Remember this blue and white office space?

You can see the before and after here.

If you came for a tour of our house you’d see this room right inside the back door. Yep. You just walk in the room and turn left. In amazing news, it’s the only room in the entire house that has one door that goes in and out. All the other rooms have two doors that connect to another room.

With its one-door superpower and the fact that it’s directly across from the downstairs bathroom, it makes it the perfect guest room.

If you’ve followed the blog for more than five minutes you’ve seen me try other things to make this into a guest room. But just like Goldilocks?

One solution was too big.

One solution was too small.

But now?

I’ve found a solution that’s just right.

If you are looking to turn a room into a guest room? You might think about trying this.

It all started with this back corner of the office.

I never really show this side of the room, but there are two built-in closets on either side of the mini bay window. They have doors built by some brilliant carpenter from the 1950s who designed them to push and click and it opens them.  There’s also a mini compartment on top of the closets with even more storage.

The closets are almost invisible unless you know they are there.

Here’s another view of the closet from this side so you can see where it is in relation to the desk.

I came up with the idea of turning this closet into a mini guest room space.

But before I show how we created it?

Let’s see where we started.

This is what the closet looked like before.

We used it for storage and record keeping and odds and ends including a wonky bookcase, the twin’s science project, and air conditioning filters.

It had old wallpaper in there and some leftover pieces of closet.

(total aside: what do we think of wallpaper? I think it’s making a comeback and I’m nervous.)

My idea?

I wanted to order a rolling bed that folds up with a super comfortable mattress that fit in the bottom of the closet and build shelving around it for all the pillows and sheets and blankets.

I found this amazing rolling bed here.

Our guests have already used it and it got rave reviews.

You could also add a mattress topper to the top of the bed. This is my go-to mattress topper (I’ve bought it for so many beds) it’s cooling and super cozy and on sale right now with a coupon.

You can see it here.

The inside of the closet got a fresh coat of paint and then we added these shelves.

It’s kind of hard to explain—but the back corner of the closet is angled. It’s angled because it’s the back side of the bay window. So it’s the reverse side of the bay.

To help the shelves fit (and to make the wood less expensive), my husband designed two boards for the shelves so they fit the angle perfectly. He added 1 x 2′ boards on the back of the closet for support for the shelving.

Then we painted them and added everything you’d need for a guest bedroom.

And now?

The closet went from this.

To this.

You can see the cutest video on how we put it all together here.

I’m so happy about how it turned out and we already had a guest this past weekend for the Fourth of July and it was AMAZING and worked perfectly.

Let’s unpack (literally) everything I included in the closet.

1. This fold-up bed

This bed folds up with a super comfortable mattress and fits in the bottom of the closet. The wheels are amazing and super rollable and it glides across the floor.

I found this amazing rolling bed here.

2. Mattress topper

This is my go-to mattress topper (I’ve bought it for so many beds) it’s cooling and super cozy and on sale right now with a coupon.

3. Basket for dirty clothes

Because the closet is angled, there’s plenty of room in the side of the closet for a dirty clothes hamper. I added a basket there for now, but I’m planning on ordering this collapsible dirty clothes hamper I use up at the Cape every summer.

It’s sturdy and well-made and folds away into almost nothing when not in use.

You can see the hamper here.

4. Vintage fishing baskets

I have a collection of vintage fishing baskets that work perfectly for holding linens and towels.

You can add sheets and pillowcases and towels to the baskets and the lids keep out the dust. I also have an empty basket on the bottom shelf for extra toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, extra toothbrushes and other things a guest may need during their stay.

I found these similar baskets on Amazon here.

5. Pillows

I’ve discussed these pillows before, but these are the ones that my family loves.

They feel so high-end (kind of like the perfect cross between a down pillow and a fiber-fill pillow) and have a filling that just adjusts to your head and supports your neck. I like to order the queen size so they are a little bit bigger and perfect if you are a side sleeper.

And they have over 225,000 reviews on Amazon.

You can see them here.

6. Sheets

We’ve talked about these sheets before.

I shared them on my bedding post here.

They fit thicker mattresses and are cooling and feel so soft and wash up perfectly.

You can see them here.

One more time.

From this.

To this.

Everything you need for your guests tucked away ready for that next visit from someone special. It doesn’t take up that much space and the room can be used for a completely different purpose, but you have this closet all stocked and ready for those times when you need an extra bedroom.

It’s like a bedroom in a bag.

Except it’s a closet. 🙂

PS Guess what? Tomorrow is PRIME DAY and I have seen the sales and THEY ARE AMAZING. Seriously. I’ll be sharing everything on an email post first thing Tuesday morning along with some Amazon LIVES during the event for all the deals all the time.

Be sure you are signed up here for my email for the list at 7:00 am CST Tuesday morning.

disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.

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