Does your child split time between households, attend boarding school, or getting ready to head off to college? Regardless of why your child doesn’t need a bedroom to themselves, such a room is ideal for a temporary (or more permanent but part-time) home office. With the right furniture and décor, both you and your child can enjoy the room when it is needed by either.

Make the bed a big deal

If you’re having to share your child’s room for office space, you want to make sure they still feel like it is their bedroom when they are in residence. Regardless of the age of your child, making the bed purchase a big deal can help make them feel like it is more their bedroom. For a younger child, this might mean getting a fun bed like one shaped like a race car or with another favorite theme.

For older children and college kids, a daybed is a perfect solution for the part-time bedroom. The daybed can be made up to look like comfortable seating so that you don’t feel like you are working in a bedroom. Meanwhile, the daybed will give you a place to lounge during breaks from your work.

There are a lot of daybeds that you can choose from, and it should be easy to buy a daybed that will make your child still feel special. Let them browse through online furniture catalogs with you to find a daybed that matches their personality and interests.

Use multi-functional furniture

There are a lot of furnishings you can get that will work for more than one purpose. In fact, some items in the bed set like nightstands or chests of drawers can be ideal for storing excess office or craft supplies. However, the daybed itself could be the most versatile of all the pieces. If you have no need for a trundle, you can get a daybed with lots of built-in storage, usually with decently sized drawers, eliminating the need for an additional dresser that could make the space feel cramped.

Let your child pick the theme and décor

You will want to make your home office space your own, with pictures for motivation and reminders of important tasks or appointments. But since you are sharing this space with your child, you should really stop there. Put your office space along one wall and let the bedroom be decorated by the person who will be sleeping in it. It will make them feel much more at home, and like they belong there.

Keeping your own office space as unobtrusive as possible is best for everyone. You can do so by avoiding office furniture and choosing items that make it feel more like a cozy place to relax. For example, instead of buying a cold metal industrial file cabinet, get a nightstand with drawers to house your files and office supplies.