What can we do with this room?
July 8, 2013 4:32 PM   Subscribe

We have a three bedroom house, with just two of us living here. One of the spare rooms has been turned into a guest room, and the other has been a kind of library of sorts. We have put up Elfa shelving on all the available wall space in the "library," but the rest of the room has become just a storage space. I would like to figure out what to do with the room so that we were making better use of it. The room is the size of a small bedroom, with a window and a small closet. It also attaches to a shared bathroom, with its own vanity. We're also planning on turning the little office space we have into a workout room, so that's probably taken care of already. Any thoughts hive mind?
posted by blurker to Home & Garden (9 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
1. comfortable seating, inviting you to sit and read one of your books
2. a solid work table for doing projects that don't have to be put away everything you take a break
3. sound system
4. table top waterfall
posted by metahawk at 4:40 PM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Ooh, I'm envious. I would buy a big comfortable armchair with an ottoman and a good reading lamp, and a set of speakers you can plug your iPod (or whatever) into if you want to listen to music while you read. If you get two armchairs, it becomes almost a second living room, which can be nice if you have a two-story house, especially if you often have guests.

If it were me, I'd also stick a Keurig or an electric kettle in there with some mugs on one of those cool rolling bar carts, since it has a sink nearby - but then, I always want tea/coffee while I'm reading. (I'd probably throw a bottle of scotch in there too ;)

Similar to Metahawk - if you're crafty at all, a library would be a great space for working on/storing supplies for craft projects.

If you have a lot of just "stuff lying around" storage in that room, those cube storage things are lifesavers, as are Ikea armoires, for hiding all that business. It's not relaxing.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 4:50 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


Darkroom.
posted by popcassady at 5:26 PM on July 8, 2013


A nice big table with a smooth top and a few chairs around it would be great not only for craft projects but also for game nights, if you have any interest in board games, card games, tabletop RPGs, jigsaw puzzles, etc.
posted by Orinda at 5:38 PM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


What's the light like? Indoor herb garden or grow room for winter tomatos.
posted by florencetnoa at 5:42 PM on July 8, 2013


My mother has a reading room in my parents' house. I am green with envy.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:45 PM on July 8, 2013


Is the window right for putting in a window seat? I always wanted one as a reading nook.

We have an extra room like that, and we started off using it as the library, with a little two-seater couch, reading lamps, lots of bookshelves. Then it morphed into the craft room (I put in a desk, moved out some of the bookshelves, bought a sewing machine). Now it's the robot building room and full of electronics.

Friends who have an extra room turned it into a games room, with a big dining table sized table, and boardgames, manuals, and gaming figurines on shelves on the wall. Also RPG-themed art on the walls and a few fake swords around, but they are a bit... enthusiastic about gaming.

More involved and unusual suggestions include:
- speakeasy
- fill it with tiny plastic balls for jumping in
- set up a giant aquarium in the middle and seating around the edges for watching the fishies.
- sex dungeon.
posted by lollusc at 6:53 PM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


How are your closets? I vote for dressing room/walk-in closet.
posted by devinemissk at 6:55 PM on July 8, 2013


This is the kind of question that Apartment Therapy lives for--you could ask there, too. Otherwise, I vote for going all out with the library idea: get a chaise lounge, some standing plants, some interesting art, etc.
posted by TwoStride at 10:17 PM on July 8, 2013


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