Tips for your Home office/Guest room
The pandemic brought a lot of new understanding as to how we live in our homes. Instead of a place to be after work or school, our house has become a space for work, as well as resting and recuperating. However, not all homes were bought with the intention of a workplace. If you have lived in your home long enough maybe each room already has an intended purpose. Bedrooms are assigned, and creating a home office in a space that already has intended roles can be difficult.
So how do we separate the already lived-in spaces to have a work element without invading our resting time? Failure to separate these things is an easy recipe for burnout, and we always want to keep the home a peaceful and life-giving environment. I think the best way is to have a designated workspace that you WON’T be sleeping in. Someplace that won't interfere with resting, and cannot be easily mixed up. If you have the space to put it in a room with a door, I recommend that! That way at the end of working you can close the door physically and in your mind for the day.
There are endless solutions how to make this work in your space, but in this blog post, let’s think about what it would look like to combine your guest room and your office together. Let's dive into a few space-saving tricks that can help achieve the goal of a home office in your guest room.
Be intentional with your storage space. Thinking through how you store your work things can make or break the space when it comes to converting it to a guest room. Some practical storage solutions;
Closets- For my guest room/office I put as many office supplies in the closet as possible. This allows everything to have a home while it is in “office mode” but to easily be closed and out of the way when a guest is over.
Armoire- I am aware that not all homes are guaranteed a closet in each room. When we lived in England, closets were non-existent. For these situations, I recommend an Armoire (like this one) that can be in the corner and easily close the door to all your supplies when a guest is over. But still ready and available when you need papers or supplies for work.
As a guest, we don’t want to accidentally get into any important papers or bills and mess something up for the host. And as a host, we don’t want our guests to see any private information about our work, or our personal lives. Having something that tucks all that away makes the space more relaxing for both host and guest.
2. Consider dual-purpose furniture- You will want to be mindful of everything you bring into this space. Since it probably isn’t a large space and because it will all serve two purposes. Some things that might be useful in both scenarios of the room are;
Sofa table- I use THIS ONE from Ikea. It is amazing because it serves as a desk when working on the futon, and becomes a bedside table when guests are in the space.
Don’t buy a traditional desk chair- instead consider a small accent chair or a nice dining chair. That way the chair can serve as nice seating for the guest as well as for your workspace.
Being intentional when bringing these things in will help you to give your guest the best experience possible, and for you to have a workspace that is still practical to you.
3. Choose your desk wisely. If you are using furniture you already have, it might be a bit harder to stick to these thoughts. But in the instant of buying a new desk for your space keep these tips in mind;
When choosing a desk for your home office make sure you think through any added storage you will need. You’ll want to have enough doors and drawers so that you can comfortably keep anything off the desk surface and away. This way when a guest is over they can have some surface space to unpack on and won’t feel too confined to just the bed.
Depending on the size of your room think about what size desk is feasible. Smaller more “moveable” desks are often what is easier for this kind of space. So that, when expecting a guest, pushing the desk to the far wall gives a more spacious and comfortable room.
If you already have a desk that doesn’t match these tips there are still ways to make it work. Maybe buy some extra closed storage, depending on the size of your space. A dresser that can hold your printer and supplies, but also allows an open surface for your guest? Or a larger file cabinet that can slip into your closet and be closed off when the guest arrives.
4. Be mindful of the decor- Decor brings beauty and that “finished” feeling to the room. It is one of the most important parts of enjoying working in your space, as well as your guests resting in that space. Here are some things to keep in mind when decorating that room;
Opt for the beautiful office gear. I know that sometimes it is the more expensive option, but its “dual-purpose” is to not only be practical for your work life but be beautiful for whomever you are hosting. It might be easier to think of combining the office supplied budget with the decor budget and then you will actually save money. An example would be a beautiful monthly calendar to plan out your weeks while working, but it also looks nice when a guest is staying in the room.
PLANTS. If you haven’t read any of my previous blogs, I am always talking about how plants bring life into a space. As an office, plants help you to focus while working, and for a guest, this gives a homey atmosphere. Plants help bring that peaceful “spa-like” feeling to your guest room.
I know this area is the easiest to skimp on, but trust me when I say it is so important for a successful space. Try to always be mindful of what decor you are bringing into the space, which will help you in your day-to-day work life, and let your guests have the best stay possible.
5. Finally, The Bed. The bed is the most important aspect of the guest room. If your space is big enough always opt for as large of a bed as possible that still allows your workspace to be comfortable. Most people, however, reserve the smallest room for this space, and a Queen or even full bed might not make sense to always have out alongside a big enough workspace. Here are some other options that might work better in your space;
Murphy Bed- these beds fold up to the wall when not in use and some can even be the desk space when it is up and moves down into a queen bed for your guests (see here). Murphy beds are an amazing space-saving solution since they are out of sight when not in use and give a good-sized bed to your guest.
Day bed- this option is nice if you don’t host guests too often, especially if the people you host are single. Some day beds are also trundle beds (like this one from IKEA), but some are only a single twin-sized bed. A trundle bed is a twin bed with another twin mattress underneath that can be pulled out. This can create a king-sized bed when together or two twin beds. This is a great option if you host a lot of people in different life stages. So a married couple could have a king-sized bed, but two friends could each be on a twin.
Futon- After our college years, don’t we all wince a bit at the thought of sleeping on a futon. However, there are some really nice ones out there that were probably out of our budget in college. We have one in our office and it has served really well. It's also a great option if the office/guest room isn't your primary guest room- like ours (to be read about it in a future post :) ). We do host a lot of people from different phases of life so for our home it made a lot of sense to have another sleeping option for our guests. We have a Queen bed in the basement and a double-bed futon in the office. For example; when my parents and brother visit we put my parents in the basement and my brother on the futon. I also really love working from the futon and find it very comfortable. Most of my blog posts are even written from it!
I hope these tips can help you think through what is most successful for your space as an office and as a guest room. Creating a dual-purpose room can have its challenges, but thinking through some practical solutions creates a successful space. I hope that having these things in your head as you move into creating this space can help your guestroom/ office be the most amazing version of itself and will best serve you and your family!