Kids left the nest? Or perhaps you’ve moved into a property with an extra bedroom? There are lots of practical ways to put an additional bedroom to use. Below are just a few ideas of ways to make use of your bedroom.
Home office
A spare bedroom could make a great home office to work from if you regularly work from home. It could allow you privacy while you work and you could decorate the room in a way that helps you be more productive. It’s worth buying a sturdy desk and a decent office chair if you haven’t already got one. Where should you place the desk? Most people prefer to have their desk facing the door, however if you’ve got a nice view out of a window you may prefer to have it facing the window. Consider adding houseplants to make the space more relaxing.
Library
If you are an avid reader, a spare bedroom could make a great library. You could store all your books on shelves here and add an armchair where you can sit and read. If more than one of you loves to read, you could even add two armchairs or a couch. Seating is best placed in a corner near a window facing the door to the room. A side table with a lamp is recommended if you want to read there in the evening. Feel free to decorate this space how you want (posters of your favourite books, quotes about reading and plants could be a nice touch).
Walk-in wardrobe
Ever dreamt of having a walk-in wardrobe? A spare bedroom could be perfect for turning into such a space. Look into companies that can design and build bespoke wardrobes and consider adding storage to each side of the room. You could conceal all your clothes or plan to put them on display with open rails and glass cabinets. Make sure to add a full size mirror and a bench/couch for sitting down on while getting dressed. You could even add a dressing table and hollywood mirror that you can use for applying make-up.
Gym
Turning a spare bedroom into a gym could give you your own private space for home workouts. This could give you a dedicated room for gym equipment like treadmills, exercise bikes and weights, instead of having to place it in other rooms. Home gyms are sometimes best placed on ground floors so that noisy equipment doesn’t disturb fellow home occupants or neighbours who are sleeping. That said, you can use mats and boards to provide some sound insulation. Adding a TV, radio or portable speaker could provide you with some motivational entertainment while you train. You could also add motivational posters or posters of athletes that inspire you.
Music room
If you love listening to music or playing music, you could even consider turning a spare bedroom into a music room. When it comes to listening to music, this could be a great room for storing vinyl or CDs, plus you could arrange speakers around the room to maximise your listening experience. If you play an instrument, you could use this space to practise your instrument. You could even turn the room into a personal recording studio if you want to record your own music. Consider adding some music-related decorations such as posters of favourite albums or musicians that inspire you.
Additional bathroom
A spare bedroom could be turned into a second bathroom. This could be useful if there are often queues to use the bathroom. You could even add a doorway leading from another bedroom to create an en-suite bathroom, or make it a standalone bathroom that anyone can use. A larger room could open up all kinds of possibilities including the option of a freestanding tub or large walk-in shower. Just be wary that bathroom conversions are not cheap and plumbing costs can quickly add up. Check out some budget bathroom ideas here.
Guest bedroom
If you regularly have guests staying around, it could be more practical to continue using your spare bedroom as a bedroom for guests. The perfect guest bedroom should be depersonalised so that anyone staying there can feel at home. You could even add some hotel room touches such as a coffee/tea station and a card with the wi-fi code on. A guest bedroom could even potentially be rented out to lodgers if you want to get extra revenue, however you will need to be comfortable letting a stranger live in your home.
