A Room Just for You

When I was a kid I had friends and family members who had rooms that were off limits for everyone except maybe on Christmas. If the room wasn’t off limits, there was plastic covering the furniture. I can still remember the cold plastic when I sat down or the buildup of sweat under my legs in the summer. I always thought, this was not a way to enjoy your home. Fast forward to today, I realized I was creating an “off limits” room in my house. My guest bedroom. Although I did not intentionally tell the family not to use the room, the fact was, it was not being used.

We love to have overnight guests but we do not have guests at our house 100% of the time. I realized I was keeping this room “off limits” when I could be enjoying it. I made the decision to convert the room for dual purpose, a craft/sewing and guest room.

First I replaced the queen bed with a daybed with a pop up trundle bed. This still allows me to create a sleeping space for couples when needed. The day bed opened up more floor space and gave the room a more sitting room feel. This additional floor space also provided ample room for me to set up a portable table as needed.

As time went on, once again I noticed I wasn’t working on crafts and the room was just sitting there... Again! I then decided to put my son’s video games in the room. I like having my kids upstairs in the evening, otherwise my son would be in the lower level away from the family. This change was a win-win for us all AND I’m back to using the room again. I still have the option to move my son out of the room when I’m ready to work on crafts or when we have guests.

With the holiday season in full swing, you may be thinking how to make house guests feel welcome. That’s great! Having house guests is fun. In the meantime, consider how you might want to convert your guest room(s) into a space you can use 100% of the time and bring you and your family more joy. Picture it, a full dressing room where you can see all your clothes. A vanity table for applying your makeup. A rack to display all your shoes by style and color. How about a passion project space for you to develop your ideas for a business. Maybe a special place to retreat to get away and relax, read or maybe journal.

In the holiday spirit of giving, consider giving to yourself the gift of a special place for you. Tell me is there a room you will (or want) to convert?