Whether your children have flown the nest and left you with empty rooms, or if you’re lucky enough to have one-too-many rooms in your house, knowing what to do with a spare room can be tricky.
Most of the time, spare rooms double up as dumping grounds. Random belongings, knick-knacks and pieces of furniture that you don’t want to throw away but don’t want in the rest of your house? Spare room. Seasonal decorations and clothes/shoes? Spare room. That mountain of ironing you keep putting off? Spare room. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Wrong. Studies have shown that a clutter increases stress levels and has a negative impact on your health, and if there’s one thing spare rooms tend to be, it’s cluttered. If you’ve had enough of battling your way through the obstacle course on the floor and keeping the room door firmly closed, here are three ways you transform your spare room into a functional and comfortable space.
Yoga Studio/Gym
Turn your spare room from a stressful area into a zen area by dedicating it to feel-good activities such as yoga. Clear the area of all clutter, paint it in calming shades (such as blue) and add a few scent diffusers and inspiring quotes on the wall for a truly lulling ambience. Lay down your yoga mat and take time out every day to relax your mind and body.
Yoga might not be your vice, but if you’re more spiritually inclined or religious, you can follow a similar route to making a yoga room but instead swap out the yoga mats for prayer mats, thus transforming the room into a dedicated area for you to pray in a relaxed and wholesome way.
If yoga isn’t your thing, add a few bits of gym equipment and turn it into a workout space instead. You don’t need huge muscle-building machines, simply adding some weights, kettlebells, a sit-up mat and step-up blocks will give you tools for an effective workout at home. You can add a TV on the wall or a sound system to keep you engaged during your workout if you’d prefer.
Craft Studio
Whether it’s knitting, crocheting, card-making, painting, pottery or resin-making, crafty hobbies come with lots of equipment and the need for ample storage. If you have a crafting hobby you enjoy and want to dedicate more time to, turning your spare room into a crafts room can be very advantageous. Not only will you have the option for lots of storage, you will also have a relaxing space to undertake your arty projects in peace.
If you’re guilty of your hobby spilling out all over the house, a designated room will prevent clutter elsewhere in the house and give you the opportunity to implement better organisation for your projects.
Snug
Sometimes, it’s nice to have somewhere different to go and unwind. If you want somewhere different to take a moment and recalibrate, turning your spare room into a snug is a great idea. Not only will it give you multi-level living, it offers up a range of different options. You can use your snug as a TV room, a library or just a simple seating area.
If you have lots of books, adding ceiling-to-floor length bookshelves and a comfy sofa will make for the most idyllic reading snug. If you prefer to watch movies, adding a projector or a large TV screen and reclining seating options can instantly give you a relaxing and cosy film snug.
A snug is something every member of the family will get use out of, so if you’ve got a large or multi-generational household, this is something that could benefit and be appreciated by everyone.
There are so many other things beyond the three uses mentioned in this article that you can use your spare room for, so if none of these options suit you, there are other ways you can breathe some life into your spare room and make it a usable and enjoyable space.
