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Over the festive period, many people will be returning to stay in the home they grew up in. But when is the right time to clear out a childhood bedroom after its occupants have left home? Should you turn it into a study, pottery studio, or holiday rental the moment the kids have stepped out the door? Or preserve it as a shrine filled with old A-level notes, soft toys, and 90s posters?

Journalist Antonia Hoyle is 44 years old, but only this year did she finally clear out her teenage bedroom, which has stood perfectly preserved at her parents’ house since she moved out 25 years ago. Writer Marion McGilvary, on the other hand, converted each of her four children’s bedrooms the moment they left home.

On ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4's Woman's Hour, they both joined Krupa Padhy to answer the question: shrine or guest room?

To hear Krupa Padhy’s full conversation with Antonia and Marion, head to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sounds and listen to the 22 December 2022 Woman's Hour podcast episode.