Maximizing Space: 10 Hidden Guest Features To Enhance Your Home

Making your home visitor-friendly involves creating a welcoming environment that, ideally, doesn't interfere with your day-to-day. One smart trick? Hidden features that help you maximize both space and function. Consider these 10 ideas to ensure your house is always guest-ready.

Murphy beds are the classic option for having a spare bed without taking up valuable floor space. These beds include mattresses and are hinged at the bottom so they can rest either on the floor or up against a wall. They're often hidden behind doors when not in use, sometimes as part of a stylish storage wall unit that also includes cabinets, shelves and drawers. Murphy beds make sense in a home office, craft room or even a den or living room—anywhere you're willing to give up space temporarily when guests come to call.

Like Murphy beds, sofa beds fold out when needed and hide away when not. But they also serve an additional purpose: as a seating area. This multipurpose furniture piece is perfect if you've always dreamed of having a couch in your home office. But be forewarned: Sofa beds are notorious for having less-than-stellar mattresses, so test before you buy to ensure your guests get a good night's sleep.

You never know when you'll be called upon to host Thanksgiving or another occasion that involves crowding family and friends around the dinner table. For those lacking a giant formal dining room and a long table with seating for 12, folding chairs and tables are a dinner party lifesaver. This isn't your grandmother's card table. Folding tables come in various sizes and even in modern designs to coordinate with your furniture. When not in use, simply fold them up and store them away.

These footrests with benefits offer extra storage and a way to manage clutter, too—a win-win for home organization. Since they're available in a plethora of finishes, at first glance they appear to be a simple upholstered or leather ottoman. But opening the lid reveals extra space for stashing bedding for a sofa or Murphy bed, blankets, pillows or games. Choose a bench-length storage ottoman to increase how much you can hide away.

When guests visit with a laptop in hand, it's nice to have a workstation ready for them to set up shop. Folding Murphy desks may be wall-mounted or hidden in a cabinet, and often offer bonus shelves and storage for office supplies. You can tuck them in a living room, a guest bedroom or even an out-of-the-way hallway.

A classic for kids' sleepovers, these rolling spare beds hide under beds when not in use and slide out when needed. Some trundle beds pop up to bed height, while others stay low to the floor. Consider built-in trundle beds when buying new furniture for children's bedrooms, or look for separate, versatile units to work with an existing bed frame.

Like sofa beds but narrower, chair beds are a space-efficient option to add both seating and sleeping space to a small room. Use them as armchairs by day—they're especially perfect for a TV room or home office—and fold them out into a single bed for overnight guests. Like sofa beds, their comfort can vary. Choose a stylish design to match your overall room decor, and no one will guess a bed is hiding inside.

For more side table space with less clutter, consider nesting tables—convenient furniture sets that are the table equivalent of Russian nesting dolls. Nest them together when not in use, and spread them out when you need extra surface space to hold drinks, snacks or decor during parties and get-togethers.

Expandable dining tables expand and contract as needed to offer the best of both worlds—a smaller table that fits your space and daily life, and a larger table that seats more guests. Look for tables with extra panels, folding sides or leaves that can be added at a moment's notice and then removed and stored away when not required.

Kitchen storage can be a conundrum: what to do with those extra dishes, tools and appliances you only use occasionally? One solution is to keep them in rolling islands or carts that can be moved around or brought out as needed for guests and get-togethers. Move rolling islands into the dining room to act as a food or drink serving station at a party, for example, or shift carts into guest rooms alongside Murphy or sofa beds to double as bedside tables and toiletry storage.

Hosting guests can be fun, but it's even more of a pleasure when your home is set up properly. Explore these hidden guest features to enhance space and comfort for both you and your visitors, and invest in solutions that suit your lifestyle and aesthetic preferences.

The Synchrony HOME Credit Card can help you purchase things you need for your home, like furniture that can do double duty. Use the Synchrony HOME locator to find Synchrony HOME retail partners in your area that may have special offers for cardholders.*

*Subject to credit approval.