Three Ways to Create a Multi-Purpose Guest Room

See the clever ways our team incorporated comfortable quarters for guests into spaces that serve another purpose the rest of the year.

When friends and family travel miles to visit, you don’t want to stick them on an air mattress in the living room. Whether your home is a small cottage with just enough bedrooms to fit your family or a large estate with plenty of rooms, every space should serve your needs year-round. Here are a few unique dual-purpose spaces our team has created that include comfortable guest room solutions for even the most discerning guests.

Creating a New Space

The homeowners wanted to add an office and a guest room, but they couldn’t expand the footprint of their home. We added space by converting an unfinished attic into a sophisticated, yet secluded, loft retreat.

A spiral staircase provides easy access to the loft while taking up only a small footprint, and the elegantly modern design adds artful flair to the room below.

Custom modern spiral staircase to loft

At the top of the stairs, an office nook is just the beginning.

A door separates the office area from a private and spacious bedroom with thoughtful details that increase functionality without adding clutter. Niches built into the wall serve as a night table with a reading light, or storage space, without taking up floor space. The rear wall is lined with a storage bench to add seating without adding extra furniture. We used narrow strip lights that look like thin skylights along the alcove ceiling to complement the picture window that frames a tree-top view. All of these carefully crafted elements work together to make guests feel nestled in a chic yet comfortable loft.

Loft guest room

A Great/Guest Room

As part of a custom home in St. Michaels, MD, we included a great-room above the garage, detached from the main house. The light-filled space overlooks the water and includes ample relaxed seating and a wet bar which makes it ideal for socializing, playing games, watching movies, or escaping to read a book. Look closer and you’ll realize that almost every seating area can be converted into a sleeping area, from the oversized leather loungers to the two large window-lining day-beds, it’s the perfect bunk room for all the kids or guests to hide away. Our clients said they once had 8 people sleep comfortably in the great room.

Room with a water view

Home office, living room and guest room

vacation home living room and guest room

Read more about this vacation home in Home&Design Magazine’s Chesapeak Views

Stylish Murphy Beds

In a small home office, we designed a custom built-in murphy bed that looks like a closet. Crafted to open easily with the simple pull of a knob, this murphy bed is a perfect way to re-purpose an existing space to accommodate visiting guests.

built-in fold out guest bed

You would never guess this upscale modern living room is a guest room in disguise, but behind the custom-built wood cabinet a queen-size murphy bed is stored out of sight, ready for a guest at a moment’s notice.

Exposed brick living room

Convertible murphy bed