How to do a Combo High End Dining Room/Guest Room/Office??
A Built-In Murphy Bed!
The charge from our client for this space was to make a single space that could support formal dining, office work, and a guest room – all without blocking light or building permanent walls. Our solution was a hard-working built-in that not only contains a fold-down Murphy bed, but also has room for dining chair and shoji screen storage.
When the room is in “dining mode,” the table is fully extended, and extra chairs are retrieved from the storage area behind the bed. When the room is in “guest room mode,” the table is collapsed and leaves and dining chairs stored behind the bed, the shoji screens are deployed to create privacy around the bed, and the bed is flipped down.
In either case, “office mode” can also work, using a flip-down standing desk installed to the left of the bed, with room for printer below and supplies above allows the space to be used as a home office as well.
We also managed to integrate all the various HVAC, fire protection, electrical, and plumbing stuff neatly into the wall, keeping things crisp and clean.
Designs like this require a close collaboration between us, our client, and a talented furniture builder [in this case, Seth Bournival out of Maine], as well as commitment to every tiny detail. Stuff like this looks easy and simple because of all the planning, and because the client is willing to make sure we’ve got the time and resources to make it happen!
Even if your project can’t quite support this level of custom millwork, there are still lessons you can draw from what we’ve done here – collapsible and convertible furniture, willingness to “operate” your house and take an active part in changing things around to suit your daily rhythms, and being up for trying strategies that don’t fit the typical “resale value” mindset.
More on this project here, and our feature in the Boston Globe!
How might this kind of thinking transform space in your home, office, or business?
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