Saturday, October 20, 2012

Would You Give Up Your Guest Room?

No matter how small or large any home I have ever had, I always made room for an overnight guest. In the old days it was a sofa bed or a day bed tucked in a corner somewhere. In larger spaces, a dedicated bedroom.

Home office or guest room? I love this room!

My "office" has been the breakfast area table for the past year. Two laptops, a printer, and stacks of files and books clutter the top of the table. Alberto built me some small shelves in a narrow cubbyhole next to the fire place to hold fabric samples and client files. 

I could do something like this pretty easily

The whole thing is an eyesore. But it is a great place to work. I sit on a bench up against the wall, and this is the best position I ever been in, in terms of spending hours writing on the computer. I do not get that awful neck fatigue I always get sitting in any other chair. And the light is fabulous, and I like being in the kitchen watching Alberto cook.

This one ticks my all my boxes

But...  As I get more and more busy I think maybe I should have a dedicated office. The only space in the house that would be suitable is the current guest room. It would be fun to have a project again, and transform the room. But...I really love our guest room. I often go in there to read. And I love having it always available for friends and family. I would never make anyone sleep on the couch or an air mattress out in the open. And unfortunately my pockets are not deep enough to offer to pay for a nice hotel.

So many good takeaways here - Love the skirted tables so you can store things underneath

 What would you do? 

I do not want to "share" an office with a guest room. There is no room in our bedroom to make an office nook. I do not want to share space in Alberto's man cave. I used to have my office in the dining room, but that room is more visible than the breakfast area, and I hated to see the clutter all the time. And I love having the dining room back again because we do give dinner parties.

I would love an office like this
The dance parlor is actually our entry hall/foyer, actually the first room you walk into from the front door. Again I would never want my office clutter to be the first thing seen. And we do give private tango lessons here. I do have a few pieces of furniture in this room, but they are against the walls and don' take up much room.

This is pretty perfect too

Wah wah wah.

All photos from Sally Wheat's Pinterest board.

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11 comments:

  1. You've gotta think out of the box--I'm sure whatever you eventually come up with will be wonderful!

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  2. I am convinced that every home needs an office space. For the amount of time you use your guest bedroom, it seems that the most productive and efficient use of that space would be a home office. The advantage is that you can get up from a project, leave the space cluttered if necessary and go back at a later time to complete your work. Working in your dining/kitchen space does not give you that flexibility. For as much as you love entertaining friends for dinner, I would focus on keeping that space free of clutter and steal the guests room. Frankly, when visiting friends and family I prefer a hotel so that I can set my own schedule. Your family will accommodate the change I'm sure.

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  3. I love the "idea" of a home office space, or a creative area, I now have two and I look at the clutter I've left behind, and pick up my project and move elsewhere in my home. So I'm not sure what the answer is, short of a secretary, the old fashioned kind, that will de clutter when you want her/him to. But I REALLY love you sitting with Alberto and watching him cook, I'd give up my guest room for that.

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  4. We gave up having a guest room a few years ago. I've actually taken over 2 bedrooms for my work, which is not very efficient. I'd love a studio outside of the home. I think it's difficult to work at home, but that's just me. If I did have a studio elsewhere, I'd give one bedroom to my husband for his man cave, and make the other one a guest room again. I do miss that.

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  5. What great spaces! I love the wallcoverings, so fun and vibrant! Love your blog!

    Love, Jamie Herzlinger

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  6. What about buying a used armoire and converting it into an office? You could add a shelf for your computer, make an opening in the back for the wires to go through, add shelves or drawers for your office needs, and close the doors when you aren't using it. I just converted (and blogged about it) a television armoire into a shoe closet. It didn't take much work at all, and when I think about it, it could have become a desk with some shelving, hammer and nails. You could even put your computer on a shelf that slides out for easier access. Then maybe you could find a space in your kitchen for it, and you would have the best of both worlds.

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  7. Long ago, I decided that our house is not truly set up for guests. When we do have guests, I put them up in a hotel.The rest—most—of the time, we each have an office. It works for day to day living best.

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  8. Well, there is always the old standby hide-a-bed couch that could be used in your office/guest room. When I'm a guest in someone else's house, where I sleep is never really the issue. It's the time I spend with those I am visiting that is most important to me and if it's in someone's office, who am I to complain about sharing that space? I don't spend that much time in bed when I'm a guest anyway.... I want to get up and have fun socializing with my host/hostess! You have to work with what you have and it sounds like having both a guest room and home office is equally important, I say just put a desk in the guest room and call it a day...:)

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  9. How often do you have guests that it would require a dedicated "guest room" ?
    Why can you not make a room that is both your office and a place for a guest to stay ?
    My desk/computer is in the guest room. When guests are here, I use my husbands lap top and I am too busy with guests to care about using the computer.
    I used to live in houses with guest suites, it was nice but really, for the amount of time they were in use, it was a waste of space. And who likes to clean a room that sits there waiting for an occasional occupant ?
    I am not a fan of extra rooms that are used a few times a year, but that might just be me :)
    Good luck with your decision.

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