It’s time for the last apartment inspiration post!
The second bedroom in my new apartment will be my office and the guest room. And HOLY MOLY am I excited to have this additional space.
In the apartment I’ve lived in for the last 10 years, my desk is in my bedroom. It’s great that I’ve always had a desk — I lived here during both college and grad school — but I don’t love that my bedroom is also my office. I work where I sleep. And take professional Zoom calls (like job interviews!) with my messy bed in the background. I know in NYC it’s rare to have that separation of space (especially right now when most people are working from home) and I want to acknowledge I’m aware that it is fortunate to have this extra room in the new apartment. I’m grateful and know this is a rarity in NYC.
I’m also excited to have a more private place for friends to stay over. I currently have a great sofa that turns into a queen size bed in my living room. It’s been perfect over the years, but I always feel awful if I have a friend sleeping over on a day I have work. I have to sneak out through the living room sometimes as early as 5:30AM to teach.
I keep joking that this room is my best friend David’s room. And I truly cannot wait until I can host him at my place after years of visiting him in LA. When it’s safe to have people over, of course.
Without further ado, here is the inspiration for my office/guest room!
Sources: One // Two // Three // Four
What The Room Currently Looks Like:
Some Thoughts:
Bye Bye Blue Walls
The blue walls are cute, but they definitely have to go! I’m curious to see how the room feels when it’s not so “cool” from the blue walls!
let there be light
There is currently only one light fixture — and it’s this awkward hanging light that’s coming out of the wall when you walk in on the left. I don’t even remember what it was previously attached to, maybe in a lamp or something?
the setup is tricky!
Honestly, this room was one of the reasons I wanted to work with an interior designer. I had NO clue how to configure it in a way that would logically fit both a desk and something comfortable for someone to sleep on.
I don’t want to spoil all the design fun just yet 🙂 but at the point of me writing this blog post, I’m really excited about the layout my designer and I decided on. And I honestly never would have thought of it originally!
the Closet
This room was a bedroom for two kids previously so the closet was designed with kids clothes in mind, I imagine. At first, I wasn’t crazy about the closet in this room. The top opens like a door and the bottom is all drawers. But now I’m kind of obsessed with it!
The top part is surprisingly large and perfect for storing yoga mats, tripods, and other equipment. I’m going to keep the closet as is and use the drawers as a filing cabinet and change out the hardware so it’s a bit more chic. I’m really hyped about all the storage!
A day bed or couch that turns into a bed?
Ah, the big question! Do I get a day bed or a couch that turns into a bed!?
The pro of a day bed is that they don’t take up a ton of room and are cute for lounging. They aren’t huge for sleeping, though. A small sofa couch is a bit less cute, IMO, and takes up more room when it’s open… But it is way comfier for the guest sleeping there.
99.9% of the time this room will just be my office. Even prior to the pandemic I only had overnight guests once in a while, although now it will be a bit easier for out-of-town friends to stay over for a few days or friends can stay over just for the night without me waking them up at 5:30 AM to teach.
Call me self-centered (I mean, it’s my apartment‚) but I’m more interested in a piece of furniture that’s functional 99.9% of the time rather than a fabulous bed for a guest the 0.1% of the time. I also can’t think of a time I had more than 1 friend sleep over at a time (maybe in my college days when groups of friends would visit NYC for the weekend??)
SO, I’m thinking a fabulous but compact place to lounge and read or work most of the time. Even if it’s not the comfiest or largest bed for guests. Sorry, David!
Room to “play”
In a perfect world, I’d also love to have an area to film yoga and workout videos, as needed. I think the room is *just* big enough that I can set up a camera on one side and have it fit everything in the frame.
A real desk chair
There are SO many cute desk chair options out there right now! But I’m super weird and am worried many of them aren’t comfy. I get low back pain from certain chairs and couldn’t imagine sitting on an uncushioned surface. My poor tailbone! One of my requests for this room was a legit desk chair… but also one that was cute. And I can’t wait to show you what we decided on!
Your turn: Day bed or Sofa Couch?
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