15 Sep 2017 Living With Style 4 comments

5 Home Office Guest Room Ideas

home office guest room idea
home office guest room idea
FRANCO ALBINI RATTAN OTTOMAN

If you live in a condo or smaller home – a multi purpose room saves you space and makes it functional.

But the kicker is, it’s TOUGH to make it work AND look beautiful. Especially when room is tight.

We have a three bedroom home, so doubling up a guest room as a home office maximized our space. We already had a daybed and desk, so when searching for daybed/office layout inspiration, I was shocked to find not much is out there! I scoured through millions of pins and NADA! All the “Pinterest worthy” images include an insane amount of custom built ins. Which yeah, that’s great! But isn’t in the cards for us right now.

So what do you do when you find yourself in a pickle? Call mom! Cindy (my mom) came over in a flash and we rearranged the room a million times. After five hours of trial and error, we pulled it off beautifully! And now it’s our FAVORITE room in the house. Thanks mom!

If you’re in a similar dilemma, below you’ll find my Top 5 Tips for creating a small, multi-purpose space of your own – that looks great and works. Because it needs to do both, right?

I’m also sharing Before & Afters! Thanks to the help of Unison, the transformation is crazy good! If you aren’t familiar with them, it’s because they’re my secret go to for decor. They’re known for modern timeless bedding, home fashions, textiles, pillows and housewares that unite design with practical daily life.

Let’s check it out shall we?!

room with daybed and desk
5 HOME OFFICE GUEST ROOM IDEAS
  • Don’t be afraid to use the middle of the room. When you’re working with a day bed, you have limited places for it. So you’re left with the desk. We originally had ours pushed against the wall, which you can see in the befores below. But moving the desk to the center, brings your room to life. There’s more room; the view’s better (who wants to look at a wall?!); and looks sooooooo good! We tried several different layouts – at an angle in the corner; under the window, against another wall – and this layout is the top contender by a land slide.
  • Divide the room using a rug. Using a rug to map out each function of your space is key. I love something neutral and handwoven. It goes with everything, adds texture and stays in style forever (saving money!). I love Unison’s Bluff Natural Handwoven rug. We placed it under the desk to designate the “office” area and separate it from the “guest room”.

 

home office guest room ideas

  • Layer, quality linens. I believe in quality bedding. Remember when I bought a book all about linens?! Yeah, I’m crazy. Since a bed is most likely the biggest piece of furniture in the room, don’t disregard the sheets and comforters. They make the biggest statement! Nice linens also make your guests feel comfy and cozy – ensuring they’ll visit you again. I prefer neutrals so I can have fun with pillows (like these striped cabana euro shams!). Here’s a tip for making your bed magazine worthy: put a coverlet on first, letting it peek through underneath the comforter. Looks good doesn’t it?
  • Lighting. I once read you should always have three types of lighting in every room. It adds ambiance! This sleek floor lamp is my favorite because of the functionality and classic style. I’ll keep it forever. We placed it by the bed allowing guests to easily read and turn the light off without having to get out of bed. You can’t see it here, but it also has a large flat base, that serves as a flat surface to rest a glass of water or glasses. I also added this trendy desk lamp, for extra light and ambiance.
unison glass containers

 

  • Personal Fun Details and Multi-purpose Pieces. Once you master the above tips, it’s time to have fun with accessories! Add containers for office supplies, personal items, art, plants and overnight guest essentials. Here’s what we did!

Glass Containers to store office supplies, like binder clips and push pins. Doubles as a catchall for guests’ jewelry and bathroom supplies too!

Signed Larry Bird Jersey. I love when people include something personal and unexpected that holds a story. So here’s our story behind the framed Larry Bird Jersey. If this isn’t serendipity, I don’t know what is. This jersey holds a huge sentimental value as it used to belong to Sean’s dad (who is sadly no longer with us). You see, Sean’s family is a HUGE Larry Bird fan from growing up in Boston. Not to mention Sean played basketball in college. As fate would have it, my family is a HUGE Larry Bird fan too. My mom and dad even went to college with him at Indiana State (my mom knew him too)! My parents ALSO have a signed Larry Bird jersey in their home. To wrap it up with a bow, we used it as inspiration behind our dog’s name – Larry!

Franco Albini Rattan Ottoman. Okay, this may be the best thing EVER. This ottoman is not only an iconic piece of art, it’s as functional as it gets.  If you’ve never seen it, you’ll start noticing it all over Pinterest. It can be used as a side table, ottomon and truly makes a statement. If you’re lucky, you can find one on Etsy or Ebay, but Unison sells them brand new! Unison let me borrow one of theirs to test it out. I’ve been DYING for one ever since I saw Erin’s Fetherston’s home tour and I can officially say I WANT IT after seeing it in real life.

Tosca White Basket. I love keeping a basket of my favorite coffee table books and magazines near by for inspiration. When I’m in a rut, I grab one to get my creative juices flowing!

Clock. Don’t you feel like clocks make you look smarter? Especially since everything’s digital these days. This one is beautiful and so appropriate for an office.

Plants. Just like lighting, I learned every room is to have three plants (fake is allowed!). I brought in our palm tree from the deck. But I want to replace it with something taller and skinnier. I placed a decorative succulent on the towels and this snake plant from Target looks SO rea!

Towels and Luxury Soaps. These are for your guests. And never underestimate the power of fine soaps. Friends and family LOVE them. We can’t get enough of Kalastyle’s  beautiful packaging, quality ingredients and fresh smells. Also, linens again. Quality towels add that extra touch of luxury!

 

Before & After

Ready for some Before and Afters? I thought so!

Before we tackled our makeover, we purged SO much stuff. I highly recommend it! Even though we moved less than a year ago, it’s crazy how much stuff you accumulate and don’t use. We also cleaned from top to bottom before bringing in the new.

The best thing about re-freshing a room? You’re motivated to keep it clean and pretty! Now Sean and I fight over who gets to use it. Did you know we BOTH work from home?! Yeah – we are in this whole marriage thing for the long haul 😉

home office guest room idea

So, what do you think guys?! We’re ecstatic with our transformation thanks to Unison. Some times it’s easy to go with mainstream brands when selecting bedding and home decor. But if you want your home to stand out, include pieces no one else has. So add Unison to your list of secret spots! Not to mention they’re based in Chicago (where we live)!

Do you have a multi-purpose room? How did you lay it out? I hope these tips serve you well when re-thinking your own rooms.

 

Shop The Post

Himmeli bedding c/o Unison || natural rug c/o Unison || black lamp c/o Unison || cabana striped euro shams c/o Unison || clock c/o Unison || ottoman borrowed c/o Unison || white desk || desk chair || daybed (hand me down!) || gold urchin lamp || gray striped towels c/o Unison || glass containers c/o Unison || white basket c/o ||  gold clips || push pins || soap c/o Kalastyle || curtains || curtain rod || curtain rings

 

A huge thanks to Unison for partnering on this post! P.S. they just came out with their Fall line and it’s to die for!