Spare Room Ideas?

[thetaj]

Sooo we have this awkward but adorable spare room, and I don't know what to do with it.

As soon as you walk in my front door, there's an open doorway to the dining room on the left, an open doorway to the spare room on the right, and the living room & kitchen at the end of that small walkway. The spare room also has two French doors that open up into the living room and a window that's on the front of the house, so it isn't very private at all. Not private enough to turn into a study.

Anyone have ideas? I love the idea of a hookah lounge-esque room, with maybe a short coffee table and cushions around it and some groovy art, but I don't really smoke hookah lol, at least not enough to ever buy a hookah and devote an entire room of my house to it. But I'd love something simple and chill, without being too redundant of the living room (which has a couch, fireplace and television) and the dining room across the hall.

Help meeee. Pictures of ideas appreciated! Anything you would do/ have wanted to do to a spare room?

Some details:
-Spare room and the dining room are carpeted, while the walkway, living room and kitchen are tiled.
-It's too open to be a spare bedroom, and we already have an empty bedroom elsewhere in the house.

[Mevara]

Can you remove the french doors and make that room flow to the living room. Don't know how big the rooms are which could make a difference.

[thetaj]

^ I could but I like the French doors. Plus they are sliding, so if you leave them open it is free-flowing. If you go in the open doorway as you're entering the house, it's only 2 or 3 steps through the spare room into the living room. Those doors are adjacent to each other.

The spare room is 13x13 and the living room that it opens up into is much larger, 14x21.

Please hold for a mediocre microsoft paint representation

[aephi alum]

If you were to ask my mother-in-law, she'd tell you to put a baby in it. But I digress...

You could turn the room into a casual family room. Or you could turn it into a hobby room. My house has three bedrooms - a master bedroom, an office, and a guest room. (We have no children.) We usually refer to the guest room as "the yarn room" as I am a knitter and that is where I store my yarn stash.

Or, as you mentioned, you can just leave the doors open and have essentially one big living room.

[thetaj]

et voila, casa de thetaj

[ElieM]

cocktail bar

[thetaj]

Well it's a 4 bedroom house. 2 are occupied, one is storage, and one is empty but we're hesitant to make it a spare room just in case someone wants to move in. We're renting this house. The spare room is truly just another spare room, but too open to be a bedroom.

Adding this and extra details to original post.

[thetaj]

Originally Posted by ElieM

cocktail bar

Not really our thing. And it's carpeted which seems weird. And it's one of the first things you see when you walk into the house haha

[ElieM]

Is it one of those weird things, where it probably used to be a 'sitting room' or 'breakfast room' or something?

Does it get nice sunshine in it?

Perhaps a Reading Room?

[preciousjeni]

I'm biased but I would make it a casual reading room with comfy seating...and it would be covered in sorority/fraternity items.

[Lady Pi]

Library room, with lots of shelves for books and display. Big comfy chairs and a large desk/work table, which can be wonderfully used for crafting when the occasion calls for it! It looks like a nice formal room, like a front parlor, but is very useful!

[PiKA2001]

I'd make it a chill zone/lounge/ quiet room for when you want or need peace, want to get out of your bedroom but not necessarily join everyone else in the living room. I'd throw a desk along with a couch with a chaise, a bookshelf or two. IDK if you've ever shared a house with several other people before, but you can never go wrong with a second "living room" or sitting room. You can make it a "private" common area that you and your roommates can take turns using.

[thetaj]

Elie, it gets good sunshine during the late afternoon. We already have a breakfast nook in the kitchen..

Maybe a comfy chair in front of that window would be nice, with some comfy cushions and bookshelves. It would make a nice, somewhat private reading room. Love those ideas, Pika, lady pi and preciousjeni!

And of course I would LOVE to make it a Theta-themed room but my current roomie isn't a Theta I might have 2 sister move in with us in the fall, though, so maybe we could hang some cute, subtle things, like pictures of kids flying kites or something

[psusue]

So I had fun with this. Here are some different ideas of what you could do with the room, whether it turns out to be a reading room, a library, or just a 'chill' room.











My favorite ideas include a really cozy couch (i.e. from number two), the sunlight aspect (from number one) and the LADDER (a la Beauty and the Beast, from number three). I also like the art from four and the bright colors from five. But then again I have no interior design experience and would probably make a very disjointed room.

[thetaj]

^ OOOOH! You're way overestimating my budget but I like the way you think :P

Love the comfy couch idea, maybe in front of the window, with a small coffee table in front of it, a la:

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

But not as modern haha. Something really comfy, and a dark wooden coffee table, with a cushion seat or two around it. And a small bookshelf to match, tucked in the corner with a few classics and cute photos on its shelves. And a cool, hip floor lamp! lol