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Housekeeping

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Original poster

what do you use your spare bedroom for?

58 replies

Salmiak · 22/03/2016 16:38

If you have a spare room do you use it regularly. We have friends/family come and stay one every month or so, but apart from the odd weekend its just empty and unused. Id love it to be something more than a guest room, as it just feels a bit wasted day to day.what could we do with it to make it feel like a truly useful part of the house?

OP posts:
RingUpRingRingDown · 22/03/2016 23:13

We have two.

One is used fairly often by me if Dh is snoring or wants to sleep and turn the lights off early and I want to stay up reading.

The other one is only used once in a blue moon when guests come. I'm considering making it into an office for me too.

ProfessorPickles · 22/03/2016 23:19

Mine is a room that I use for my university work, essentially it's a bit of a craft room/study as it has a desk, wardrobe full of crafty/art/computer related stuff.
I'd love it to be a purely craft room with a sewing machine set up etc

TheBitterBoy · 22/03/2016 23:24

We have a downstairs guest room which is only for that (which number 2 cat believes is his bed), and then our upstairs third bedroom is my craft room / ironing room / wrapping and cards room, with an IKEA sofa bed in it for when all the family come to stay.

MadisonAvenue · 22/03/2016 23:29

Ours is used when my mother in law comes to stay several times too many each year, there's a double sofa bed in there.

MrsSteptoe · 22/03/2016 23:33

We're about to move to a house with an extra bedroom which would be used only one night a fortnight. We've decided to make it a second sitting room, with a really good quality sofabed and everything else that's needed to transform it into a working bedroom within fifteen minutes. DS can have his xBox in there, and DH and I can have the ground floor sitting room.

cece · 22/03/2016 23:35

Spare bed for guests
filing cabinet and shelves full of important info/stuff
treadmill
massive packs of bottled water for DC school - bought from Costco in bulk
hoover
old computer that no longer works
loads of books on shelves
loads of DVDs and CDs on shelves. The subject of much discussion with DH. I think we could get rid of them all...

TBH it is a bit of a mess/dumping ground

dun1urkin · 22/03/2016 23:38

At the moment we have three spare bedrooms ('downsizing' to a much more expensive, smaller house in a better area soon)
One is a true bedroom that DH sleeps in quite a lot, one is a study/ironing room, and the other is a dumping ground Grin

Original poster
Salmiak · 23/03/2016 00:23

In our old house the spare room was a dumping ground for all of dh's junk and I was too embarrassed to let guests stay in there as it was a hoarders paradiseaccording to him it was all going to be useful one day so when we moved I was adament that the garage was his space to keep his mountain of very useful crap but it wouldn't be tolerated in the house. He's stuck to it so far (goes into the garage to store more stuff but I've never witnessed him actually using any of it)

I don't really have a hobby/crafting interest so can't use it to make glittery stuff.

We don't need a home.office.

I do sometimes dry a bit of laundry in there but now spring is here and hopefully will be able to hang it outside more.

I like the idea mentioned outbreaks about using it as a playroom for things the dc don't want destroyed (train tracks, Lego creations, etc)

OP posts:
possum18 · 23/03/2016 00:38

I have 3 spare rooms at the moment, the spare double currently has a double bed in but will be turned into a nursery for my twins, then we have one dressing room/office and one spare single room with a day bed in which pulls out to a double if needed (but when used as a double fills 90% of the room)

Bluecarrot · 23/03/2016 01:20

We have a gym/study and a "craft" (dumping ground) room. And two outbuildings that seem to attract friends and relatives belongings for apparently short term storage.
But with dc3 on the way, and only two upstairs bedrooms, one of the rooms will become dc1s bedroom within the next few years.

Snoopadoop · 23/03/2016 06:42

One of our spare rooms is a spare room we don't use it for anything although I do use all of the cupboards in there. Other one has been turned into a study.

BikeRunSki · 23/03/2016 06:49

It was study, office, reading room, drying room, dark room (as in photography) and FiL's country retreat.

Now it's DD's bedroom.

Wanderingwondering · 23/03/2016 06:54

Ours is a playroom/library

icanteven · 23/03/2016 07:08

I got rid of the bed in ours and got a lovely sofa, ottoman & desk, and hey presto! A fantastic new sitting room!

It's arguably the nicest room in the house and we use it all the time now, whereas before it was a tip.

Laundry is banned from it because of what would inevitably happen.

I have to paint it some time.

CaurnieBred · 23/03/2016 09:50

We have 2 spare rooms, both being used as offices day to day by DH and I. The one he uses used to be our bedroom so apart from the desk which is built in is fully kitted out as a bedroom with a double bed in it. At some point over the next few years the double bed will disappear and it will be set up as a hang out area for DD.

The room I use (box room in a typical 1930s semi) is set up day to day as an office but has a Small double Study Bed as my desk, so can be used as a bedroom if required.

kansasmum · 23/03/2016 21:26

Mine is my treatment room! I'm a massage therapist.

Cressandra · 25/03/2016 10:15

Overspill bedroom for DH and I when one of us snores or is ill.

The toys-in-progress idea is great. My son uses his bedroom floor for this but it habituates him to a messy room.

KondoAttitude · 26/03/2016 14:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

autumnboys · 26/03/2016 14:09

Ours has the Xbox in and usually a fair amount of Lego on the floor. I would expect, in the next 2-3 years, that each of the boys will want their own room, so we won't have one for a while.

Peasandsweetcorn · 26/03/2016 19:08

We have family staying for 4-5 consecutive nights most months and other guests for a night or two so one room is a proper spare room complete with empty drawers, wardrobe space, bedside lamps etc.
The second spare room is only used by guests a couple of nights a year but is used once a month or so if DH or I is ill, has a stupidly early start for work or similar. It has a double bed in it which is usually covered in piles of laundry, it houses DD's big dolls' house and the floor is covered in the train set. The train set is left put for a few weeks, picked up so I can give the room a good clean & then a new layout is created. If anyone needs to stay in this room at the last minute, it causes chaos.

Lovelydiscusfish · 26/03/2016 19:31

Currently, just as a guest room (used every month or so), plus dh has his wardrobe in there, and there is a bookshelf, and I store things like Christmas presents in the bedside tables. And we put the clothes horse up in there!
The house we (hopefully) are moving to soon will give us one extra spare, so one will be a proper guest room, and one will be dh's study (works from home), but also hopefully a small sofa bed for additional guests to stay, for example, at Christmas.

museumum · 26/03/2016 19:34

Ours is an office with a fold-out spare bed.

Those saying theirs has a "day bed" - do guests sleep on it? I thought a day bed was a chaise long??

PrimalLass · 26/03/2016 19:36

Ours is lined with Billy bookcases. It has a sofa bed and a large to for the XBox. It is also used for music practice. More a family room then a spare bedroom.

museumum · 26/03/2016 19:37

My phone doesn't believe the word longue!

flingingmelon · 26/03/2016 19:45

Guests and laundry Grin