Finding harmony in a multitasking guest room

In case you weren’t aware, houses love guest rooms. They see them as available space, such as extra storage, a part-time study, extra closet space to store out-of-season clothes or extra linens, et cetera. Actually, that is almost exactly what my guest room offers. It holds my desk and computer, several bookcases full of books, and piles of folders. There is an old family antique dresser with drawers filled with all sorts of stuff I don’t know what to do with.

Decorating the guest room was a lot of fun. It boasts a very comfortable full-sized bed covered by a beautiful coverlet, complete with pillow shams. It also holds a lovely antique wicker chair fitted with a nice, soft cushion. The room is very pretty and will certainly make a guest feel welcome and comfortable.

But there is a small problem with the guest room. Our guest room has two uses: one as a guest room and two as my study. Unless we have guests, I am in there every day, checking my email and paying bills. When we have guests, my work can’t be done.

A friend came up with a possible solution: a laptop computer. Our desktop computer is getting rather old and probably needs to be replaced — that way I can get work done anywhere in the house with a computer on my lap. Of course, there are files on the desk I might need, but it would only take a few minutes to gather up what I need. Oh dear, this is beginning to sound a bit messy.

There is a lesson here: A guest room and a study do not cohabitate well except when there are no guests. The answer to this is putting the needed files and the laptop computer in a drawer of the lovely old antique chest in the living room. Problem solved, we hope. But it just might work, and our guests will not be inconvenienced. Oh no, just thought of something — the television. Taller Half will have to deal with that. I just can’t handle another problem. I’m going outside to pull weeds.

Laura Moore can be emailed at lehmoore1@gmail.com.