Smart Design for Dual-Purpose Rooms

Keep design schizophrenia at bay in a multipurpose space by sticking to a unified vision for the entire room. When she integrated a home office and guest quarters into her family room, Jenny Oberhaus of Knoxville, Tenn., discovered that sticking to a cohesive color pallete, design style, wood tone and fabric selection pulled everything together and preserved a sense of spaciousness in a room serving three functions. In each area of her combo space, the walls are a soft green, the furniture is pine, the upholstery is black and the accessories have an Asian flair. "Since the decor is consistent throughout, it works," Oberhaus says.