The majority of spare rooms lie unused most of the time. No wonder they become a dumping ground for all the things you've never quite found a place for and, possibly, your laundry and ironing board too. But before you groan at the thought of having to clear it all out for the relatives coming to stay this Christmas, why not use the opportunity to transform it into a room that's both stylish and dual-purpose?
Interior designer Nina Campbell advises: “Whatever you double the room up as, use neutral wall colours to keep the feel both calming and functional - and ditch curtains in favour of Roman blinds, which have the potential to look both practical and luxurious.”
BEDROOM
Campbell insists: “By all means double-up your spare room for another use but, if you want people to come and stay, your ultimate priority should be the ability to provide an inviting, comfortable bed and surroundings.”
Assuming space is limited, consider a stowaway bed - a single bed which hides another additional bed underneath, enabling it to become a double or twin beds.
Interior designer Katharine Pooley warns: “Sofa beds are generally deeply uncomfortable so, for an alternative to be used for seating during the day, opt for a day bed that is richly decorated with throws and fine cushions.”
Even your existing bed can be made to look like a seating area when not in use, Pooley says, provided you keep it low-level with no headboard and again, well-dressed with accessories.
Use lamps to create a cosy ambience and ditch your lumpy old pillows and faded sheets for luxury bedding, sheets and towels, which can more than make up for any lack of lavishness in the room. For a nice touch, place blankets in a strip across the width of the end of the bed.
HOME OFFICE
Cassie Tillett, founder of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers, says enclosed office consoles that can be shut and locked are less intimidating for guests than desks crammed with visible computer equipment and papers.
Choose well-designed furniture that echoes in style the other pieces in the room to avoid the “office” dominating your multi-purpose room, Tillett says, and consider a beautiful-looking bureau or statement desk that can work as a dressing table.
Because your workspace needs to create the right state of mind for creative thinking, position your desk near the window if possible. This has the added bonus of using up what is often dead space. Better still, fit a work area into a corner by the window,. Make sure you have enough electrical outlets where you need them, thus avoiding extension cords all over the room, not to mention overloading the circuit.
Use a task light that can double up as a bedside lamp and a homely, non-corporate-looking office chair
.
HOME GYM
Luigi Esposito, creative director at Casa Forma“, says: “Storage units with mirrored doors are a sophisticated, space-saving solution for home gyms. To avoid the harsh look of commercial gyms, mirrors can be slightly tinted to soften the atmosphere. This makes it much easier for the room to be used for other purposes, such as an occasional bedroom.”
THE DEN
Esposito says: “The advent of flat-panel screens means large televisions are far less cumbersome than they used to be but we seem to have replaced saved space with devices such as amps, digital boxes, games consoles, DVD/Blu-ray players and, of course, metres of cables.”
You can cleverly conceal this overwhelming presence of technology by using smart but simple design features.
“Examples include sliding panels on concealed tracks, and seamless push-to-open catches integrated into mirrored glass cabinetry. We conceal speakers behind fabric panels in ceilings and design them with joinery items.”
If you're more likely to read than watch telly, assess exactly how many books you have, as getting a carpenter to build shelving is the neatest way to store them. Keep the total height of the shelving the same, though you could jazz up their look with different-sized spaces underneath.
For dedicated reading, and indeed music, rooms, you could be more daring with colours - Cabernet red, deep green or rich chocolate brown, for example.
STORAGE
If you can afford it, have a wall of cupboards, Nina Campbell says. “Guests need somewhere to put their clothes, so keep one cupboard sacrosanct, rather than filling it with all your winter or summer clothes. The rest of the area can house anything you want and you'll still have a beautifully neat-looking room.”
Clare Pascoe, director of Pascoe Interiors, agrees: “‘A place for everything and everything in its place' is my mantra. “If you have included storage for all items and they have somewhere they can easily go, the likelihood is you'll put them away. Its only when storage is haphazard that it gets cluttered and you feel less inspired to tidy. Part-open, part-closed storage is a good balance.”
Trunks are a must for any spare room, believes Sonia Murton, interior designer and founder of Belle Interiors. “They can double up as bedside tables, storage space for files and office necessities, and can be used for long-staying guests to store clothes.”
- The Independent