We have a small and cosy house. It’s a three bedroomed semi-detached and it’s perfect for our family at this stage. Gavin and I have the master bedroom, Ethan has his own room and Finn has his own room. The trouble with this set up is that I live in Scotland, yet I’m from Northern Ireland. Which bakes in a constant stream of family and friend visits, the type where people come to stay for several days on end. So, how do you make room for guests, when you haven’t got a room for guests?
 

This is a relatively recent issue for us. Finn has only moved into his own room this last six months. And up until then, what is now his bedroom, was our guest room. It’s a small room, but we were able to cart over a single bed from Gavin’s parent’s house (they live across the street) on the few occasions my Mum came to stay. It makes me laugh thinking now of Gavin traipsing across the cul-de-sac with a mattress on his back. But we knew Finn would be moving into his room soon so didn’t see the need to buy a single bed, when we would eventually need that space for a cot. 
 
Fast forward to now and over the next six months, we’re having 4 different visitors coming to stay, for up to a week at a time. Which means we’ve needed to revise the guest room situation. Our sofa in comfy, but open plan living doesn’t make for much privacy for guests (or support for my Mum’s bad back). So the current jigsaw plan for making room for guests is as follows:
 
We’ve bought this daybed from Argos, because I hunted for months and it’s the only daybed short enough to fit into the awkward bulkhead space in Finn’s room. It also has the bonus of a trundle bed underneath that can come out and either form two singles or push together for a double. Finn’s room has super neutral decor, nothing too babyish, so it’s perfectly suited to function as a nursery/guestroom. And a daybed is quite handy in a baby’s room for cuddling up on or for night watch when they’re (inevitably) poorly overnight. 
 
When guests come, luckily our bedroom is big enough that we can ship Finn’s cot out of his room into ours. Leaving our guests with a compact but fully functional room to stay in whilst our baby sleeps in with us. 
 
Obviously this plan has a bit of a shelf life as when Finn grows older, it’s going to be more difficult to turf him out anytime anyone comes to stay. His big brother Ethan has a cabin bed with room for a mattress underneath so we do have an option to create temporary bunk beds. I think the boys would love the novelty of this. However, I can’t help but feel it’s unfair for Finn to live in such a transitional space for too long.
 
The ultimate plan is to move to a bigger house in a few years, or even extend this one. On the tippy top of the non-negotiables list, is a dedicated room for guests. But in the meantime, we’re making the most of the space we have. As well as the fact that our youngest is portable and doesn’t really seem to care where he sleeps, as long as he gets some milk and a cuddle from Mum before bed. 
 
How have you made room for guests? Any inventive suggestions? Or are you the lucky owner of a guest room? – If it’s the latter – I have a question for you… How do you avoid turning the guest room into a dumping ground? I’ve always wondered if it’s possible.