The Way We Live Now: The Guest Room

This month, I’m looking at the ways that isolating at home have changed how we live in our houses. Last week, we talked about all the new uses for the living room, and this week I’m switching focus to the guest room. After all, we certainly aren’t having any guests over. And unfortunately, that will probably continue for quite a while. So here are new uses for that guest room!

Home Office

The most obvious re-do for a guest room is to reinvent it as a home office. Today, we need more than one “office” in our home, especially with kids doing schoolwork and the adults each needing a Zoom space. Having another office area in the home other than the dining room and living room helps people find some privacy and quiet time for their video calls.

But there’s no need to lose that extra bed if you need it! I created the home office above with a fold-down Murphy bed. That way it can be folded up during the workday, and transformed in the evening for an extra sleeping space. This is great if you do have to isolate anyone in the home, too!

Home Gym

One of my favorite guest room transformations is to turn it into a home gym. Gyms are going to be closed for a while, but we all want to still stay healthy. So the extra guest room is the perfect place to have your weights, treadmill, and more. You may not be able to go all out like I did in the room above, but you can start with what you have and work on a redesign with a professional when lockdown rules are lifted in your area.

Quiet Space

Maybe you need a space that’s quieter and designed for winding down - like an escape. Think about creating your own TV room, a library, a mediation space, or anything that will help you relax and be calmer.

We’re all under a lot of stress right now, so create those spaces in your home to help you deal with that stress - in whatever way you want!

Wishing you and your family the very best!

Warmly,

Beth