Caro Bed from Furniture And Choice would transform your spare room into a great guest bedroom
One of the drawbacks of our small flat is that we don’t have a spare room. I would absolutely love to have a spare room because to me that gives a home so much more flexibility. You can do anything you want with it! All that spare space, all that potential – itโs the dream for the modern homeowner! But when it comes down to it, many people struggle to choose just one way to use the space. All too often a spare room can simply turn into a space where you put everything that has no defined place in your home. It can quickly turn into a junk room.
A spare room needs careful planning if you are to fully unlock its potential. You simply need to work out what would be the best use of the space for you and your family at the moment. Today I am sharing a few questions that might just spark some inspiration.
Do You Host a Lot of Guests?
Slumberbox Pull Out Guest Bed from Loaf
If you have lots of people coming to stay, the most obvious thing to do with your spare room is to turn it into a guest bedroom. All you need is a bed, two bedside tables, a dresser, and a mirror. Then you have a guest room anyone staying over will be happy to kip in! It really is that simple, but you can put anything else you like in there just to make it a bit more cosy.ย
A spare bedroom can also be a multifunctional space when you need it to be. Adding a foldaway bed that can be pulled out when needed and packed away when you don’t have guests will enable you to use the room for other activities such as watching TV away from your partner, or working on your own projects for example.
Are You Very Creative?
Creative people need a room that can act as a studio. This is where the power of having a spare room really comes into its own! Whether youโre an artist who loves using paints, or youโve got a potterโs wheel and nowhere to put all your vases, you can redesign the space to suit you.
The first thing to do is ensure youโve got a good amount of light in your studio. If thereโs only a small window, you may want to get it ripped out and replaced by something bigger. Otherwise, youโre good to go! Just decorate in the manner that makes you feel most creative and then set up your equipment where itโs easy to reach.
Do You Like Video Games?
Star Wars Gaming Room from Dunelm
If you think gaming as a hobby is a pretty easy one to find a home for, this is where youโll really prove yourself wrong!
For big gamers, itโs easy to run out of room to store items like your games, your consoles, keyboards and their accompaniments, or your headsets and microphones. Similarly, youโre not really going to have anywhere to put up the RGB lighting youโd love to use.ย
So, move it into your spare room. Buy yourself a comfortable bean bag to sit on, or invest in a proper gaming desk and finally put your dream setup together. And if your partner loves to game too, you have a whole room to make use of – build them a setup on the other side!
Are You into Fitness?
Transform your garden room into a home gym
If you like to workout, and youโve always wanted a home gym to make good use of, you can convert the room into a mini fitness space. You can put whatever equipment you like in here, such as an elliptical, a treadmill, or a set of dumbbells. You can then line the floor with rubber mats and fit a couple of floor-length mirrors on the walls.ย
This way youโll protect the floor under all the strenuous activity youโre doing and youโll be able to see your form as you workout from all sides. Itโs such a simple renovation you can get it done in a day and a half! If you like, you can even put a water cooler in there to make your breaks between sets even more refreshing.
Do You Work From Home?
Modular home office desk with storage from Shelved (affiliate)
If you work from home, a spare room would make a great home office. This is especially true if the spare is on the ground floor; you can easily bring in clients and business contacts for meetings in person. Just make sure the hallway is kept clean and youโve decorated the room in brand-friendly colours.ย
Once again, youโll want a spacious desk here, but youโll also want plenty of storage, such as bookcases and filing cabinets. You need an appropriate place to keep all of your important papers, files, and business data, and you donโt want to have to get out of your chair to reach any of it!
Are You a Big Reader?
Reading is a lovely pastime – weโd even go so far as to say that itโs completely underrated as well! But if you love to read, converting the spare room to be the perfect space to cosy up with a book is a great idea.
The best thing to fit here is a reading nook near the window. This means you can enjoy all the weather has to offer whilst youโre slipping in and out of a wonderful fictional world. Or if youโre a fan of non-fiction, youโll be able to absorb all the details of the book youโre reading while the sun shines or it storms outside.
Make sure you can recline in such a position without craning your neck, and buy some intimate lighting to keep the pages illuminated well into the night.
Do You Watch a Lot of Movies?
LUXXU, Abu Dhabi Penthouse Home Cinema
Maybe youโre not a fan of reading. Maybe youโre a fan of bringing the page to the screen instead? If so, you can design your spare room to be a cinephile’s dream. If youโve got the budget for it, you can buy a big screen and stereo system, but even just a projector and pull-down screen is going to fit the bill.ย
You can also store your extensive DVD collection in here, or simply load up Netflix or Disney+ permanently. And if youโre really a fan of cinema, you can even paint a mural on the wall that features all of your favourite characters, movie posters, and taglines from over the years.
Are You a Fashion Lover?
Sharps, Manhattan Walk-In Wardrobe
For people with big wardrobes and a love of playing around with their style, you can turn the spare room into a walk-in wardrobe without much trouble. You just need to buy some bespoke closet units, make sure thereโs a good mirror and a fluffy rug to stand it on, and then get a plush chair fitted in the middle of it all.
Voila! A walk-in wardrobe even a celebrity would be proud to own! And if you can move the wardrobe out of your bedroom, youโll give yourself more space to play with in there as well. Maybe itโs time to fit a sofa, a hanging chair, or a dressing table in there instead?
Do the Kids Need a Place to Play?
The Tidy Books Kids Wall Bookshelf
If youโre a parent, finding a place to keep all your childโs toys can be very difficult. And if youโre constantly tripping over or accidentally kicking figurines under the sofa, needs must! This means the spare room would be best turned into a playroom.
A playroom is the best thing for keeping kids entertained, and for maintaining a parentโs peace of mind. Buy some cubby holes and boxes, pull all the toys out of other rooms, like the living room and even their bedroom, and pop them all in the playroom out of the way.
Are You in Need of More Storage?
A simple storage room might sound like a cop-out, but it helps you to keep the rest of the house tidy, and give you more space in your own bedroom or kitchen as thereโs another room dedicated to keeping things neat and tidy.ย
Storage rooms are mostly made out of converted attics or empty garages, but even just a spare room upstairs next to the bathroom will work well. And make sure you use all the space; even fit rails on the ceiling!
Are You Ready to Makeover the Spare Room?
A spare room is a great thing to play around with. If you havenโt settled on a real use for the space yet, take your time and experiment! You donโt need to make any hard or fast decisions here; you can even just shove that bean bag in the room, put a console in front of it, and see if you like using the space that way!
And an unused spare room is a waste of space anyway; remember this if youโre being cautious about settling on any of the ideas listed above.