You Can Convert Your Guest Room Into An Attractive and Functional Home Office
One of the most common overlooked spaces for a home office is the guest room. A guest room that gets used 2 weeks out of the year, while you make-do in some odd corner of your home 52 weeks of the year.
A murphy or wall bed can be an attractive addition to a home office/ guest room.
Unless a client has frequent overnight guests, and they lack a designated home office, I suggest their underused guest room be turned into a home office or creative space for grown-ups. It is important to set-up this room to be first – an attractive and functional workspace for you, and second – a comfortable sleeping space for the occasional guest. One way to create more space for a home office in a home office/guest room is a sleep sofa. Another way is a murphy bed or wall bed.
The advantage of a murphy bed:
- Opens up more floor space for your home office use,
- Folds away with the linens still on, and
- Holds a real mattress.
Murphy beds/wall beds are usually thought of as something for urban studio apartments. You may be thinking of something that is heavy and clunky to set-up. Or something that looks like a heavy, clunky cabinet which clashes with everything else in your room. But “the times are a-changin’” and so have murphy beds. The mattress, bed and hardware are much lighter. (One website had a demo video showing a young girl setting up and closing a double bed unit by herself.)
Murphy beds can be:
- Placed in custom built-in wall units that become a part of the room
- Hidden by moveable shelves – for books or your flat screen TV
- Opened down over a sofa
- Stored horizontally in a credenza-type unit
- Stored in an existing closet
- Desk/twin-bed units that allow the contents of the desktop to remain in place
- Bunkbed versions for small spaces or for the delight of children and teens
There are several versions, which can be found with an internet search. For those of you open to some DIY ModdiMurphyBed offers plans and detailed directions on how to use parts from your local hardware store and IKEA to assemble your own wall-mounted murphy bed. The cost of materials: $275 for a twin murphy bed or $375 for a double/full bed – all parts, excluding the mattress; plus $8 for plans and directions.
For more ideas on where to find space for a real home office check-out these posts:
Reclaim Un-used and Under-used Space for a Real Home Office
Create an Efficient and Private Home Office When You Lack Space
To learn more, read the “Dinosaur Space: Break Loose from Room Labels” chapter of my book The Smarter Home Office: 8 simple steps to increase your income, inspiration and comfort.
Image by DesignSponge
