Small Bedroom & Laundry Room to Guest Suite: Before and After

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This guest suite started out as two completely different spaces: a very small bedroom that our boys shared and our laundry room.

After our oldest daughter moved out, we had the opportunity to rearrange some of the bedrooms in our house. That's when we started looking at these two rooms differently.

There was quite a bit of space here that wasn't being used very efficiently, so instead of simply giving the little bedroom a makeover, we changed the layout and turned the whole area into a much more functional guest suite.

From a small bedroom and laundry area to a completely different guest space.

The Guest Suite Before the Makeover

The bedroom was originally a small room that our boys shared. It worked for what we needed at the time, but it was dark, small and didn't make the best use of the available space.

One view of the original small bedroom before we changed the layout.

Removing the Closet Changed the Bedroom Layout

One of the biggest changes was removing the existing bedroom closet. Instead of keeping the original closet configuration, we used that area for the bed.

This was the original closet area before we removed it.

Once the closet was gone, the bed could sit in that space and we were able to rethink the storage around it.

We created storage on the sides using pantry/kitchen cabinetry, which gave us a way to replace the storage we removed while making much better use of the wall.

After: the bed now sits where the original closet used to be.

Turning the Laundry Room Into a Kitchenette

The other half of this transformation happened in what had been our laundry room.

We turned that area into the kitchen portion of the guest suite, adding cabinetry, appliances and the things someone would need to make the space much more functional.

I've shared more of that individual project here: our laundry room to kitchen transformation .

Some of the pieces used in the kitchen area include the kitchen sink , refrigerator , microwave and stove .

We also added some of the smaller details that give the kitchen personality, including these glass flower cabinet knobs and this retro blender .

Moving the Bathroom Entrance

This was one of the layout changes that made a big difference.

Originally, the entrance to the bathroom was through the laundry room. Once that area became the kitchen, keeping the bathroom entrance there didn't make as much sense.

We relocated the bathroom entrance so it opened from the bedroom side instead.

Changing the doorway helped the new layout make much better use of space that had previously felt wasted and made the bathroom work more naturally as part of the guest suite.

The Faux Ceiling Beams Are Still One of My Favorite Parts

Of all the changes we made, the ceiling is still one of my favorite features in the bedroom.

We added faux beams across the ceiling, and they made such a difference in the finished room. They're also one of the details people tend to notice and compliment when they see the space.

We changed the lighting as part of the transformation too. In the kitchen area, we used this kitchen chandelier .

Small-Space Details That Made the Guest Suite More Functional

When you're trying to fit several functions into a relatively small area, little decisions matter.

The kitchen also includes an under-sink curtain and a black bar table .

I love projects like this because they show that a room doesn't necessarily have to stay what it was originally designed to be. Sometimes changing how the space functions makes a bigger difference than simply redecorating it.

The Finished Guest Suite

The finished space looks completely different from the small, dark bedroom we started with.

Watch the Full Before and After

Sometimes the easiest way to see just how much a room has changed is to put the before and after right next to each other. Here's the quick transformation:

Would You Have Thought to Change the Layout?

Looking back at the original bedroom and laundry room, I think the biggest improvement wasn't any one decorative choice. It was reconsidering how we were using the space in the first place.

Removing the closet, relocating the bathroom entrance, creating a kitchen area and finding new ways to add storage allowed us to get much more use out of the same footprint.

What had been a small bedroom and laundry room became a guest suite with a sleeping area, storage, kitchen space and convenient access to the bathroom.

What part of this before-and-after transformation surprised you the most?