Make your spare room work harder for you..

Chances are, you have a spare room. Great, you thought when you bought your home, somewhere for guests to stay! But how often does that happen? It may be since Covid you have popped a desk in there and spend more time in there than previously, but it’s still a bedroom, just with a desk in it. 

So what should you be doing with this less-used space in a home you probably complain about the lack of space in? 

Home and interior design today isn’t just about space, it’s about spaces. It’s about looking at our lives and creating the spaces we need to keep them running smoothly, and give us the lifestyle we want.

Here are the smartest ideas we have seen for making the most of your spare room.

1. Home office

We talked about creating home offices in our last post, so won’t say too much here, but if you have a rarely used spare room, and you work regularly from home, it’s just crying out to be made into a home office. It’s easier to work in a space that looks set for work, not an afterthought, so when planning your space, prioritise what you need from your work set-up, then what you need from a guest room. Let’s face it, unless you have people to stay for weeks at a time, they don’t need a wardrobe. And do they really need a bed? A sofa bed will deliver a more appropriately office feel, and provide somewhere for those occasional guests to lay their heads.

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2. Dressing room

Unless you’re a through-and-through minimalist, it’s likely you have more than enough clothes to fill your wardrobe, or even wardrobes. Why not free up some space in your own bedroom and create a walk-in-dressing room? 

We always say fitted furniture works best within a dressing room – this looks smarter and more efficient and less like an afterthought of where to shove your wardrobes. 

Measure your space and invest in some graph paper and a ruler, so you can plan a layout that suits you. IKEA does a magnificent collection of fitted wardrobes, shelving, drawers and shoe storage, and you can purchase trims from your local DIY store to add any gaps if things don’t quite fit. Or call a local joiner – they will often recommend the IKEA route, but then come and make it all safe and tidy, with trims, if you’re feeling less than confident of your own assembly skills. If you want to really take it up a notch, you can repaint the furniture to a colour of your own choice, Rust Oleum paints and Frenchic are great for laminate furniture, and both offer excellent How To guides, along with smashing colour palettes to choose from. Check out their Insta feed for inspiration.

3. Library

In any busy home the need for some alone time can be hard to fulfil, so why not create a space to escape to in your spare room. Call it a snug, a library, a den, a man cave, whatever, by giving yourself a space to tuck away in, all by yourself, you are also giftinging yourself some wellness moments. You will still need to retain a bed, but again, sofa beds will solve that need. 

Design yourself a tiny sitting room. We saw one recently where the homeowner had even added a small, faux wood burning stove, which heated the room on demand and cast a relaxing glow, too. With a squashy sofa, shelves for books and some soothing artwork, make your spare room your escape. Add a smart TV and stream those box sets.

4. Home gym

The home gym has definitely become a thing since Covid. We see homes where a summerhouse has been added to the garden for a gym space, and many garage conversions, but why not use your spare room? If you want to go the whole hog and bring in a Peloton, or a cross-trainer, make sure you can dismantle it to fit through the doorway – most do, now, but there are always exceptions! Again, if you are going to create a proper home gym, you need to commit fully, or it will look like you just shoved some exercise equipment into the guest bedroom. If you have a decent sized room, include a sofa bed and drape it with a couple of colourful throws so you don’t sweat all over it! Even if you can’t fit a sofa, we recommend you look at ways to make it a comfortable space, still. Put down decent padded matting, to deaden noise, and add a fabric blind. You will need storage for your weights, and pop a wide, full length mirror on one wall. Wood panelling on one wall or two will add a less clinical feel to the space, and if you frame the wall before you panel you can run wires behind to mount a Smart TV and even a sound bar. A couple of brightly coloured yoga mats, somewhere to rest your water bottle, and an acupressure mat and you’re good to go.

Eddie – Friday 1st March 2024. (Image used from Higson Avenue, Chorlton Green).