5 Ways to use a spare room!

5 Ways To Use A Spare Room!

Whether you’ve found yourself with an empty bedroom after the birds have left the nest, or just an awkwardly spaced room that’s neither here nor there on how it can be used, a spare room can be a bit of a headscratcher when it comes to being used effectively.

So, before you use it as a dumping ground for random boxes and paperwork “you might need later”, consider the following options on how to transform your spare room into your favourite room in the house!

Office

While the advent of laptops has meant that “computer time” doesn’t have to stay in a fixed location, sometimes it is nice to have a dedicated corner of the home where you can sit down and get some work done.

Either as a Work-from-home station or just a quiet room to print some documents and get some work done, having a dedicated office is one of those little luxuries that you’ll learn to love to have.

Starting with a desk to do your work on, we’d also recommend investing in a nice office chair too. Not just for the benefit of having a comfortable seat to do your work on, but having a chair like that, which you can pull out when you have guests come over, can really help them feel invited to stay.

From there, the furniture depends on how you’re going to use your office. Do you invest in some bookshelves to keep useful readings close by, or maybe keep a small sofa or lounge chair for anyone who wants to sit in while you work? Your office should cater to how you work, so decorate it with what you’ll find useful for your purpose.

Studio/Hobby Room

For the more artistically inclined among us, a small space to let your creative juices flow can be nice to ensure you stay nice and practised in the work you do. It’ll also clear a lot of headaches for both you and others at home as it keeps your in-progress projects out of any shared spaces.

Whether you’re shredding your guitar, deciding to paint either the next Renoir or Picasso, or you’ve drawn the blinds to develop some film from your latest shoot, having your own room to keep all your gear at the ready can be a godsend, especially if you’re looking to turn your hobby into some sort of side hustle.

In a similar vein, just having a nice room to paint your models and put them on display or do your jigsaw puzzle in peace can also be a godsend. Just a little nook where you can disappear from the world whilst you perform some much-needed R&R, which leads onto our next suggestion…

Sunroom/reading room (e.g. solo-lounge)

We’ve all been victims of it at some point or another: you want to use the lounge for some purpose, either a cozy night reading or for a Saturday night movie, but alas, someone has beat you to it! If only there were a second location where you could perform your chosen evening activity.

Either fully decked out with a sofa bed and a decently sized screen, or just the hand-me-downs from previous room makeovers, having a small room for you to laze around in can honestly be refreshing, especially if it’s in a location relatively isolated from the rest of the house so you can enjoy your evening how you’d like.

Even if it isn’t where you’re going to be spending your evening, having a small room where you can hide from the rest of the world to just relax and even catch an afternoon nap can be incredibly refreshing. Having a room like this can also be super useful for when you have guests visit, as it’s somewhere they can also hide away as guests without disrupting the flow of your own home.

Playroom

Whether you’re a parent looking to keep your sanity in your own home, a grandparent looking to fill your children’s former room with their own, or just an adult looking to keep your friend’s offspring occupied while you two catch up for lost time. Having some sort of play area can help alleviate any headache for both you and the child of one simple question: what can they do while they’re at mine?

Whether it’s a blanket box filled with their favourite toys, or wall lined with a low bookcase filled with picture books and childhood favourites. Having a dedicated area for children to just play and especially keep their mess contained can be a lifesaver, both metaphorically and literally, with it removing tripping hazards from the main areas of the home.

When the kids get older, the area can also change with them, either providing a small study desk for them to do school work, to eventually putting in the old sofa and TV for when their friends come over for sleepovers. In this sense, it essentially becomes its own living room, but for the pure purpose of entertainment.

Dressing room

If you’re in a situation where you have a spare room but also are squished for space in your own bedroom, consider turning the former into a dressing room for you to get ready for the day!

With just a simple clothes rack, a standing mirror, and maybe a nice stool to put on your shoes, having a space to really play dress up and get yourself looking your best can not only help you feel more organised but also help get you hyped up for the night ahead!

Depending on the size of the space, adding in a dressing table to put on your make-up and jewellery could really seal the deal in turning that spare room into the perfect place to get yourself looking perfect!

Conclusion

Whether you’ve converted your room entirely into any of the above, or maybe into a combination of two or three of the above! No matter how you’ve used it, you should no have a spare room with a bit of purpose!

FAQ

Where Should I Purchase Furniture For My Spare Room?

If you’re based in New Zealand and need furniture to fill your spare room, then you should check out what we have on offer here at Mainland Furniture!

Outside of New Zealand however, we’d use us as a baseline for what you should be looking for in how to furnish a spare room. Just because you’re not spending all your time in the room doesn’t mean you need to cheap out on buying quality furniture. Look for furniture made with proper materials, and featuring excellent build quality features such as tongue-and-groove panelling and dovetail joining.

What Kind Of Bed Should I Put In My Spare Room?

If you’re wanting to put a bed into the spare room for any potential guests (even just for the sake of isolating from your significant other while sick) then knowing the ideal size and style of bed for your space can really make or break the functionality of a spare room.

For this reason, if you’re starting with nothing in regards to the bed, we’d recommend nothing larger than a double bed frame. Doubles are great as, while they can easily accommodate two people, most solo-sleepers are over the moon to sleep in a double. This, alongside the fact you’re normally only accommodating 1 to 2 people at a time, means that a double is more than versatile for any situation it’s given.

However, if you’re in the market for purchasing a new bed frame and/or mattress for yourself anyway, then this could be an opportune time to add your old bedroom furniture into the spare room. In the situation that anyone sleeping in a spare room will probably be in, any bed is better than none! So, unless you’re planning on charging rental prices for the room or your temporary guests have an indefinite stay, then really any bed is ideal for the spare room.

What Kind Of Sofa Should I Put In My Spare Room?

When it comes to placing any type of sofa into a spare room, our best recommendation would be to follow the three C’s: Comfy, Compact and Convertible.

Firstly, is this couch comfortable? Are you gonna want to hide away in there for a cheeky Sunday nap when the moment arises? The great thing about a spare room is it doesn’t need to be pretty, so if you’ve got an old sofa that’s a bit past its best looks-wise but has been perfectly weathered for the perfect seating experience for you? Place it in the spare room!

Second is compact: is the couch gonna fit nicely in the room or is it gonna be a squeeze? Remember, this is a spare room, you don’t need a chaise lounge corner suite for some massive movie night with friends and family, just somewhere to nest up for an hour or two on the odd occasion. That’s why in some situations, a bed may be more opportune than a sofa as even a simple single size can effectively act as a sofa when pushed into the corner. 

Then lastly, the final C: Convertible. Does this sofa have additional features to help justify it’s existence? It could be a sofa bed or futon for those last-minute guests, or maybe the swabs lift up to provide additional storage underneath for those extra bits and bobs. Just any additional selling points the sofa can bring other than being a comfy seat.