What would you do with an extra room the size of a small bedroom?

[one l michele]

We've been here 6 months and so far this room has been a spare bedroom, art room, and toy room. Now it is completely empty. The boys prefer their toys in their room, art was too hard to control with young kids, I'm not sure I want to use this space as a spare room and heat it only to have it actually used ~9 times a year. There is enough room for a dresser, chair, and queen size bed. It's off of the kitchen and supposed to be an office, dh doesn't want one and has "his room" in the basement (home gym). We have a school room that extends from the front to the back of our house and is much brighter I guess this is "my room" as my scrapbook, school supplies, computer and everything are there. I'm not sure what to put in the other room. WWYD?

[GothicGyrl]

I'd probably put the bare essentials in it (eg: a bed) and then use it as storage space--which for us, I would need ;)

[Sunny]

Hobby Room! I have all my quilting and scrapbooking items STUFFED in a closet. I'd love to design a room with tables, shelves, etc... to do hobbies. A pretty room, amongst all the testosterone stuff everywhere else :)

[Jan in SC]

Is hide in it an option? I would love a music room. The guitars, drums, etc... are taking over!

[Sandy in Indy]

Sewing room...I'd love to be able to put up my machines and ironing board and not have to drag them out all the time.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I love it too. The acoustics are great we all enjoy the room. This is especially helpful when other members of the family don't want to listen to the proactice session.

[Mrs. H.]

I would put in a small fold-out couch, a (very) small dresser, and use the rest of the space as a hobby room for myself. My sewing maching and table, fabric, yarn stash, etc. could go in there, and then if we had a guest (rare!), I would still have a place to put them. Ahh, the luxury of an empty room.

[litabitm]

I'd love to have a library filled with bookshelves and of course filled with books! with a big comfy chair and a reading light - I'd never leave.

Liz

[Amy in NH]

We have a room like the one you describe. We have a double bed & nightstand for guests in it, but it hasn't been used by a guest yet (we've been here 6 months). We also have a wall of extra bookcases in it, and the kids music stuff (full size drum set, guitar, and small amplifier). We don't heat this room, but it doesn't freeze because a small amount of heat gets under the door, and it retains it's sun-heat quite well. Obviously we would heat it if we were to have a guest during the heating season.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Realistically, a guest room.

In dream land, if I didn't care if anyone saw it, I would make it a family closet. I saw this idea on one of the Duggar's shows. How neat would it be to have everyone change in the same room. (NOT, at the same time people, really! :D:p) All the folded laundry would go to the same room. All the hung laundry would go to the same room. All the unmatched socks in a basket in the same room. All the......Can you tell I am staring at a huge pile of clean, but unfolded clothes?!?

[Cadam]

It would be mine! :cool: My desk and computer, sewing machine and scrap-booking stuff.... A futon if I wanted it to be avalible for guests.

[Lorna]

A laundry room.
Use it for washing machine, ironing board, radio, dryer and shelves for all the clothes so that you can sort them straight from the dryer onto the shelf. If you put a chair in their you could even have people dress in there. No more sorting and distributing clothes!

[Lisa at Home]

:rolleyes:

I know. Not everyone's cuppa.

~Lisa

[elegantlion]

I vote for hobby room or music room. We have 4 bedrooms and one child, so ds gets a playroom, and the 4th bedroom is the "hobby room". Right now it's piled with stuff for a garage sale and the dog has claimed it as her bedroom. She has a special chair and everything.

[sdWTMer]

I would have to say, that I would take it over. It would become my room -- my knitting room. Do Not Disturb.

[Tutor]

1) library with a table in the center and a couple kid-height shelves left empty so that people could spread out and do long-term projects, puzzles, board games, etc without having to put them away then it was time to eat or whatever

2) family closet (if it was relatively close to the laundry area)

3) storage room with floor to ceiling shelves

[Julie in CA]

If it were me, it would be a library. Floor to ceiling bookshelves on at least 3 walls, a small table with two hard-backed chairs (the kind that will make you uncomfy and keep you awake if you're studying when tired), and one comfy upholstered chair with a reading lamp. I so envy you that small empty room!:)
~Julie~

[JFS in IL]

We'd love an extra room just to hold comfy chairs and a good reading lamp! Our lone tv lives in the living room - which is also the reading room. Gets annoying when one wants to read in peace and quiet and someone wants to watch tv (and vs. versa).

[angela in ohio]

We have a similar room in the new house, and it is going to be a rec room. It will have all of the games, comfy chairs, toys, etc. All of the bedrooms are upstairs, and we may have families over that we do not know well, so I want a place downstairs for the kiddos to play.

A music room and library are good options, too. Our family room will be both of those things, so we already had that covered. But if you don't already have either of those, they would be great.

[Eliana]

When we bought our new house, we were presented with exactly this situation!

We turned it into a little library. We put a small loveseat in there and filled the rest of the room with floor to ceiling bookshelves - well, we used shorter ones under the window! It has the chapter books and the kids' history and science books and a few of the reference books (they overflow into the big shelf in the hallway. (Picture books are in the playroom & kids' judaica is in the living room with the adult Judaica)

It has been working very well... and it is so nice for the kids to have somewhere quiet to curl up and read while still be downstairs where the main action is rather that upstairs in a bedroom.

Eliana

[Amy loves Bud]

Same here. I had that and gave it to the baby. Some day she will move in with her sister and I will get it back!

[Shannon831]

I would put a full size bed on one side, with a small dresser or nightstand. On all of the other walls I would put shelves. I would put the most elaborate storage system that you could afford. That way you have a spare bed (but not to big as to encourage long term stays : ) and you can have your storage space.

[Jodi-FL]

and use it for guests when they came. My girls miss not having our sewing machine out all the time, and I miss having extra space of any kind.