???We here at Danziger Design recently completed a project for a dual function room that many homeowners, especially those in townhouses and condos, may find useful. Our client wanted to utilize an extra bedroom as both an office and a guest bedroom. This seems to be a common request. Oftentimes a guest bedroom is needed, but since it is not needed on a regular basis, the room needs to serve some other purpose (e.g., office, sewing room, study).
Here's what we did... Since this room wasn't very large, we didn't want the bed to take up most of the space. We used a sleeper sofa that is perfect for reading or watching tv on a regular basis and can easily be converted to a queen size bed for guests. It's important to invest in a quality piece that will be comfortable and hold up over time.
We brought a desk into the room and placed it in front of the windows for a lovely view. This provides the perfect spot for a laptop (for either the homeowner or overnight guests). A beautiful three-way lamp and comfortable upholstered chair with nailheads complete the desk area. The room had existing built-in cabinetry that had a dark and outdated look. We brought the built-ins into the 21st century with a light glazed painted finish. The cabinets were then outfitted with organizers including a rod for hanging clothes and shelves for organizing office supplies, etc.
A colorful carpet grounds the furniture and provides a punch of color in the room. A set of tables provides flexible surfaces for beverages, snacks, and reading materials. A fanciful, branchy looking chandelier illustrates that no detail in this room was overlooked. The natural look was repeated in front of the side windows where natural branches provide privacy while still allowing light into the room. The finishing touches included colorful custom pillows and artwork.
We kept the colors and feel of the room gender neutral so anyone would feel comfortable spending time here.
Here are our five tips for creating an office/guest bedroom combo:
1. Provide a comfortable seating area. Decide if a bed, sleeper sofa, daybed or Murphy-style bed best meets your needs. When making any purchases, make sure the scale of the furniture works with the size of the room.
2. Outfit the room with a desk and comfortable chair for working. When possible, placing the desk near the window provides a pleasant place to work with natural light during the day.
3. Storage is key! Assess your storage needs. You want to make certain your guests have a place for their clothing, suitcase, etc. You also want to make sure you have sufficient office storage, as well as a place to stash your office work before guests arrive.
4. Lighting is important! You want to have overall room lighting and task lighting (at the desk, by the bedside for reading). Dimmers will allow for different lighting needs.
5. Plan the details. This includes room color, rug, and accessories such as pillows, sheets and blankets.
These are a few dual purpose pieces we love:
One last word of advice. Try out your guest bedroom as if you were the guest. Is it comfortable? Is there ample storage? Is it inviting? If you can answer yes to these questions, you're ready to extend invites to your guests!
?This post was written by EYA’s exclusive guest blogger, Danziger Design, a Bethesda-based interior design firm. If you’re looking for professional design services, check out their portfolio of beautiful work and give them a call at 301-365-3300!