Alternative Uses for your Guest House - written by Anita Koppens

Guest houses are choice real estate selling points. Having a guest house is ideal for homeowners who commonly accommodate long-term guests, want to enhance their incomes with renters or simply want to offer their college-aged students a private, but secure, place to stay. However, if you're a homeowner who doesn't fall into any of these categories, it's time to make your guest house work for you. That may mean turning your guest house into a pool house, a home office or even a gym.

The total of remodeling you'll need to complete in order to convert your guest house depends largely on the current structure you have to work with and the number and degree of changes you want to make. You may need to contract with a professional or two to help you, but you can get started with your designs right away.

The present layout of your guest quarters is probably similar to any other residential structure. In other words, your guest house may consist of a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom and bedroom or two. How you reorganize and make use of these rooms will depend largely on how you want to make use of your guest house.

So if you need a pool house, for example, you probably won't use the kitchen. The space can be better used for something else. The bedrooms will become changing areas, and you will in all probability to want to keep the bathroom. If you are going for a home gym, you may want to get rid of all of the rooms excluding the bathroom so that more equipment can fit.

To start the preparation, begin to evaluate your requirements. How much space are you going to need? An office won't call for much open space as a gym, so you may or may not have to shift walls depending on what your project is. Think about how many rooms you need. No matter what you are going to use the space for, keeping the bathroom is probably a good idea. You may want to reserve rooms for storage, or for a pool house, you will need rooms to change in. Next, it's time to consider the remodeling. The time and money needed for the project will depend on how much you are going to do. Structural changes can get complicated, so keep that in mind. If your original concept ends up being too expensive, find something that you can afford to do.

Whatever you decide to use the guest house for should determine what materials you decide on. For example, you wouldn't want to install carpet in an office or a gym because it can be damaged by office chairs or equipment. On the other hand, installing tile can still make the area look pleasing and cozy. Also consider the height of the ceilings in your guest house. If you have a dropped ceiling, you may not be able to fit exercise equipment in. Also, if it is in your budget, consider the window placement. If you want a desk with a view, your guest house may not be able to give this to you depending on the window placement.

In the end, you want to focus on mixing your personal taste with functionality as you choose what material changes to make. Think about looking in magazines, at websites and even visiting a friend's pool house, gym or home office for inspiration. Have fun with it!