You can't live in peace...you can't, your husband can't, and your kids can't...if you are keeping more things than you have room for. We all live with space constraints, and I can tell you from experience that the constant stress of too much stuff and no room put it, and no efficient means of living and working, is TERRIBLE for your relationships, your energy, your sense of accomplishment, and your health. I am still sorting and pitching from our move out of a big house into a small one two years ago. Trying to keep more than you can live with makes you feel poor, not rich. The thing that jumped out at me in your post was that your husband doesn't want your workroom in your bedroom. And assuming that your childrens' reasonable needs are met, nothing is more important to family life than the happiness of your relationship. So from the way you describe your house, it seems to me that perhaps your dining room would make the ideal office for you. If you can keep it organized and hide it away when your workday is over, then you can turn your attention to storage for the toys your children will keep...after you explain than nobody can live with more stuff than they have room for. Last idea...do you have the budget for a small storage locker somewhere? Can you ease the process of reducing the toy mess by making a game out of choosing this month's toys...only as many as you can put away every night...and storing the rest? Then once a month, you all go to the locker and pick out a different set for that month. Like going to the toy store, only without the spending? If your children are very young, twice a month might be better...or even once a week. I think if you make a whole-house, whole family project out of this, you will all gain a sense of control and accomplishment that will bring you closer, and make everything go better.

I'm not sure how well this will turn up. It's obviously not drawn to scale. The total heated sq ft is about 1600sq ft. Bedroom one and two are very similar in size....probably 10X12 I think. Maybe 11x12. Bedroom one is already the guest room, so I think we would keep it that way. The only window in that room is on the wall that is the front of the house and the window is right smack in the middle. I hope this helps illustrate what I was saying about the living room/dining room. Not a lot of wall space for a desk.

Design is not my forte, but I can pass on some practical tips from our combined office/guest room. With any dual-purpose room there is bound to be some compromise, but flexibility is your friend. A good example is the shelving unit in Patricia's picture that can also serve as a bedside table for the sofabed. It looks as though you have some built-in storage already, but I have found that the IKEA Pax/Komplement wardrobe range is great as you can design the wardrobe for both office storage and clothes and easily switch around drawers, shelves and hanging rails. Whether you consider it chic is a matter for your taste. A sofabed that unfolds so that the head of the bed is the back of the sofa can make it easier to plan bedside furniture, as side tables become bedside tables without having to move furniture around, as you would with a trundlebed where people lie the length of the couch. The downside is that sofabeds can be heavy to unfold and are not often as comfortable. If you use a computer screen, consider a TV that doubles as a monitor. That way, you only have one screen on the desk. After you have plugged in all your office equipment, make sure there are enough sockets left over for guests to charge their phones/plug in hair straighteners/etc. Spend a night or two in the room. I sometimes use ours if I am working late. The first time I drew the curtains and switched out the lights, the room was lit up like Times Square. Those standby lights on all the electronic office equipment suddenly become very bright when there is no other light source. Where practical, make sure that equipment can easily be switched on and off. Some things, such as a modem or router might need to be on through the night, so it either needs to be relocated into a closet (or other room), or the lights taped over. I also discovered at about 04:30 that we needed thicker curtains than when we were just using it as an office. Lockable filing is useful, so that any confidential work papers or your financial documents are secure. I generally trust my guests, but I shouldn't want to risk their kids getting artistic with our latest mortgage statement. And some feedback from our first guests: a webcam and microphone, even if switched off can be somewhat off-putting in a guest room. I'm hoping you will show the room when finished, so that I can steal some ideas.

Treat yourself to a workstation makeover too. A height-adjustable desk makes it easier to periodically work standing up and break up all that sitting (which can lead to hip and back pain). Get a bigger monitor (or two) and an ergonomic keyboard to be kind to your eyes and wrists. Connect everything to your laptop using a hub. Have storage within arm’s reach to house your headset, notebook, etc. without cluttering up your desktop. Think about a couple of small Bluetooth speakers if you enjoy music in the background while you work.