for the mile. He qualified for the 1936 Olympics at the age of 19. He survived 47 days on the open ocean during World War II after his bomber crashed. He then survived two years of brutal captivity as a prisoner-of-war in Japan.

It’s no surprise that his story turned into a No. 1 best-selling book, “Unbroken,” released in 2010. It was adapted into a film in 2014, directed by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, and is due to be released on Christmas Day 2014.

Zamperini had a rather modest upbringing in Torrance, California. As an incorrigible and unruly teenager who attended Torrance High, Zamperini only became a distance runner at the behest of his older brother.  Channeling his rebellion and finding an unknown talent, he set a world interscholastic record in the mile in 1934, one that would last 19 years.

His early achievements earned him a scholarship to the University of Southern California, and in 1936 he decided to train for the Olympics. He chose to train for the 5000 meters, a distance he had never run, and finished eighth at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. But it was his final lap at an astounding 56 seconds that caught the attention of Adolph Hitler. As Zamperini would later tell it, he shook hands and took a photo with Hitler.

Two years later, in 1938, Zamperini set a national collegiate record in the mile. Nearing the 4-minute mile, at 4:08, the record would stand for 15 years.

When the war came, Zamperini enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator. During a search-and-rescue mission on a defective B-24 searching for a lost plane and crew, Zamperini and the rest of the crew crashed into the Pacific 850 miles West of Oahu, killing eight of the 11 men on board. Astoundingly, Zamperini and two other survivors aimlessly floated across the open ocean for thousands of miles over 47 days until they were captured by the Japanese.

Already surviving an amazing ordeal, Zamperini and a crewmate were captured by the Japanese Navy. He willed his way through years of horrific beatings and torture at several Japanese POW camps and was believed to be killed in action before finally returning home to a hero’s welcome.

Zamperini endured post-war problems back home, but eventually married and became a popular Christian inspirational speaker. He later lived in Hollywood, California, and passed away from pneumonia on July 2, 2014, at the age of 97.