Office/Guest Room Design Plans and Mood board

We’re almost ready to get started on our office project, and I’m so excited! I mentioned previously that we have quite a few projects that we’d like to complete before our new baby arrives in July, and this is a pretty big one! Since the nursery will be in what is our current guest room, we’re going to be adding additional sleeping space to what is currently our den/office!

The space right now

In our new-build floor plans, this space was called a “den” but we had the option to add a door and closet to it so that it would also be considered a bedroom. It’s a pretty small space, so thus far we have only used it as an office space (and it also houses a lot of our plants, since it’s one of the brighter spaces in our home!)

I really like the room the way it is, and we’d probably keep it like this if we didn’t need to add additional sleeping space. So the vibe of the room will likely stay similar to how it is now, but the goal is to add way more functionality to the space so that we can have guests stay over (once COVID restrictions have eased of course!)

I have been dreaming about murphy beds ever since I watched a Fixer Upper episode where Chip and Jo made one in an office/playroom, and it looked SO cool! So as soon as we saw the floor plans for our townhouse, I knew we eventually needed to add one!

Source: Magnolia

I searched around to possibly purchase one to save us a big project, but they are very pricey! So upon further searching, I discovered a wonderful company called Easy DIY Murphy Bed. They make Murphy Bed hardware, but also include ALL of the plans and cut/supply lists so that you can easily make your own! It pretty much takes all of the guess work out of designing a complex project like this, because they have already outlined all of the steps! Definitely a win if you ask me!

Easy DIY Murphy Beds was kind enough to send us a Double Vertical Bed Kit, and I can’t even wait to get started on this project!

But because we love a good challenge, we also want to build shelving around the murphy bed, so that we have extra storage space along the wall. We have been looking to see if Ikea Billy Bookcases would work, but we will likely end up building our own to get the dimensions we want. Our Den closet is also in a bit of a tricky location, and the frame goes all the way to the wall, making it impossible for the built it to span across the whole wall, so we’ll have to cut it off slightly shorter, and then take off the closet door, so that the closet is still accessible. A later project will be adding a sliding barn-style door to the closet, so that the slightly cluttered storage space is closed off!

To have this room still function as an office, we’ll have the desk sit out in front of the murphy bed unit when it’s closed, and then slide the desk and chair over to one side of the room when we’re using the murphy bed. And since the desk will be floating in the middle of the room, I want to center it with a nice rug!

We don’t really have plans for the other side of the room where our current Ikea shoe cabinet/bar cart is, but we’ll see how the space progresses!

Tentative Design Plans

Currently this is the vibe we’re going for! I was inspired by Anita Yokota, who designed a gorgeous DIY greige wood slatted murphy bed, so we might do a similar style of molding on the outside of the frame. I want to keep the decor light and bright with a few pops of colour here and there! The shelving on the outside will likely be open shelving, but with the possibility of some DIY cabinet doors if we have the time/energy for that! We also want to keep our West Coast Print by Idyll Collective somewhere in the space to keep the calming/surfer vibes Brian wanted for his office.

Again, who knows right now if we can have guests in July when the baby comes with COVID restrictions, but it has been so long since we have been able to, that we just want to be ready for it!

Now that some restrictions have started to ease up, we are hoping to start this project very soon! Stay tuned for updates on Instagram!

Cheers!

Julie