Rooms You Didn’t Know You Needed Until Now

Moving into a new house or apartment is an exciting opportunity to make a house your own. So naturally, it’s normal to want to get stuck in immediately and replicate a room layout with which you’re familiar. However, before you start, it’s worth evaluating the space in your new house or apartment to see if you have the capacity of a room that’s completely unexpected. 

Areas like a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom are non-negotiable but if you have a spare bedroom, resist the obvious to turn into a home office or guest room to see if there’s another idea that tickles your fancy. Instead, it’s worth getting creative to see if there are rooms you can combine to have your unique space. For instance, having a sofa bed or putting a desk in your living room or bedroom can free an area that gives the potential to put your stamp on where you live. 

It’s so ingrained in us that certain rooms are only for luxury living or when you’re lucky enough to have an abundance of extra space. But if you have a passion that you love, consider dedicating an entire room just for you to relax and dive into your hobby. 

Libraries

This is a favourite for book lovers, but a library can be a wonderful space to unwind away from the hectic nature of everyday life. Libraries usually conjure the image of a vast, spacious room, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Even fitting a few cosy armchairs and several bookcases into a box-sized room can provide a space to escape into your favorite novel. 

Lighting is crucial for a place you want to spend reading, so invest in soft lighting like lamps to establish a warm atmosphere. A proper seating area is also essential, and it’s up to you whether to go traditional with a few armchairs or more informal with beanbags and comfortable floor cushions. 

If the idea of a classic bookcase doesn’t appeal to you, then there are many other styles for you to implement. There’s no wrong way to store your novels, from floating bookcases to spiral ones. If you’re feeling particularly fancy, you can even have your very own ladder! Don’t worry if you don’t feel you have enough books to fill a whole room – you can always dedicate shelves to knick-knacks or photos to give your home library a cosy feel.

Music Rooms

Depending on your musical ability, this room can have two functions. If you own an instrument, you already know how hard it can be to find time to practice without disturbing others. Having a dedicated space to play can be the perfect place to brush up on your skills and lose yourself in playing. 

A piano is an instrument that feels the most like it could be a piece of furniture, but if you’re a string or wind lover, it can feel just established with a music stand and a place to keep your sheet music. If you know that you’ll be regularly using a music room, you can invest in some basic soundproofing so you avoid annoying your neighbours. 

If you’re more of a music lover than a music listener, it’s just as valid to treat yourself to a dedicated space to enjoy listening to music. If you own a record player and records, this is a fantastic way to get the most out of them, rather than keeping them in storage. If you manage to find a small room for this purpose, try to keep the furniture to a minimum to highlight the acoustics. It can even turn appreciating music from a solitary experience into a hobby you can enjoy with your friends and family. 

Garden Rooms

If you have a garden, outdoor garden rooms can help establish a green oasis that you can enjoy year-round. If you already have a shed, then you can transform that to be as much of a social space as a storage area. If you don’t, taking advantage of your outdoor area can be a great way to create another room if your house isn’t huge. 

A separate building outside can be anything you’d like it to be, but creating an indoor plant area can be a creative method to escape outside, even if you live in an area with unpredictable weather patterns. Venturing into the fresh air to check and water the plants in your garden room can be the regular break you need and give you the satisfaction of caring for another living thing. 

Depending on your gardening ability, you can play safe with displaying your favourite flowers or branch out to some more temperamental plants. In addition, having tall plants in the corners and around the side can give the room an atmosphere of genuinely being outside. Finally, invest in some heat lamps if the room is likely to get cold and try to utilise as much natural light as possible. If there is extra space for a bench or table, a garden room could even function as a dining room or office. 

Rooms for Adults

If you have children, especially young children, a room committed to adulthood can help you take a breather to get through a difficult day. It’s a fantastic way to remind yourself of who you are when not a parent, whether setting up a wine rack and your fancy glasses, your good television and DVD collection, or even a man cave. 

When you can’t face the abundance of kid’s toys lying around, a place to relax in the evening to have some time to yourself – it can even be an excellent opportunity to talk about boundaries with your children! When you start having children, you may find that some of your furniture is too precious or breakable to stay in areas of the house where kids run wild. Instead of placing it in storage or giving it away, a den for you and your partner can be the perfect place to enjoy it. 

Home Cinemas

Like with a library, if you almost exclusively use your living room to binge the latest Netflix show or to host friends to enjoy a movie, it might be worth turning your living room into a full-on cinema experience. 

It can be easy to think of home cinemas as a way to break the bank, but you can have the perfect setup even if you don’t have the budget to renovate a whole room. Chances are, your television is already bigger than you ever dreamed it could be as a child, so placing that in prime position is the first step. Then, to level it up, you may want to look into a sound system that can improve the sound quality of your television ten-fold. 

Comfortable seating is a must, and making sure you have loads of cushions and blankets can recreate a sleepover scene from your youth. Getting rid of a coffee table to input more chairs or large cushions helps fit more potential visitors. Finally, purchasing some blackout curtains goes a long way to recreate a cinema experience. 

These are just some suggestions, but any hobby or activity you love deserves to have a space dedicated to it. That could be a place to meditate, work out, paint or play computer games. If hosting is your passion, then a decked-out guest room could be the way to go after all. 

Although unnecessary rooms can be viewed as a luxury only, even a tiny area in your living room can help your house feel more like home. You don’t have to stick to what you think a house layout should look like – and making your home somewhere you love should be your number one priority.

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