Renting a room out - layout

[GreenZebraStripes]

I'm thinking of hosting a refugee, but trying to work out best way.

I have 2 bedrooms.

1 Larger room, double bed, chest of drawers, clothes rail

2 Slightly smaller, inbuilt wardrobe, bookcase, sofa, desk

3 Open plan kitchen and diner, round dining table, sofa, chair, TV

I currently use the second room as my office. If I hosted someone it would be for a year. I need to WFH 3 days a week. I would prefer not to have my bed and desk in same room.

So that means working in the front room. Current desk (sit stand desk) is quite large, so would need replacing with smaller one. Then I'd keep the larger bedroom and let out the spare. Maybe get rid of sofa bed and replace with a bed.

Alternative would be move big desk into bedroom, maybe change the bed (it's big) and swap the drawers and rail for a sliding doors IKEA wardrobe. Could make it feel slightly like working in a hotel room (don't mind that). But a lot of cost to do.

Or give up larger bedroom to guest, get a small bed in the smaller room. Get a small desk in the front room. This feels like the cheapest option. And I could put a TV and small desk in the big bedroom so they have privacy.

I realise it's quite hard to visualise without pictures, but what sounds like it would be the least inconvenient layout?

Bump

put yourself in the shoes of a lodger...

• how much would you pay for a small room that you might not be able to do anything other than sleep in it on a sofabed?
• how much would you pay for sharing a house where you are confined to the kitchen when the householder was using the other downstairs room for WFH?

Have you ever shared with anyone? Yes it is and will remain your house, your rules must override the lodger's desires, but it sounds like you may not yet be ready to share your home?

Obviously there are lodgers and then there are lodgers. I had one for 12 years who kept to his own room and we barely saw each other at all. It was actually a bit sad, although of course a lodger is never a mate you are both choosing to co-share with, they are always a paying "customer", even if you do end up as friends (of a sort)

Your last option, let them have the big room with scope for private living space, sounds the best for both parties.

Haha that's a fair point - of course I can't work in the front room with a lodger. This is why I needed to voice it.

For some reason I can't visualise the switch around and the impact of the switch around - honestly I think this must be some kind of dyspraxia or autism trait of mine.

I think there's also part of me that doesn't want to give up the big room - I think that's because in all previous house shares I've had a smaller room, and at home DB had the larger room.

But this is a temp arrangement for cash and I'm in a very different place to my previous house shares , so can't complain - good to have options. Thanks.