Tell me what to do with my spare room

[MrsBadger]

Dear MN fount of wisdom, tell me what I should do!
(I am full of snotty cold, DH is back at work and I have looked at it so often I have zero inspiration).

Really it's just a dumping ground (see boxes of christmas decs, spare pillows, summer duvets, box waiting to go to charity shop, sleeping bags heading for loft etc)

The bed is really the 'trundle' that should live under DD's bed and has been used once in the last 3 years - turns out actual guests sleep on the sofabed in the playroom or in the dc's rooms.

Not visible behind the door is this ikea desk with the 'homework laptop' in, and on which dh sets up his laptop on the rare occasions he works from home.

We are v lucky in that each DC has large bedroom with desk and own music stand; and playroom and living room each have a tv, so we're not desperate for the living space; but I can't help feeling we should be using it better and / or making it look nicer.
Not planning on spending much (if anything), more rearranging what we have more efficiently, iyswim?

All ideas and vicarious suggestions gratefully rec'd.

I think I would put up a lot of shelves and store things in baskets/clear boxes so they're easy to see and get to, and mix the storage baskets with books on some of the shelves. It's really useful to have some things stored but also easy to get to (ie not in a loft). Move stuff from the top of the trundle bed and put a throw and some cushions over it to make it like a day bed/sofa. On spare bits of wall, put up some framed pictures, then it all looks more intentional rather that just like a dumping ground. I think you could make it into quite a cosy but also useful room.

This? www.comedycard.co.uk/products/humorous-card-modern-toss-turned-the-spare-bedroom-into-a-wine-box

You can see the carpet, which is more than can be said about our spare room!

Storage boxes. A bunch of them, and some bin bags. Be ruthless, and throw out/recycle/charity everything you haven't used in the last 12 months. (caveat: not the things you would have used but couldn't find at the time). Categorise everything else and put in storage boxes. Those vacuum storage bags are handy for things like spare linen & pillows etc.

A dressing room?

A library/reading room with a two seat couch a heated throw, nice lighting , shelves etc.

Oh, I like the wine box idea, do that one

(Love the wine box!)

ooh a reading room, I like the sound of that! Pinterest had suggested making cylindrical cases for off-season duvets to turn them into bolster pillows, which is not actually beyond my realm of sewing competence and could conceivably make the bed a bit more chaise longue-like.

(What you can't see is that the space under the bed is crammed solid with boxes not properly unpacked since the move 3yrs ago... If the bed stays in situ they can stay too, but if it goes back under dd's I have some SERIOUS ruthless culling to do)

Floor to ceiling shelving along back or right hand wall

Bolster pillows/chaise longue sound lovely. You could set up a reading lamp or directional wall light, that will make a big difference.

A kelim type rug for the floor would be nice too.

Depends on what colours you like, but I think it would look good painted a darker colour to add cosy-ness, maybe saffron/ochre or a mossy green. If you've got a good reading lamp set up for the sofa, it won't make it too dark, and it will make the shelves blend more in to the background.

www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/75294624997454947/

pinterest has some ideas

Ok, I’m getting there...

Going to add wall shelves (previously part of cd storage in old house) on far wall for paperbacks and rotate bed 90° to go underneath them, with bolsters as described and spare pillows in matching cases. Might even make a floor-length slipcover for bed itself to hide —crap— storage beneath.

Actual rubbish will be chucked, loitering items properly put away.

2 or 3 bookcases will remain for large files, photo albums etc for the moment.

Rotating the bed will give enough space to sit in the desk chair and play the guitar or the cello (currently limited to playroom).

DH really doesn’t want it repainted (and I don’t want to repaint) but a rug would be lovely - just checking what recently-downsized MIL’s hugely overstocked loft might hold [rubs hands].

Any more ideas still welcome though!

Shelves always end up dusty! I prefer built in cupboards. We also have three bookcases in our hall. Would you need bookcases? We do! These look more fitted than shelves. Put in a comfortable chair and a reading lamp. If you have room, why not have a decent guest bed. Do you have a loft? We put all spare duvets and decs in the loft.

@bubblesbuddy The wall shelves will only be for some of the books currently in the 4 bookcases, not for anything else.

We do have a loft (see op) but it’s a pain to get to so things can easily wait about for months while we put off clambering up there.
A single guest bed doesn’t get used (we have discovered, see op) and there really isn’t space for a double.