Creative Ways to Use That Spare Bedroom

If you’re lucky enough to have a spare bedroom, you may want to think of it less as a rarely used landing spot for guests or a place to store extra ‘stuff,’ and more as a blank canvas – a pleasant spot you can use for rest, relaxation, hobbies or exercise, or even as a money-making option.

Consider these inspiring ideas from room designers and creative thinkers:

Get Crafty

Do you sew occasionally? Like to draw or paint? Love to do amazing gift-wraps? Fill the room with smart choices of furnishings, storage, tables and accessories to make your hobby more fun than ever.

Make it Personal

Turn the room into a ma’am- or man-cave, with comfy furnishings, a TV and sound system and anything else you need to make it a cozy, personal retreat.

Make it a Study

Create a cheerful home office space where you or your kids can pay bills, read online or study without interruption. Install a work counter/desk across one wall, add enough chairs and supply drawers, plus computers and printers as needed. 

Build Your Own Library

Book lovers can line the walls with shelving, collect books to their heart’s content, install a chair or two and some great reading light, and revel in a private library. 

Make Music

For parents and/or kids with a passion for making music, lay down thick carpeting to soak up sound, add a few comfy floor cushions for musically inclined visitors and make room to jam with friends or solo with as many instruments as you wish. 

Start a Garden

Wish you had a greenhouse? You can cultivate seedlings in that spare room from the waning days of winter through early spring. Buy ready-made shelving and add light fixtures and supplies appropriate for nurturing baby plants.

Sweat it Out

Whether you practice yoga, run or do strength training, you’ll be more motivated, better disciplined and more excited about your workouts in a dedicated exercise space. Drag that treadmill out of the basement, add all the exercise equipment you want and go!