A lot of people started working remotely during the height of the pandemic, and the threat is not yet over. Whereas many people assumed they would be working at home on only a temporary basis, they are now finding themselves working remotely on at least a part-time or occasional basis. When it becomes clear that you’ll need a more permanent workspace in your home, it’s time to start looking for options.
The guest bedroom is the most logical room in which to make your home office. Especially if you don’t have guests often, leaving a bedroom full of furniture, unoccupied, just gives more area for dust to collect. There is no reason you shouldn’t use this room as a home office.
In truth, there is no need to choose one or the other. You can take over a guest bedroom for your home office and still leave some elements that make it suitable for temporary or just overnight sleeping quarters. It does require careful choosing of furnishings. Here are a few ways to allow the office and guest room to live in harmony within the same space.
Start With A Daybed
You might think that replacing your regular guest bed with a day bed would be expensive, but actually day beds are often much cheaper than their larger and bulkier counterparts. If you’re wondering how much are daybeds, the answer is that they are very affordable and versatile. Not only will you be giving your guests a comfortable place to lounge and sleep, you are also giving yourself that little ability to walk away from your computer and take a real break. Sometimes the biggest work or business breakthroughs come when you are able to relax and rest instead of forcing it.
Opt For A Chest Of Drawers Rather Than A Dresser
A chest of drawers has a narrow profile, usually with five or more drawers stacked a bit taller than your average dresser. A dresser is a wider piece of furniture, which means it will take up that much more floor space.
A chest of drawers will probably also give you more drawers to use in the organization. You can leave a couple of the top drawers open for your guests and use the remaining drawers to store files or office supplies.
Don’t Get Extra Pieces
You shouldn’t get any furnishings for this room that are not absolutely necessary. Your guests don’t want to feel cramped and uncomfortable when they stay in the guest room, and a cluttered or closed-in workspace can be distracting and unproductive. While you should be able to get a few different pieces of furniture for the room, you should make sure that each piece does double duty to cut down on clutter. Keep things minimalistic and versatile for best results.
Choose A Console Table And Supportive Accent Chair
Most people working from home do not really need that much space, and if that describes you there is an easy way to get your work area and provide convenience for your guests. Console tables, originally designed for the living room, work great as desks. In fact, some of them are marketed to be both. You can also get a very inexpensive but comfortable chair to pair with it. You will have space to work, and when you have guests the area can easily be cleared for their use.
Get Narrow Functional Nightstands
Nightstands can be very bulky, or they can be very narrow. Your best bet here is to get a nightstand just wide enough to accommodate a small table lamp, a small box of tissues, and a surface for your guests to store their toiletries and other items. The less space this important piece of furniture takes up the less crowded the room will seem. Make it an even more functional home office by getting a nightstand that has a built-in charging station. This great guest room space optimization can only help your WFH office optimization.
