What to use a spare room for: tips and trends

Having a spare room in your house can come in handy for lots of different reasons – there are so many possibilities of ways you can use your spare room, whether it’s to enjoy your hobbies or to make room in your home to spend dedicated time with your family or little ones.

This guide will take you through some of the top ways you can use your spare room, including some trendy spaces that are very popular right now, and how you can decorate these spaces to make them into the ultimate space for you and your family.

What to do with a spare room

There are so many ways you can use spare rooms in your house, from fun spaces that the whole family can share to private areas of the home where you can indulge in your favourite hobbies. Here are just some of the great ideas for a small spare room you can use to transform your space:

Home office

With the rise of home working over the pandemic, many people have turned their spare rooms into home offices where they can work in peace (and if this is something you're considering doing, take a look at our guide on best flooring for home offices). Some features of a home office you could include:

A desk with plenty of room for your tech and room to write or place papers you’re using.
A desk chair (although watch your wheels or chair feet on smooth floors! Use floor protectors to keep your floors in tiptop Tapi condition)
A filing cabinet to keep all your documents out of sight and organised
A bookcase for all your folders and decorations that you’d like to show off in your video meetings
A comfortable chair you can relax in during your work breaks, or that your furry friends can relax in while you work

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Kid’s playroom

Creating a dedicated space for your kids to get creative and play to their heart’s content can give you a lot of peace of mind about keeping the other rooms in your house tidier and cleaner. Here are some features you could include in a playroom to make it as fun and engaging as possible, alongside all the helpful advice we have in our guide to creating the perfect playroom, and child-friendly flooring options:

An activity table where your little ones can play, draw, and create to their delight
Comfortable chairs or beanbags where little ones can relax and read a book
A bookcase for all your little ones’ picture books and colouring books, that can also double as storage for toys and creative equipment like pens and paintbrushes.
Open shelving where you can place their favourite toys that they can easily access.
A colourful play mat or rug that will protect the floors of your spare room from any scratches or spills. With our carpet whipping service, you can make a rug from your favourite Tapi carpets.

Games room

Having a room dedicated to your gaming hobby can mean that you can play your favourite games without interruption or interrupting your housemates/family’s evening plans. There are lots of things you can include in a gaming room, but the basics include:

A comfortable gaming chair that will support your back during long gaming marathons.
A gaming PC that is raised above the floor to allow the fans plenty of room to keep cool.
A wide desk with plenty of room for your keyboard, mouse, and gaming devices.
Shelving or a bookcase with plenty of room for your favourite gaming collectables or memorabilia.
Plenty of storage for all the gaming devices, cables, and accessories that you may use.
Great mood lighting and sound systems for creating the perfect environment to get geared up for the next big battle (have a read of our guide on choosing the right lighting for your home).

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Home library

For the book lovers amongst us, there is nothing more decadent than having an entire room in your house dedicated to books and reading. There are a couple of staple items you’ll need to create a home library to rival all others:

Bookcases for all the books that are still in your ‘to-be-read’ pile
A cosy armchair that you can get comfortable on to curl up with your favourite book
A window seat that will make you feel like the main character in a romantic movie.
Lamps with warm lighting that will give your room a calming ambience
A soft carpet or rug that you can lie on when you finish your favourite book and don’t know what to do with yourself now.

Cinema room

One of the rooms that are becoming popular recently is cinema rooms, which are rooms entirely dedicated to watching films and tv. Spare rooms are great for this because they don’t have any other furniture that you can’t move, like a sink or other plumbing, so you can dedicate the entire space to comfort. The key facets of a cinema room include:

A projector for all your favourite films that you want to watch on repeat
A squishy sofa or cinema chair that reclines so you can watch all the action in comfort
A thick carpet or rug that you can curl your toes into when the scary killer comes on the screen
Sound-absorbing flooring and insulation so you can crank up the sound without annoying your neighbours

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Spare bedroom

And last but not least, why not keep your spare room as a spare bedroom? You can make it the perfect guest bedroom for when you have friends and family over (or if your other half snores occasionally!) and you can try out some styles that you didn’t use in the other bedrooms in your house. The key staples for the perfect guest bedroom include:

A large plush bed that your guests will want to cosy up in
A wardrobe or chest of drawers with spare hangers where your guests can store their clothes
A luxurious carpet or rug that they can sink their feet into first thing in the morning
Thick curtains so your guests can choose whether they wake up with the sunrise or stay cosy in the dark for a few hours longer

Spare room decorating ideas

Decorating a small spare room can be really good fun – this is a space where you don’t have any creative restraints! Depending on what you use it for, you don’t need to make sure the floor is easy to clean as you would in a dining room or kitchen, or that your wallpaper isn’t going to get damaged by water as you would in a bathroom or frequently used kitchen.

Go crazy with the wall colours or create your own wall decals, put in a bold carpet if you’re designing a creative space, or stylish herringbone flooring if you want to make the space glamorous and elevated.

If you want to create a whole new look for your spare room, why not come down to your local Tapi store and speak with our floorologists about some of the options we have available? You can even book a free home appointment to show the space to our experts, and we can help you build your dream spare room, whatever you want to use it for. Alternatively, head on over to our Ideas Hub for even more inspiration on what to turn your spare room into, including tips on planning a walk-in wardrobe.

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Published: 01-12-2022