When we live in a home that is fortunate to have some extra space available it can sometimes feel more like a curse than a blessing. Perhaps one of your children recently went off to college and now it’s time to repurpose the bedroom. Maybe you’re tired of using your basement or attic as a storage area for stuff you don’t really need. No matter the circumstances, it can be tricky to decide how to use the vacant room. You want to make sure your needs & expectations are met as well as those of your family. It’s best to embrace the extra space by taking the opportunity to fulfil your passions and do something good for your own wellbeing. A good way to start assessing your needs and expectations is to consider something you’ve always wanted to do, but never quite had the place to do it. For some it’s the desire to get into the best shape of their lives. While others have always wanted to commit to the practice of meditation. When considering the needs of you and your family, you are bound to use the spare room to the fullest.
In addition to our careers, many of us have hobbies and interests that don’t necessarily pay the bills but that bring us great pleasure. Often our other priorities will put allocating time to engage in our hobbies at the bottom of our lists. Yet, a joyful person is a functional person! To prioritise spending time on your favourite hobbies, you could designate the empty room in your home to it. For instance, you could turn the room into a sewing space where you can practice your skills in peace whenever you like. You could make the hobby room into a more broadly purposed craft room and engage in weekly crafts with your children or invite some friends over to enjoy a crafting night over some wine. If you’re a musician, or would like to become one, the empty room could become your practice space. There are lots of products available to add sound insulation to this area as well.
Let’s face it, many of us simply do not have enough closet space to fully organise our wardrobes. This issue can be exacerbated when living with a partner because the clothing has doubled while the closet space has not. If you have an empty room that seems a bit too small to use for other purposes, it may make a wonderful dressing room. You can attach floating shelves around the perimeter of the room to maximise space and then adhere some hooks beneath the shelves for hanging dressier items like we can see in this dressing room by Elfa Deutschland GmbH. Adding decorative boxes and a shoe rack will help you to organise the smaller accessories and shoes as well. You can even choose to customise each side of the dressing room so that you and your partner have your individual needs met.
When some space opens up in the home, it can be a great opportunity to end a tradition of unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions to get in shape. Often, commuting to the gym is out of the question amidst our other tasks. Many people also feel intimidated by the hard-core gym enthusiasts sprinting mile after mile on the treadmill next door. Investing in your favourite equipment and turning that extra room into a home gym will make your fitness goals far more accessible. Throw in a television or a sound system to make the workout more fun. With the right film or soundtrack, working out is far more inspiring. You can even decorate the space with motivational images to tailor the experience. Make sure that the room is well lit so that you can see what you're doing.
For the film enthusiasts among you, a movie room can bring the exhilaration of attending a movie in theatres right into your own home. This way you can watch classics and new blockbusters at the same theatrical calibre of their big screen premieres any time you like. Adding a movie room to your home will also bring your family together. You can plan a movie night where each member of the family takes a turn choosing the film. You can even use a film projector for the true effect. You’ll also want to get some quality sound equipment. This idea works best in a room with few windows because the light can disrupt the projection and the glass will dilute the sound quality. Decorate your home theatre with a red carpet and glistening LED lights on the ceiling to set the ambiance.
If you have kids or would like to bring out your own inner child, a game room can be a fun choice. A game room makes for a great hangout for teens and their friends as well. There are lots of fun activities you could include like a foosball table, pool table, dartboard, ping-pong table, old arcade games, or air hockey table. A game room even works well in an unfinished garage or basement because the atmosphere of such a space is meant to be laidback. Simply add some carpeting and an unused sofa or set of chairs to complete the look. The game room will help keep all your children under one roof by giving them and their friends something to do at home. It can encourage bonding time between parents and children as well.
Finally, you could use your empty room to do something wonderful for yourself. Creating a relaxation room in your home can become an invaluable asset to your sense of wellbeing. You could also use the space for yoga or meditation as well as any other spiritual practices that are important for you. You can practice healing techniques like reiki, hold small retreats here with your friends, or engage in bonding activities with your spouse. Adding essential oils for relaxing aromatherapy and decorating the space with crystals and prisms will help create harmony here. Include a sound system for playing calming music, white noise, or sounds from nature. Add some comfortable places to lie down like the small mattresses featured here. For lighting, we suggest gentle indirect lighting supplemented with candles. Of course, a fireplace like the one depicted in this relaxation room is an undeniably cosy addition as well.
If you found this Ideabook useful, you might also enjoy these tips for using the empty corners in the apartment. Happy decorating!