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Whether you have an unused attic or basement, bedroom, reception room or garden room, here are just a few of the ways you can transform a spare room at home and turn it into a usable space that could well better your life. Read on to find out more!
If you have a spare room at home, it’s so worth making the most of it. Whether you’re renting or buying your property, this is space that you’re paying for so why let it go to waste? When you consider how short on space so many people are in their homes (especially those that live in big cities) it seems crazy to waste perfectly good rooms that you have access to.
Things To Do With a Spare Room at Home
An office
Do you work from home in any capacity? Perhaps you’re a blogger, freelancer or run a home business – even if it’s part-time it’s good to have a space in the home where you can work from. It helps to keep work and life separate, and also keeps everything relating to your work and business away from the family where it could get moved or lost.
Even if you don’t work from home, an office can still be a good choice, especially for very small rooms. As you don’t need a bed in there (only a desk) it’s suitable for even the smallest of box rooms. And it gives you a quiet space where you can pay bills and do other life admin kinds of tasks.
Invest in a good desk and a comfortable office chair. If the room is on the smaller side, keeping the walls light and neutral will help to make it look brighter and more spacious. Both plants and the colour blue have been shown by psychologists to boost productivity when you’re working, so these could both be things you could incorporate into your office design.
While you’ll want it to feel personal to you, in the office try to keep it simple and free of distractions. That way, when you go into the room you get yourself in a good frame of mind for getting down to business.
A hobby room
A hobby room could be a fun way to utilise the space of a spare room at home. If you have a desk hobby such as writing, gaming or crafting, again all you’d need is a desk and some storage in a small box room. If it’s a larger space you’re working with, you could go all out with a games room. Buy a billiards table, a pool table, a dartboard, a home bar and even a table set up for things like chess, board games and card games.
Basements make great spaces for rooms like this, and there are plenty of cool decor designs on sites like Pinterest to give you inspiration. How about a fluorescent sign, a cool-looking fish tank with lots of colourful fish and a tv mounted on the wall? A hobby room is a fantastic space to spend time with friends, you can invite them over for drinks and a bit of a competition at the weekend. If your basement is worse for wear, you might need to have it renovated first. It’s worth doing so, it’s an extra space in your home that you can enjoy and will add value to your home too.
A home cinema
Are you and your family film fanatics? A home cinema can be a great use of the space, particularly at this time of year when the weather is getting colder and there’s nothing more appealing than an evening in with a movie. Home cinemas work especially well in homes that have an unused downstairs room. Perhaps your layout means you have two reception rooms, or maybe you have a formal dining room that doesn’t get much use.
Transform the space with a large projector screen, comfy reclining sofas and blackout curtains. Painting the walls a darker colour is recommended if you want the full cinema experience! You could even go all out and add a popcorn machine for good measure. While most of us have large televisions these days, a full-screen projector looks really impressive and definitely gives you that cinema experience right from your home.
This, of course, can save you money too, we all know how expensive it is to watch a film there especially when you’re taking the whole family along.
A guest room
Many of us have a spare, unused bedroom at home. Chances are it’s jammed full of boxes, Christmas decorations and other junk that’s accumulated that you’ve just not gotten around to sorting. Instead of wasting this kind of valuable space, why not clear out the trash and make the most of it? You don’t even have to go to the rubbish dump yourself, waste services by Same Day Rubbish Removal can come in and get rid of it for you. With all of the junk moved out of the way, you have a blank canvas to work from.
Give the carpet a clean if you can get away with it, otherwise, have a new one fitted. Paint the walls, a neutral colour is advisable for a guest room since it will appeal to most people. You want to give the room the appearance of a posh hotel room. It’s easy to want to scrimp on the quality of the bed when it’s just for occasional use, but do go for the best you can afford.
Soft sheets and fluffy pillows will ensure they get the best night’s sleep and don’t forget blackout blinds or curtains. These can be overlooked in the guest room but doing so will probably mean anyone staying over will get an early morning wake-up call when the sun comes up! A wardrobe or chest of drawers in the room will allow guests to unpack rather than having to live out of their case. You could even provide reading material on the nightstand – some magazines or a best-selling novel.
A kids playroom
As much as we love our kids, it can be frustrating when their stuff takes over the house! When you’re relaxing in the living room, the last thing you want is to be surrounded by toys. If you have a reception room next to your main living room or perhaps a conservatory, this would make a good playroom for kids.
Kit it out with a desk for homework, a toy box, some comfy seating, a bookshelf and other bits and pieces that will keep them entertained. You can easily check in on them while they play, and it helps to keep their chaos contained to one area. It’s somewhere they can spend time with their friends too and you can decorate it in a fun way to make it a pleasant place to have fun in.
A teenage hangout
If your kids are too old for a playroom, how about a teenage hangout? Again, comfy seats with a TV, computer console and space for hobbies would work well. A guitar or keyboard if they enjoy music, an easel if they enjoy art and again a good desk to do homework might encourage them to get it done! Garden rooms are especially good for teenage hangouts as they’re separate from the house and can also be built with soundproof insulation.
If you’re fed up with teenagers and their friends moping around the house then something like this would be a good investment. Garden rooms can be built quickly, don’t usually require planning permission and are much cheaper than the standard brick-built extensions.
A dressing room
Most women dream of a gorgeous dressing room. A space to put on your skincare products and your makeup, choose out what you’re going to wear and a space to store everything. A stunning dressing table with products and perfumes on top. Rails of clothes hung around the perimeter, a space for shoes, bags, scarves, jewellery and more. What could be better? Having this kind of space allows you to look after your appearance, and is a relaxing way to get dressed and undressed at the beginning and end of each day.
There are so many dressing room ideas online that you can take inspiration from, they can be done in most sized rooms providing they’re not overly small. If this is something you’ve always dreamed of having and you have a spare bedroom, why not go for it? If it’s a large bedroom, you could even have an en-suite built-in one corner.
Your own space to take a bath or shower, get out and pamper yourself in your dressing room. You’ll feel like a princess every day, and while it seems incredibly luxurious it’s something that could easily be done in lots of homes.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, this post has inspired you to start making the most of a spare room at home. There’s plenty you can do with them depending on your situation and interests. Just don’t let them accumulate with junk and become glorified storage cupboards!
How will you utilise a spare home at home?
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