If you have a spare room in your house, but you don’t use it, is it even really there? Nope, that’s not an age old philosophical question, but a genuine thought. Of course, many spares are fitted out as extra bedrooms for when guests come to stay, but if you’re not using the room for anything other than accommodation when you have visitors, that’s a very useful space being wasted the rest of the time. It’s funny how you can be struggling for space in the rest of the house, living under rubble and debris, but the spare room sits profuse and full of potential. With that in mind, here are 6 IDEAL ways to make use of your spare room.
HOME GYM
The old excuse of lacking time, or the energy to make the journey, can no longer be used if you’ve got a home gym. You could convert your whole spare room if you rarely have guests, and put on a futon or sofa bed for the odd occasions someone does stay over. If you want to keep a bed permanently set up, no problem – there are some very clever exercise machines on the market which can combine several functions into one compact piece of equipment. A quick search online can help you discover more about home gym options. Having the facilities to hand rather than having to travel to a gym could be the motivation you need to start exercising regularly, or if you are already committed to an exercise routine, you’ll have the opportunity to do more and work on specific goals. Or just get really creative with your excuses not to.
SANCTUARY
Everyone needs somewhere to relax, kick back and get away from the stresses of life. A spare room is an ideal space to turn into a sanctuary; a place to sit in peace and reinvigorate your mind and spirit. You will need a really comfortable chair; maybe a recliner, or even better a recliner with massaging functions. A side table to put your beverages, books or radio on will also be handy, so everything you need is at hand. Then you can put in bookshelves and have a home library, or have a stereo system installed so you can listen to music while you relax. You could keep a yoga mat in the room and use this as a place to practice yoga or Pilates for example. Or you could have candles and incense holders that you can light to help you meditate. Leave your cell phone outside, and put a do not disturb sign on the door for perfect peace and quiet.
HOBBIES ROOM
Stamp collection overflowing at the seams? Cosplay outfits need hiding from dinner party guests? That unplayed piano you forked out on causing you shame? You might have a hobby, pastime or collection that takes up space in the rest of the house, and this is your chance to devote a room to it, whether that’s in the name of out of sight, out of mind, or to dedicate head and physical space to it. A worktable and storage areas for a crafting hobby like needlework, model making, or decoupage; or a large desk for jigsaw puzzles, for example, will help your hobby flourish if you let it. If you do happen to have a collection you’re proud of and would to like to have on show, fit some display cases around the walls to place your treasured items in.
PLAY AREA
If you have kids, you might want to use the space in the spare room to make them a play area, where they can keep all their toys and activity materials. Then they can get all their Lego out and spread it around without it getting in anyone’s way, or build a papier mache castle and surround it with dragons, knights, and princesses. This option will help you to keep their bedroom tidier, and you can have a rule that all toys have to stay in the playroom. The kids could make as much mess as they liked in there without bothering anyone else, and you won’t have toys and kids’ stuff all over the house.
HOME OFFICE
Side hustles are an increasingly common way for those with an entrepreneurial flair to make extra money. Having a space which you can dedicate to all your work-related activities will make it a lot easier to organize yourself and run the business effectively. You may only need a desk and a computer, or you may need to store goods for sale, all depending on what your side hustle is. You can also set the room up to enable you to pursue your dream to be a writer or an artist. Having a dedicated workspace makes the process of working on your dream far easier, and you will get fewer disturbances.
ROOM EXTENSION
Maybe your biggest problem is that there’s not enough space for everything that you have in the rest of your home. If that’s the case, you could use the spare room as an extension of your other rooms, for example, put a wardrobe in it and store your out of season clothes. This will free up space in your main bedroom that will help you keep everything far more ordered. You could apply the same logic to any part of your house that is getting cluttered but be methodical about it. Decide what needs to go into the spare room, but don’t just chuck it all in. Find and install some suitable storage units and put everything away tidily and logically.