Wondering what to do with a spare bedroom? Here are 11 amazing ideas

Have you got a spare bedroom that you want to put into more use? Are you unsure about what to do with a spare bedroom? Has the pandemic driven out a nice tenant and left you with a bedroom and no ideas for what you can do with it?

Don’t let it go to waste or let it become dusty, dank, and musty. Below, we’ve got eleven great ideas for a spare bedroom. Keep reading to learn more about what you can do with a spare bedroom.

1. What to Do With a Spare Bedroom: Inspiring Craft Room or Art Studio

This first idea is for creatives and artists who want to experience what it’s like to have a studio. Turn your spare bedroom into an art studio. Put the bed in storage and bring in your aisles and paints.

If you prefer to make handicrafts, then add shelves for your materials instead. Don’t forget to transfer your mood board or inspiration board. You can also create a motivation wall rather than keep it on a small board.

For rooms like this, lighting is an essential factor. Make sure that you leave the windows unblocked to give the room natural lighting and airflow. You may also want to install lamps for those cloudy or snowy days when the sun can’t reach you that well.

If the room is lacking shelves, add some. Display your best works on them. You can also keep the walls open for hanging your artworks.

Do you like to create costumes or cosplay props and items? Add your crafting table and sewing machine in the room. Use the empty closet space to hang your costumes and the shelves for cosplay items.

2. Peaceful Space for Wellbeing

Are you in need of an at-home yoga space? Do you want a little gym or workout space at home? The spare bedroom may be the solution to your problem.

The coronavirus affected everyone’s health in more ways than one. The closing of gyms and yoga studios also brought some negative effects on many people. We’re not only staying inside and eating more, but we’re also exercising less.

Thus, people adapted to the times by creating at-home gyms and yoga studios. Many American consumers are using pre-recorded videos and live stream classes compared to last year. If you’re tired of working out in the yard because of a lack of space, why not use your spare bedroom instead?

All you need is a place with good airflow and a relaxing or motivational vibe.

Clearing the room will make the place feel more like a traditional gym or yoga studio. It’ll also keep you from getting distracted, especially when you came to meditate. Once it’s clear, add your yoga or workout equipment, and you’re good to go.

3. Quiet Music Room or Recording Studio

Are you thinking of creating a YouTube channel where you’ll showcase your musical talent? Do you want a quiet space where you can write your songs and create music? Do you like to read your self-made horror or romance stories out loud and record them?

If you’re looking for a room where you can do all or one of these, look only to the spare bedroom in the home. The changes you can bring into the room don’t need to be drastic at first. You can start with small things, like bringing your instruments into the room.

Later, add your other equipment. As you turn the room into a music studio, make sure you also rearrange the furniture so it suits your purposes. You can switch the bed out with a sofa bed where it’ll be more comfortable to play the guitar or record a podcast.

4. Purr-fect Pet Sanctuary

The health outbreak closed a lot of establishments and schools for quite a while. This prompted 22% of Americans to move out or at least know about someone who did. The main reason for this was to avoid congested cities where they may contract the virus.

Others say college campuses had closed. Some wanted to be with their family, and others said that they had to for financial reasons. This left a lot of empty rooms, dorms, and for-rent bedrooms.

One way to put this room to use is to give it to your pet. Turn it into your dog’s or cat’s room. Bring its items into the room, like the bowls, toys, and bed. Don’t forget to add artistic elements, like a dog portrait.

You can also add an aquarium or terrarium to make the space more nature-themed. If you have an interest in taking care of aquatic plants, then go for it.

5. Flowering Indoor Garden

Speaking of plants, did you always want to try your hand at gardening? Don’t have a yard or gardening area where you can do this? One of the best spare bedroom ideas you can take is this indoor gardening idea.

Again, lighting is a key factor in the spare room. Yet, you can always give your succulents and blooms artificial sunlight from UV lamps. Temperature and the moisture of the air also affect plant health.

Indoor gardening can help you cultivate homegrown food. Some of the best vegetables you can grow indoors are scallions, carrots, and salad greens. You can also grow avocados, lemons, tomatoes, and mandarin oranges indoors.

If you want to grow flowering plants, consider jasmine, African violets, and oxalis. If you want to start with plants that are easy to take care of, consider succulents. They don’t need constant watering and are quite adaptive to their environment.

6. Bright Playroom for Kids

Do you want to give your young ones a space to play in? Letting your kids play outside is always a good thing for them so they can build their immune systems. Yet, you can’t always let them out to play, especially when it’s rainy, cold, or dark out.

Small kids also need constant watching, especially when they’re outside. You never know when someone can pick them up and whisk them away. You can always ease your fears of kidnapping by using the spare room as your kid’s playroom.

Don’t worry if it isn’t as spacious as the backyard. Small kids can have tons of fun, even in small spaces. All you need is to give them their toys and time to themselves.

Are you worried about the guest bed getting dirty or tattered from a child’s destructive tendencies? Take it out and replace it with washable covers. You can also swap it out with an affordable sofa bed so your kid has a place to sit and lie down.

You can also install a blackboard on the wall for your kid to draw on. This will save you from the stress of having to repaint the walls or replace the wallpaper. Asthmatic children will fare better with a whiteboard. Plus, encouraging them to draw will boost their creativity.

7. Zoom-Ready Home Office

If you want to know what to do with your spare bedroom that serves some function to the new normal, try this. Turn the spare bedroom into your new remote or home-based office. This is great if you want to create an actual office space at home and not only use a nook in your bedroom.

Make sure you recreate the bedroom into something you’d want to show on Zoom. Even in a small space, you can make the room seem spacious on camera. For example, you can add mirrors onto the room’s closet doors to create depth.

The color and lighting of the room is also an important factor. A home office needs to exude productivity and efficiency. If you’re used to your well-lit and bright office, make sure your home office reflects that.

Nooks and crannies can become home offices as well. One way to make it seem more spacious and comfortable is to use round tables. Sit close to a window so you don’t feel like it’s too tight in the room. You can pick up even more ideas like this at Gemma Louise.

8. Comfy Home Theater

At the beginning of the pandemic, online streaming surged by 12%. With many movies now premiering online rather than in theaters, it’s hard to grasp that cinematic experience. The good news is that you can always bring the theaters to your home.

In essence, all you need to turn your spare bedroom into a home theater is a large-screen TV. However, you can amp up the upgrade by setting up the room to feel more like a theater. Consider installing a comfortable sofa, a low table for food and drinks, and a good sound system.

If you don’t have a large-screen TV, you can use a projector instead. It’ll bring you a more realistic experience of being in the cinema and watching the latest movies. Don’t forget to add a bar or snack bar at the end of the room for easy access to food.

If your kid is in love with playing the piano or other instruments, you can also create a home theater for him or her. Instead of placing a screen at the front, set the “concert stage” there instead. Note that this will work best with large spare bedrooms than small spaces.

9. Trendy Room-Sized Closet

Does it feel cramped in your bedroom? A likely reason for that is that you’ve got too many clothes and/or shoes. Since you’ve got a bedroom to spare, why not turn it into your new closet?

Forget the walk-in closet dream and start reimagining it as a room-sized closet instead. If you can’t imagine it all that well yet, then here’s a quick plan. Imagine having your bags and shoes lined on a shelf, a full-length mirror or two, and a room full of natural light.

Keep the room white to get the best lighting situation from your windows. Add a dressing table where you’ll place your accessories and smaller bags. Don’t forget to add a chair or bench for sitting once you’re tired of trying on your best clothes.

10. Fun Family Game Room

Do you want to know what to do with a spare bedroom that everyone will love, especially the kids? Create a game room for them. It’s easy and simple once you have all the games and other fun stuff you need.

You can even bring out your inner nerd with this idea. Take a large, long table and place it in the middle of the room. Everyone can use it for board games or tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons on game night. Don’t forget to add shelves where you can place the board games and D&D books.

Oftentimes, when people hear the term “dungeons and dragons” they think of a bunch of nerds sitting around a table rolling dice and speaking in strange voices. However, D&D is much more than that. It is a complex game that requires strategy, teamwork, and most importantly, imagination. When played correctly, D&D can be an extremely fun and rewarding experience. The best way to get started is to find a group of friends who are willing to give it a try. If the friends are not familiar with the game, they can start reading the “Player’s Handbook” or many guides on different classes. The players each create their own character, choosing from a variety of races and classes. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it is important to choose carefully. Once the characters are created, the adventure can begin. The dungeon master will describe the scene and the players will decide what their characters should do. The decisions made by the players will determine the course of the adventure. D&D is a great way to spend an evening with friends.

If you want to encourage your kids to try some indoor sports, buy a ping-pong table instead. You can also opt for a billiard table if that’s the hobby you want them to take up. Add a dartboard in the corner for variation.

This means that the bed will most likely come out to make room for the table. If you want to keep a bed in the room for sleepovers, consider a couch bed or a folding bed. If the bed must stay, consider turning your game room into a video game room instead.

11. Purposeful Study or Reading Room

A good number (37%) of people in the US still prefer to read printed books. It’s no surprise considering how the smell, look, and feel of holding a book can make some people happy. Let’s not forget that reading a page is easier on the eyes than looking at a screen, even during your downtime.

Book lovers will enjoy this spare bedroom idea. Take some shelves and install them into the spare bedroom. Paint the whole place in a bright and relaxing color, and move the bed near the window.

Now, you’ve got a functional reading room. If you don’t have a shelf that’s waiting to become a part of your ideal reading room, you can always buy one. If you want something to do with your hands or something customized, you can always DIY it.

Find the Right Use for Your Spare Bedroom

That ends our guide on what to do with a spare bedroom. We hope you learned how to optimize the space in your home, especially your spare bedroom.

If you have other rooms that you want to transform, check out our other guides. We’ve got more that will show you how to turn your home into your dream house.