Earlier this month we took the whole family (dog included) up to Brooklyn for a few days to install the space we’ve been designing for this year’s Real Simple Idea House. After several months of remote planning, it felt great to finally be in the room and put everything together in person.

Real Simple invited designers, bloggers, and TV personalities to each take a room in a Brooklyn home, and the finished spaces will appear in their October issue. We were thrilled to be asked back and excited when they assigned us the multipurpose room: a space that reads as a welcoming guest room but also includes a small kids’ area. It was the perfect brief for our approach to multi-use rooms.

Since March we worked remotely with the Real Simple editors: they sent photos, room measurements, and floor plans; we returned mood boards, layouts, and product selections. Editors reviewed every choice to make sure no room felt out of place in the house and to avoid duplicate ideas across spaces. It was a fun design puzzle to solve from afar.

When all the deliveries arrived, we spent one marathon day installing and handling inevitable last-minute challenges. Not everything was finished—the long white curtains were backordered and will go up later—but the room photographed here is roughly 95% complete. The Real Simple team will finalize styling before the magazine shoot.

Yes, those are our son’s feet peeking out in one photo and our daughter tucked under a blanket on the daybed. We made it a family trip so the kids could see the design process firsthand. They loved helping—offering suggestions, sketching ideas, and serving as quality control testers for the beanbag and rug. It turned into a fun take-your-kids-to-work adventure.

Multipurpose rooms can lean more toward one function or another. For this brief, Real Simple wanted a room that would feel like a proper guest room to an adult but also include a dedicated, kid-friendly area with a mix of hidden and open storage. We landed on roughly a 75% guest room / 25% playroom balance, which felt right for the space.

The daybed was the starting point for the whole design. Daybeds are perfect for dual-purpose rooms because they function as a comfortable bed for guests and a sofa during family use. A large side table with books and a reading lamp serves guests, while lidded storage baskets and a dresser provide practical playroom storage for toys and supplies.

The wallpaper story was a small detour. We originally proposed a playful tone-on-tone pattern, but editors were concerned it might read too childlike for the guest room. We chose a more neutral palm pattern that still feels fresh and appropriate for both kids and grown-ups. If you’re designing a kids’ room, the first option would still be a lovely, lively choice.

That oversized stuffed octopus was an instant favorite with the kids—and with us. A large print by Juniper Print Shop coordinated perfectly with the wallpaper and added a fun focal point the whole family liked. Some pillow inserts hadn’t arrived yet during our shoot, so a bolster was stuffed with towels for photography fixes—just one of the many small tricks of the trade.

A craft table was essential for the play area. Because the room has limited wall space, a round drop-leaf table by the window worked perfectly: compact when needed, and expandable for projects. Two lightweight chairs can be shifted around, which keeps the space flexible for different activities.

The room includes two matching closets. We suggested dedicating one to guests and the other to kids’ storage. To make the kids’ closet more approachable, we removed the sliding doors and created an open, tidy nook with a stenciled dresser, shelves, and accessible baskets so toys and supplies are easy to reach and look intentional when the closet is visible.

Open shelving can be beautiful and functional if it’s balanced with closed storage. Our design includes both: attractive open shelves to display toys and books and concealed drawers and baskets to hide clutter. When everything has a dedicated place, cleanup becomes simpler and even kids can put things away without much prompting.

One of the biggest hiccups was shelving: our original colorful shelves were backordered. Being in the room that day made it clear the wall needed warm wood tones to balance the daybed and other wood pieces. The delay turned into a win—the neutral wood shelves we found in stock looked cohesive and grounded the space beautifully. We sourced solid, affordable shelves and installed them that same day.

We styled the shelves quickly, arranging toys and books by color in a relaxed, playful way. It only took minutes, and the result felt lively without being fussy. Open shelves will naturally change as kids play and as tastes evolve, so keep styling flexible and pair open storage with closed options for real-life practicality.

We also added a chest of drawers beneath the shelves and large floor baskets across the room for concealed toy storage. These elements keep the room looking tidy while giving easy access to playthings. And yes—our kids fell in love with the beanbag. They preferred it over the chairs and wanted to be on it constantly.

We had a wonderful time meeting other designers and seeing their rooms in various stages of completion. It was especially fun to catch up with friends and collaborators while we were in town. And yes, there was plenty of laughter—one photo captured John and me wrapped in what looks like one oversized T-shirt with three arm holes, which felt perfectly on-brand for married life.

After the magazine shoot, the house will be sold and the furniture and decor are auctioned off to benefit charity. We love that the work continues to give back—nothing is wasted and the pieces help support a good cause.

Thanks to Real Simple for the opportunity to design a room that blends hospitality and play. We enjoyed every minute of the process and can’t wait to see the finished photos in the October issue.

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