Ring the Changes in Your Underused Spare Room

Do you have a spare room that is filled with all the possessions you haven’t got space for elsewhere? Or a bedroom that’s only used when you have guests to stay? It’s not uncommon for homes to have a room that is barely used compared to the rest of the house, and yet it gets overlooked as a space that could be used far more productively. You need somewhere for people to sleep, even if you only have house guests a couple of times a year; but for the rest of the time, this valuable space sits unused and wasted. If you have a room that isn’t being made full use of, it’s time to take a look at how you can make the most of this asset.

What can you do with a spare room?

The possibilities are numerous, so you need to think about what would make the most sense for you and your lifestyle. Here are a few ideas:

• Home office or study: if you work from home or regularly bring work home in the evenings, having a dedicated space set up in which to focus on your work will make you far more productive and keep the rest of the house clear of work-related clutter. Even if you don’t need to work at home on a regular basis, you might want space in which to study for further qualifications, conduct research for a project, or have a go at some creative writing. Having a room that is defined as a place to carry out this kind of endeavour is far more conducive to achieving your aims than trying to manage using the dining room table or the breakfast bar.

• Home gym: Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and important for your physical and mental wellbeing, and yet it can be hard to find the time to visit the gym, and indeed it’s frequently a challenge to find enough motivation to make the effort. If you have everything you need at home, you’ll find it easier to fit some exercise into your busy schedule, and you’ll have the luxury of being able to use your own facilities for showering and freshening up. Your home gym doesn’t have to be full of rowing machines and exercise bikes, you could make it a yoga den, or simply clear the space for following a workout DVD.

• Hobbies room: Do you have a hobby or pastime that requires a workspace or storage facilities? Most recreational activities could be better served by having a space in which to comfortably spend time without distractions, where everything you need is to hand, and you don’t have to worry about leaving a half-finished jigsaw puzzle out on the table, or spreading out your sketches when you’re painting. If your favourite form of relaxation is to read a good book, then having a cosy nook with a comfortable chair and all your reading materials to hand could be blissful.

Decluttering your room

Before you begin on your repurposing project, you’ll need to find a home for whatever is already in the room. If you’ve been using it as a storage space, you’ll have to decide what you want to keep and what can be sold, donated to charity, or thrown away. If you’re a bit of a hoarder, have a look on the web for advice and guidance on how to declutter, and get stuck in to clearing out the junk. Once you’ve disposed of the items you no longer want, there will be the challenge of finding space to store what’s left. There are some ingenious storage solutions on the market that will make better use of space around the house, or if you need to keep some of the items in the room, look for smart units and shelving that will fit into the new layout and keep everything in order.

Choosing your new décor

Once you’ve cleared everything out, you can begin the task of redecorating your room. Check the walls for any cracks or holes that need filling in, and give everything a good clean. Selecting the right paint colors is important as it will give the room its character and could make you more or (if you make the wrong choice) less likely to want to spend time there. Don’t forget the ceiling, which may look ok at first glance, but after repainting the walls might show up as being less than perfect. Use a good quality paint that will cover the walls perfectly with one coat to save you having to go over them twice, although if you’re painting a light colour over dark walls you may still have to do two coats anyway. You might be able to reuse curtains or blinds, furniture, and soft furnishings in your new room, or do a swap with items in other parts of the house, but if you need to buy replacement items, it’s a great reason to go shopping!

Keeping the guest room element

Having somewhere for people to sleep is important even if it doesn’t happen very often, so you might want to retain the option of being able to use your new room for guests. The most stylish and space-saving way to provide a bed is to put in a sofa bed that can be used for sitting on during the day, then turned into a place to sleep at night. Do be careful to check the comfort levels of the bed, because some sofa beds can be highly uncomfortable, which won’t be very pleasant for your guests.

The spare room in your house is a valuable asset that often gets overlooked as a space that could be better used. Even the smallest of spare rooms that you couldn’t fit a bed into can be transformed into functional home offices or otherwise repurposed. If your spare room isn’t pulling its weight, get your thinking cap on and see what you could do with the space to make it more productive and improve your quality of life.