In most homes, the ‘spare’ room is anything but spare—it gets used for everything from storage to ironing to a home office and as a place for guests to sleep.
Getting the balance right regarding how well the room is set up for how you and your family use it is perfectly achievable with a bit of thought and planning.
Making the Most of a Spare Bedroom
Clever use of the space available is key, and making the most of every storage opportunity is perhaps the most important way to do that: under the bed, floor to ceiling cupboards or shelves and of course a place for everything, and everything in its place. Guest beds can be hard to fit into a smaller room and can take up too much space if they are rarely used. How about considering bunk beds, fold-away beds or an even more temporary solution like foam blocks, which can also be a chair or even an airbed?
Sofa beds are great if you use the spare room as a place to watch television or play computer games, maybe the kids retreat there to watch their own programmes and generally do their own thing.
When it comes to decorating, go for something which will appeal to everyone – girlie baby pink and frills is not appropriate if your teenage son has his friends to stay for example, ditto a heavy metal theme for Grandma! You can do worse than be imaginative, though, as this is a room for a variety of uses and can therefore afford to exude a bit of personality. Plan it out and then have the confidence to see it through – you will be surprised at what can be achieved.
