We originally wanted to include a few shots of the office as it looks when it’s converted into a guest bedroom in this morning’s post, but we just snapped too many pics to squeeze it all in! So here’s a p.s. post of sorts, with photos of the little tweaks and twists that we implement when we need it to work full time as a guest bedroom for our friends and family.
Here’s the full-sized sofa bed all folded out and dressed for company (with linens that we already owned from the full sized bed that used to exist in the space before the room was converted into a two-person office). The pillows are from Pottery Barn and the quilt is from Bed Bath & Beyond by the way:
We use the bigger sofa cushions to create a headboard of sorts behind the fold out bed (and the two smaller sofa cushions that are removed in order to fold things out get stashed under the bed so they’re out of the way). We also toss our files and paperwork into the open desktop cubby or our file boxes underneath the desk when guests come to stay. And we move one of our our laptops out into the den (since we still have a small desk in the corner where I used to work full time).
Our other laptop can be slipped right into the bottom cubby to free up some nice tabletop space for our guests (and to make it feel less like they’re sleeping in a cubicle).
It’s easy to wonder how much spare space is in a small 10 x 10.5′ room that has to house a slim two-person desk and a fold-out full sized bed. The answer: not much. Admittedly we would love to have more than a foot of space between the bed and the desk, but our guests have all said it’s still easy enough to squeeze through if need be (luckily there’s not much that they need access to on the other side of the bed anyway). Frankly we’re just happy that the bed can fully fold out without hitting the desk since a standard depth desk wouldn’t have worked out as well.
We always believe in offering some sort of a nightstand drop zone for guests to remove jewelry, charge their cell phone, place a glass of water, etc. So we quickly tweak this nightstand-height bookcase shelf that can easily be reached from bed. Here it is before the guests-are-a-comin’ edits:
And here it is after we get it all ready for friends and family:
We just stand the books up to make room for a coaster and a glass of water along with a charging cell phone (there’s an available outlet nearby as well). We also like to switch out the photo in the frame with one of us and our visitors if we have a moment.
Here’s another when-guests-aren’t-coming photo, this time of the closet:
But when guests are in town all the bedding is on the bed, which frees up the shelf for any luggage that our visitors may have (and leaves more room for hanging up clothes that might otherwise get wrinkled).
We also love to leave some Richmond related maps and magazines out so people who are here from out of town can get to know our beloved city. It’s also nice to leave some other mags that might suit your visitors’ interests, so we try to grab something that seems like it could be up their alley (like a gossip mag, a gardening glossy, or a parenting pub) and toss it into the mix as well. Note: stay tuned for more info on those two patterned boxes on the top shelf below- we’ll be back with a tutorial soon!
Oh and we can’t forget that we erase our to-do list on the mirror (which we write with a dry erase marker) and throw up a welcome message for our guests instead.
And since this room definitely has three functions as opposed to just two- here it is in all of its playroom glory:
We love that we have lots of room on the rug for Clara to spread out and do her thing. And we really look forward to her playing with the magnetic wallflowers and interacting with her flash card clothesline above the sofa. Safety note: twine, wire, or ribbon can be strangulation hazards. Hanging things out of reach and keeping an eye on children who may get hurt is always advised!
Plus the bookcase dedicated to all of her toys, books, blocks and blankets really helps control the chaos (along with the $27 ottoman that we snagged from Target).
We’re just psyched that we were actually able to wrangle three separate functions into one small space where we spend at least 80% of our time (believe me, we had our doubts). Check out what the room looks like every day as an office right here. Do you guys have any guest bedroom tricks or toy-storage secrets to share? We’d love to hear how you make people feel right at home when they’re visiting or how you keep the kid clutter to a minimum. We’re definitely still learning when it comes to that…
Oh and don’t forget to check out our decorative clothespin tutorial over on Babycenter today!
Psst- Wanna follow the entire office/guest bedroom/playroom makeover? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the DIY desk play-by-play, here for the homemade light fixture project, here for our hacked Ikea bookcase, here for the file storage we built, here for how we squeezed in some toy storage, here for how we picked out some DIY art that we could agree on, here for how we wrangled our wires, here for the play-by-play of creating our postcard art wall, here for our magnetic wallflower paint project, here for our closet overhaul, and here for the whole shebang big reveal post.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
It really is amazing that you fit it all into such a small room! It looks fantastic. I love that you can change things up easily for your guests, too. I have a post about things we do to prepare for guests: http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/how-to-prepare-for-guests/
Maggie says
amazing, amazing, amazing! (three amazings for the the three-in-one room! :))
I love all of your cozy guest tips–such simple, yet thoughtful touches.
Monique says
Incredible!!! I love how much this small room adds so much function!
Anna says
Our second bedroom also has multiple functions: it is an office, a TV room, a yoga room, a guest bedroom, and soon-to-be bicycle storage room (we live in an urban two-bedroom apartment, and the second bedroom is only slightly larger than your multifunctional room). While we only moved in two months ago and are still trying to make this room work, for our first overnight visitor I made sure to put my old nightstand with a table lamp next to the futon. I emptied out the nightstand for the guest’s clothes storage. And our futon is convertible into a bed in one configuration, and a chaise in another configuration (perfect for late night reading).
Your room transformation is very inspirational! I’m going to try to include some of your ideas when setting up our multifunctional room.
Lauren says
I was wondering how much room you had when the sofa was open! I love all the thoughtful touches to make your guests feel welcome!
Emily says
Where do you put the ottoman when it is in guest room mode? I didn’t notice it in the pictures, so I wondered if it fit underneath the fold-out sofa or had another place to reside when you have guests. Great post – very inspirational!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Emily,
You’re right! You can’t see the ottoman in the photos here. Too funny! We actually slid it right next to the bookcase to accommodate the fold-out bed and keep it out of the way so it was in the room for those pics, it just was hiding. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Snickrsnack Katie says
I LOVE it! I have a bedroom that we use as a media room/office and I want to turn it into a guest room, also. I am going to do something very similar to what you have – even the room is set up very similarly to yours!! Thanks for the great ideas! LOVE your site.
Jessica @ How Sweet says
I need a room like this in my house!
Kali says
First – I LOVE your blog. I’m a self-admitted cliché groupie. You’ve inspired me to redo my living spaces and I thank you for that.
Second – This room is incredible. We too live in an older ranch style house so to see it used to it’s full potential is reassuring.
Third – As for the guest room, the only thing I would add is a reading lamp. Although it’s not far for your guests to get out of bed to shut off the light, not having the leave the bed at all is even better. This is my favorite essential when visiting others. Everything else – spot on!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kali,
You’re right! it’s such a luxury to have a light near the bed to click off instead of getting off and turning it off on the wall. We haven’t figured out how to fit one in yet, but maybe a wall sconce is a future solution!
xo,
s
haya says
holy crap you have thought of EVERYTHING.
this room is absolutely perfect. i can’t imagine how you managed to get it all in such a little space. looks amazing!
i want to come be a guest ;-) i always come bearing pretty tasty cookies.
Sophie says
It truly is an amazing feat to fit three functions into such limited space, you guys did an amazing job.
(Oh, and my little phonebox postcard much appreciates its closeup in the background of the desk picture!)
Patti says
Kudos to you guys! You did so much with so little! I have a guest bedroom that I also use as extra storage for the house, an ironing area and my daily makeup area. So when guests come, I clear out all my makeup, make sure storage and ironing is stored and out of the way and they at least have one drawer and some closet space, leave a few books on the nightstand they may like, fresh sheets, a big fluffy pillow and turn down the bed, and last but not least, fresh flowers!
Emily says
Our guest room/office is bigger than yours and much, much, much more crowded. Help! What am I doing wrong?? I definitely need to use your advice and spruce up my space!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Emily,
Perhaps finding items that can multitask instead of filling the room with lots of one-purpose-only pieces will help! And of course cutting down on clutter and knick-knacks that you have to dust also helps keep it feeling streamlined and open (as well as light paint on the walls and some breezy white window treatments).
xo,
s
Cait @ Hernando House says
Our guest room might get some multi-purposing soon. Right now it sometimes feels like wasted space when we don’t have guests, since we have a queen sized bed instead of a sleeper sofa or a Murphy bed, but even so I’m sure there is a way to better utilize the space when we don’t have guests.
We like to set up the nightstand with chocolate, a bottle of wine, or magazines to make our guests feel at home. And the attached bath with garden tub doesn’t hurt either (our last guest joke that she was going to spend the entire weekend in that tub).
Danielle says
seriously…how do i get an invite for a visit :)
jamie says
it looks SOO good!
i have a guestroom suggestion! i bought a little journal that matches my decor to serve as a guestbook! i ask people to write me a note the day they leave. it helps me remember the fun times i had with my family and friends (or the big house projects my mom did while visiting!). it’s fun to read through and reminisce about visits!
Amanda says
You two continue to impress and inspire! What a great job making this room functional for your family.
julie says
It looks great! I was just wondering if at the beginning you had considered moving your office into the sunroom and why you ruled it out? The postcard shelves and the desk area are my favorite, and I love your rug!
YoungHouseLove says
Julie- The sunroom actually isn’t heated or cooled, so it’s just a three season room (which wouldn’t work for us since we have to blog in the winter too). Hope it helps!
Jamie- Such a great idea. Love it!
xo,
s
Suzie says
We sooooo need to do this in our guestroom! In our house, that room is virtually useless, unless we have guests. I am having trouble justifying getting rid of the queen-sized bed in there and replacing it with a sofa bed, but seeing these pictures (and saving them to show my husband later!) really makes me want to just do it!!
As I said in the earlier post, I love everything about this room! Great job!!…once again! :)
Ann says
I love the room. All the color makes me happy!! I especially wish I could snatch up that blue fishy you have!
I saw on Bower Power the other day that she was on the True Value Blog Squad again but was surprised I didn’t see y’alls name on the list :( What happened?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ann,
Sadly we couldn’t take on the True Value Blog Squad this year. We’re just barely able to keep up with our two-post-a-day schedule along with organizing giveaways, answering comments, writing our column for Babycenter and Do It Yourself magazine, and of course taking care of our new baby girl- so we had to pass. We can’t wait to see what our old squad friends have up their sleeves though!
xo,
s
kathy says
LOVE your blog! What is the source of the white roman shades in the office? Thank you! xo
YoungHouseLove says
They’re from Ikea- so cheap. Hope they still sell them (we got them around 4 years ago).
xo,
s
Bri says
I love what y’all have done, but the magnets on the wall where Clara could grab them and put them in her mouth concern me. I have been biting my tongue on this one, because I hated it when people gave me unsolicited baby advice, and I couldn’t find a way to private message you.
Otherwise I love the way you have used this space! It looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Bri,
Not to worry! The magnets are too large for Clara to swallow as a whole and the magnetic part on the back is actually fully enveloped in plastic, so it’s impossible to pop it out and swallow it. Safety first!
xo,
s
Tiffany says
Love all the tips!
XOXO,
http://outfitidentifier.com/
Bri says
I am glad to hear that. And now will keep my mouth shut as I should have from the beginning! There is a reason I didn’t like it when people questioned me. Lesson learned! Happy decorating and parenting!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries Bri! We definitely appreciate any and all input when it comes to keeping our baby girl safe!
xo,
s
Carole says
My office doubles as a guest room, too. When guests come, we pull the bed out from the wall so that each person can get out of bed on their own side. We set up a basket as a temporary nightstand for the person by the wall. I also make sure to turn the ringer off on the phone on my desk, so that our guests aren’t disturbed by calls. I need the closet for storage, so I hung hooks on the back of the door for hanging clothes.
Allison says
Okay… I LOOOOVE Clara’s toys in the ottoman. Where in the world did you get them. The giraffe. PRECIOUS!
YoungHouseLove says
The giraffe was a gift from Target (we think it was online only since we haven’t seen it in stores). The other stuffed animals were gifts as well, but we’re afraid we’re not sure where they’re from.
xo,
s
Ashli M says
Lovely, I now look at fold out couches in a totally different light. It all looks very crisp, and clean! and if I haven’t mentioned it before, I love the flowers on the magnetic wall, Clara’s going to have so much fun there!!!
~Ashli
http://www.maillardvillemanor.com
TG says
The room looks great. I was looking at your closet.Do you use spacebags at all for your linens? It may make more room in the closet.
YoungHouseLove says
TG- We don’t use spacebags but we can definitely see how they’d free up more space!
Elaine- It depends if we’re blessed with another girl or a boy. We’re just taking it one day at a time! We love evolving the house as we go, so stay tuned for future bambino(s) and house changes…
xo,
s
Elaine says
What an awesome makeover! You guys come up with the best solutions for small spaces! Just curious, have you given any thought to where you’ll put baby number 2? How presumptuous me to refer to a second baby :) Will he/she room with Clara, or will the office undergo another conversion at that time?
Kelley says
Sherry, where are the ceramic (blue/green) artichoke and fish from? They’re really cute!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kelley,
The fish is an old find from Target (for a few bucks on clearance) and the artichoke planter is from HomeGoods (for something like $9). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tina says
You two really have though of everything! Lucky guests to have such thoughtful & tidy hosts. I appreciate how clean everything looks.
Jenna says
I was wondering how you guys chose the guest room for this – were you considering leaving it as-is and changing any other rooms (like the den or sunroom or whatever) to the office/playroom? It’d be great to know more about your original thought process – I always wonder how these decisions are made in the first place.
Also, your pillows are the prettiest I’ve ever seen!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jenna,
We did talk about creating an office in the den but we realized that we liked the idea of separating the “work” part of our lives from the casual “off” areas of our home (which we considered to be the den, the living room, the dining room, the sunroom and the kitchen). By placing the home office off in the more private side of our house (near our bedroom and nursery) it allows us to close the door and cross over to the more casual and relaxing part of the house over on the other side when we want to unwind on nights and weekends. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amy Wolff says
LOVE IT..
you always amaze me!!!! AND LOVE the new Babycenter blog.
Melissa says
I’m sure I’ve missed this somewhere but what color paint did you use in this room? I love the soft beigey grey color!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Melissa,
It’s Sand White by Glidden. They don’t make it anymore but Natural Linen (also by Glidden) is extremely similar. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
CT Roofing Contractors says
I really like this idea. We have a room that we use as a guest bedroom, but also as a study sometimes because it has great built in bookshelves covering a whole wall. The downstairs bathroom is also adjacent to the room which makes it good for either function.
I think I am going to steal your idea and leave enough stuff in their for it to be my real office most of the time (rather than the kitchen table), but still easy enough to turn it into a guest room should our friends come by to play cards.
I may try this with a few other rooms in my house…hmmmm.
Cheers,
Max
Mallory @ R. Simple Life says
Love the office/playroom/guest room reveal! I’ve been eagerly following along and it was so nice to see everything all put together!
Although, I haven’t forgot, at the beginning of this whole remodel you guys alluded to the fact that the sunroom got a mini makeover… still waiting for that! ;-) Sorry, indoor/outdoor spaces are my favorite.
Awesome final product!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s next on the agenda. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Pam says
Wow! First time checking out your blog and found that we have much in common. I am doing a 10×10 office for my husband in our home that must also function as a guestroom!
So far it is going well. Our colors are black, grey and apple green with white trim and I found a beautiful wool 6 x 9 wool rug with a gray background with flowers and butterflies on top in the green and other great colors. That was my jumping off point. Gives the room great personality and texture. I’ve purchased a full-sized black leather sofa bed (with apple green fuzzy throw pillows, gray and white bedding), small leather ottomans for extra seating and to serve as a coffee table with a silver tray on top, a wall of bookshelves, new curtains in gray cut velvet and white sheers, and lots of storage bins, boxes and cabinets for storage in white, gray and green. We even picked up lots of pieces from the same line as your grey cardboard file cabinet from Target. Also got a glass table lamp which I put on a black outdoor table on one side of the sofa and a silver floor lamp on the other side for reading in bed. Still have to tackle the closet and paint the walls (not sure of the color I want just yet). My dad came to visit for 4th of July weekend and stayed 4 nights in the room so it must be ok! Your room let me know that I am right on track!
Laura in LA says
Maybe you have already said this, but what did you do with the bed that used to be in this room? Part of a future project?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laura,
We actually sold it on craigslist. Just click the link on the bottom of this morning’s reveal post about upgrading to a sofa bed for more info!
xo,
s
Alison says
Hi Folks,
I was searching around Ikea for your Roman Blinds and noticed they are on the recall list, eak! http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/press/product_recalls/index.html
I’m sure you installed yours correctly, but just wanted to send this as an FYI anyway.
Alison
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, we converted all of our blinds while I was prego. Can’t be too careful! Thanks for making sure we were in the know!
xo,
s
jja says
“Do you guys have any guest bedroom tricks or toy-storage secrets to share? We’d love to hear how you make people feel right at home when they’re visiting or how you keep the kid clutter to a minimum. ”
I don’t even have a guestroom, would like to have one but living in a big and expensive european city means having 3-rooms apartment for myself is already huge. Bedroom, my office/hobby room and big living room.
But what I do is prepare some good night chocolate like those you get in hotels, prepare small basket full of cosmetic stuff for guests, they all get original Tempur stuff to sleep in, some good books for before sleeping or if waking up early and I do cook a lot and good when dear people are staying here – home made cakes for breakfast, home made bread etc.
I also make space in the bathroom for cosmetic things to storage during visit.
anna see says
I loved all of these photos. So great to see how your room came together!!
Tara Loveless says
There is an alligator toy on Clara’s shelf that I have seen on a few other blogs. Where did you find it? I have been looking everywhere for it!
Thanks!
And I love the office/guest bedroom. We re-did our guest bedroom when we started on the nursery. Once we put the queen size bed in there, it didn’t leave us with much room for anything else!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tara,
We love that thing! It’s actually from Plan Toys (made of sustainable wood and kid-safe & green materials). Here’s a link for ya. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Suzanne says
That seems like a tight squeeze between desk and end of bed. Here’s my idea for next time you have some time on your hands *wink*;-)
For guests, remove both chairs (to another room). Replace the storage ottoman you have with one that is sturdy enough to sit on, and has casters on it. Roll it under the desk. Will allow for use of the desk, but free up some important inches of space.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Suzanne,
Thankfully there’s not really anything that guests need to access on the other side of the bed (the night table is on that side but it can be reached while actually in bed, and the closet and place to drop their luggage is on the other side of the room). But thanks for the suggestion though, something to think about down the line!
xo,
s
Heather says
You guys are brilliant! I love how you always use something you already have and convert it into something new and even more useful! I am currently trying to convert our similar sized room into a home gym/guest room. We have a full sized treadmill and a futon in there and are trying to come up with ideas to make it cozy for guests. Thanks for the inspiration!
Rose says
The key to all of your projects is really your innate “neatness”…some have it and some don’t….and I want to have it but am sooo still in training. My mind is like an organised file cabinet I know where everything is and have a place for everything but my physical lack of innate neatness means I am constantly stuggling… I think some people just have the knack for making a billy bookcase look a million bucks, not student housing….or others make Vintage look chic while others make it look like “clean house” worthy LOL.This sort of thing can’t be learnt but it is practice practice practice… I am currently in training as building a new house which must be neat but my old house is not the way I want it so I struggle but still need to practice practice practice…
Thanks as always for your inspiration
KatelynLikesThis says
Where on earth do you find all the energy to do all these nice little caring details? (space for your guests to have a glass of water and charge cell phones) Especially with a baby now? What’s the secret? I feel so lazy! lol.
YoungHouseLove says
We must admit that we’ve been super lucky with Clara’s amazing sleeping abilities (she sleeps 9 hours straight, has a quick snack, and goes down for another 3-4 hours!) so we have a surprising amount of time to get things done. Plus I have my lovely hubby around to assist- so I owe it all to him and my sweet sleepy girl!
xo,
s
Jamie says
I see that Clara’s book of the moment was “Snuggle Puppy” by Sandra Boynton. That is one of my daughter’s favorite books, too! Actually, since she’s only one, I don’t know if she has a “favorite book” yet, but it’s one of my favorites to read to her. :) Happy reading!
Deidra says
Great ideas….I have to laugh though….not too long from now those toys are going to multiply… to my dismay, mine multiplied in to a piomary color scheme!!! AHHH!!! ;)
Jennifer says
Since you mentioned wanting to provide some kind of night table for your guests, I thought I’d ask – what do you guys do about that in your bedroom??? I considered copying your idea of closets beside the bed as we also have a very small master bedroom with one tiny closet but I NEED a place to put my water and glasses…. Are you willing to share your night time habits ;) ?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jennifer,
We actually stash most of our bedside items within the wardrobes themselves (since it’s just a curtain front, we can easily access the interior shelves from the side). Sherry even keeps a bowl on her shelf to contain her contacts case, lip balm, etc. If it doesn’t find it’s way in there, an item usually ends up on the thick rail of our platform bed – like that’s where I keep my cell phone at night. Hope that helps!
-John
Tara says
Hi there – I noticed that you have a magazine holder and planter in the Sweet William (teal) fabric that I’ve been dying to purchase for curtains. Did you make those yourself, or find them somewhere? They work perfectly in your office!
YoungHouseLove says
We DIYed those- stay tuned for the details in a future post!
xo,
s