Guest Blogger: How to Best Utilize your Spare Bedroom

Guest Blogger #295, Entry #832, December 13, 2011

Although engaging in home renovations might sound like an expensive or painstaking process, switching up your home design doesn’t have to break the bank or cause undue stress. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or time to reimagine a room that was once occupied by children or a surplus of household goods. Whether you use your spare bedroom for exercise, work, or recreation, get the most out of a space that is now empty and available. Here are a few ideas for rooms you can create.

How can you make the most of a spare bedroom?

Image via: Hgtv

1. Home gym

Setting up a personal gym is a great way to add convenience to your life and eliminate any excuses you might have for never getting to the gym. Treadmills or ellipticals will help you with your cardio routine, just as a yoga mat, hand weights, and stability ball aid in core strengthening. Save yourself membership fees, the need to pack (or even have) a gym bag, and having to use scratchy, over-bleached towels. Install laminate floors or carpet squares and add a fresh coat of paint to the walls in a shade that will invigorate you and inspire regular workouts. Work out in peace, knowing that you can walk, run, lift, or stretch at your own pace.

2. Creative zone

Everyone needs a good getaway room where they can do some writing, organize family photos, meditate, or manage an art-based business. If you have young children, think about making the room an adults-only space to help it stay a calm place where you can go for some private time to work or create. If setting up a home-based business, your home improvement costs might just be tax-deductible. Turn a closet into a place for shelving, supply storage, or even for a file cabinet. If the closet is big enough, you can take off the doors and push a small desk inside to maximize a small space.

Turn your spare room into a creative zone

Image via: Rosie Posies

3. Game room

A game room is great when it comes time to hang out with friends or family. Consider game-themed decorations, like Scrabble pillows or a Twister mat replica painted on the floor. Accessories like a pool table with a table tennis cover, a folding table and chairs for a card or board game, or a dartboard will all go to great use. You might even be interested in including retro arcade games and couple of recliners for a proper man cave feel. Should you put your home on the market in the future, a nice set-up can make your home very attractive to potential buyers who will likely imagine themselves competing in a billiards tournament or racking up a triple-word Scrabble score.

Turn your space into a gameroom for the entire family

Image via: Flickr.Champagne.Chic

Whatever you end up doing with your newfound space, make sure it’s a place where you feel comfortable. Don’t skimp; make the most of a fresh design opportunity. Just remember that a restyle doesn’t necessarily mean laying out hundreds of dollars. Start with fresh paint, new-to-you furniture in good condition from a thrift store, and accents in a complementary color. Before you know it, your spare bedroom will become new again.

Holly Watson is a full-time student who enjoys blogging for Sears and other great brands she enjoys. She is an avid runner and bookworm.

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