Holiday Preparations

Reclaiming Your Guest Room, Part 2

In our last newsletter, we gave you suggestions on how to convert your junk/storage/office/exercise room back into a real guestroom. Since you made such great progress, we’ve provided various options for temporary beds as well as ideas to enhance lighting in the room:

Temporary Beds. If your guestroom doesn’t include a bed, and you won’t be adding one permanently, there are good temporary and less expensive alternatives.   In addition to discount superstores for new items, don’t forget to search Craigslist and similar services to find an inexpensive futon bed that will double as a couch, or an air mattress with an automatic pump that is as comfortable as a regular mattress, and stores away in the closet. Of course, the most common option is a sleeper sofa with a hideaway bed, and this time of year they go on sale fairly often. When you need to maximize your space, these are good options.

Murphy Beds. The Murphy Bed is still a wonderful idea for a multi-purpose room. With storage units on either side of the bed section, it is a great way to get both storage AND a bed that can be moved out of the way at any time. This piece of furniture has the appearance of a beautiful, built-in cabinet or entertainment center. You’ll find great pictures and ideas on-line, including kits you can buy and install yourself. Plan and budget for this option, as it is pricy.

Lighting your space can be easy, challenging or everything inbetween!  Pretty helpful, huh?!  Throughout the decades, we’ve gone from light fixtures in the ceilings in our 50s, 60s and 70s era homes, to wall sockets only that required lamps, back to ceiling fixtures that include fans with light kits.  Perhaps you’ve determined that lamp lighting alone is not sufficient.  If you need overhead lighting in a guest room that is not wired for it, this is a fairly affordable electrical fix for your experienced handyman at The Fix-It Professionals.

For more creative lighting, you may wish to try recessed or can lights that can be centered in the ceiling or spaced along the edge of your ceiling along the wall.  There are also lovely options for spots or track lighting units to match or enhance your decor, or to highlight aspects of the room, since you may still need to use it for more than just a guest room.  When your lamps don’t give you the lighting you need or want, these overhead options are good ones.

However, you may desire just the opposite — the ability to turn on a lamp from your light switch.  The same professionals can add this electrical outlet for you, or even extra outlets if you need them.  Consider adding one up on your potshelf, where you can then plug in rope lights that will add soft, indirect lighting.

For even more ideas on lighting, email us for both of our issues from October.  Best wishes for a successful reclamation of your guest room, and may you enjoy every guest that uses it this season!