(Image courtesy of Liz)
When living in an apartment, often we’re faced with the challenge of creating spaces that fulfill a variety of functions. Regardless of how spacious and open your apartment is, there may come a time when you need to double up your guestroom and your home office. Though these tasks sound disagreeable, they are sometimes necessary.
Just because you have to mix the functions of the spaces in your apartment doesn’t mean that your decor has to be jumbled. There are plenty of efficient ways to blend two different rooms to create an attractive and inviting space. Follow these tips courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com to keep the rooms in your apartment organized and functional, no matter what.
1. Decide on the room's primary function
This is tough (and in some cases, impossible) but important: What is the function that is the most important role a room needs to serve? How often will the room be used in each way? Really take a look at how you will be using the space time-wise. I've seen plenty of homes that have rooms with giant beds for guests, tiny desks for what they really use it for and 70% of the room gets dusty most of the year. If you're a frequent over-night guest host and can drag a laptop anywhere to work, your extra room's primary function should be as a guest room with a small surface for working that also doubles as storage. But if you only have overnight guests once a year but really need a dedicated space where your creativity can flourish — think of yourself first!
2. Disguise the room's secondary function furnishings
Once you've decided your room's primary function, buy or DIY furnishings for your secondary function that are disguisable. Like going for a stylish sleeper sofa ordaybed as seating in an office that can be converted to a comfortable bed when guests arrive. We loved this desk and dresser combination. In the top photo in this post, a tiny secretary desk takes up a corner of the living room area in a studio space, allowing the "office" to be closed up when entertaining.
3. Do you need it?
Sometimes dual-function rooms, extra rooms especially, get the leftover furniture. The furniture you didn't really have a place for so you stuck it in there, using it in a different way than was intended. That can be great and inventive sometimes! But sometimes it makes more sense to sell what you have to make room for what you could use the most. Answer honestly: Do you need every piece of furniture in your dual-function room?
4. Organization is more vital than ever
Having an organized closet and storage is important in every room, all the time. But in rooms where many different functions are taking up space and storage, it's vital. You're going to want to implement as many space maximizing ideas as you can — to invest in lots of shelves and other organizing tricks to get every inch of storage out of not just your closets but also your drawers, cabinets, credenzas and more.
5. Let your focal point set the tone
People think that only living rooms need to really worry about a focal point (TV or fireplace) but that's not true. Any room can benefit from the clarifying effects of a focal point, and a room with multiple purposes is no different. Revisit your primary function again — and choose an appropriate focal point for that function, letting the other furnishings fall in line and complement that item.
Do you have a room in your house that has to pull double-duty? What design tricks have you used to cope? Let us know!
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