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You’ve fallen in love with a floor plan, and your new home has plenty of space for your family. In fact, it may have a bit more space than you anticipated. Everything about the floor plan is perfect, except that it has an extra bedroom. This might sound like an odd problem to have, but it can happen more often than you would think. Sure, it’s always great to have a spare bedroom for guests, but how often would it be used? If family visits once a month, or you want to earn a little extra cash by renting the space to a college student, the spare bedroom is the obvious solution. But if the room is used by guests at Christmas and stands vacant the rest of the year, you may want to buy a sleeper sofa and put the extra space to better use. Holy Closet, Batman! If you’re the type of person or a couple that has a large wardrobe that’s always growing and a huge shoe collection, consider turning an extra bedroom into an enormous walk-in closet. Think about how handy it will be to not have to “switch over” your warm weather and cold weather clothes twice a year. Summer on the left, winter on the right…how much simpler your life will be! Health Center/Spa Turn your spare room into a home gym, complete with an exercise machine, weight bench, yoga area, standing water cooler and even a space for a traveling masseuse to set up his or her massage table. You may even want to invest in your own massage chair! Home Theater It may sound indulgent, but if the room doesn’t have a lot of natural light, it’s a perfect site for a home theater. Put a large screen TV to use, or invest in a projection system. Throw in some surround sound audio. Add some cushy sofas or puffy recliners and your very own stand-alone popcorn machine. If you’re a movie buff, this is definitely the way to go! Go Greenhouse If you have the exact opposite type of extra room, one bathed with natural light, consider a tile floor, minimal window treatments and shelves and stands for a variety of green or flowering plants. You may even want to grow your own herbs or small vegetables indoors as well! Kid Zone If you’ve given up on the idea of ever having the children’s toys put away, surrender a spare room to the kids! Children’s bedrooms will be much less cluttered without their toys sharing the space, and the door can be closed to keep noise to a minimum when friends come to play. Lots of decorative bins for storage, easy to reach shelves, piles of floor pillows and easy clean, “not so pretty” furniture make this room a haven for little ones who aren’t neat and tidy when they play. Man Cave The men and boys in the house might love the idea of a place to watch their sports, have “guy talk” and relax away from the rest of the family. This is the other logical place to put a large screen TV, along with a small bar and appropriate “manly” décor. If a bar isn’t the answer, you can always add a smaller-sized refrigerator for readily available drinks and individual folding tables for serving snacks. Craft Room The “sewing room” of old gets a modern makeover in this version of the spare room. It’s a great place to gather to knit or crochet with friends, make jewelry, set up a quilt frame or simply store a ton of craft supplies. If you’ve ever thought about starting your own home-based business creating clever things to sell online or at craft fairs, this is your perfect chance to get the ball rolling! Home Office And speaking of starting a business…you may want to convert the extra space into a home office of your own. By shutting the door and using a dedicated phone and Internet line, you can get in a full day’s work while your family goes about their business. You can also impress a potential employer with your ability to completely telecommute, saving them money on office overhead. Library/Quiet Room A great place to hold a large collection of books, a library/quiet room is a place without distractions. No TV or radio…just shelves, lots of lamps and lighting, comfy chairs for relaxing and a desk or table with firm seating for the kids to have a perfect place to do their homework. Game Room Do you play pool or love foozball? How about table tennis or even a poker table? If you’re always out and about looking for places to do these activities, how about investing in your own equipment? Do you have any suggestions for other fun and creative ways to use extra space? Send us an email today to share your solutions!