Unused Living or Dining Room? Try These Design Ideas

EXTRA ROOM?

We often hear of the "Open Floor Plan" that is ideal for socialization and entertaining. In fact, most new builds offer an open concept that includes a "Great Room" and large kitchen and eating space. This open concept fad has led many homeowners who reside in an older home to look at renovating their interior space by taking down walls. But according to Bloomberg News, "If closed floor plans are considered such a nuisance these days, why did they prevail for almost 100 years in single-family working- and middle-class suburban housing? The answer: closed floor plans make a lot of sense, from both an environmental and a living perspective." If you are a homeowner who loves their closed floor plan but find it a challenge to make use of an extra room or two, these ideas just may help you transform the space into a room you will actually use.

CREATE A READING ROOM

Transforming an unused room into a functional space can create an entirely new feel to the house and often results in a, "Why didn't I do this sooner" mentality. A reading room can be used for just that - reading. It can house books, favorite knick-knacks, and just be a comfortable and quiet space for praying and meditating. Adding bookshelves or building built-ins that go to the ceiling will allow you plenty of space for all your favorite treasures. Find comfortable seating and turn them so they face each other. This will create a welcoming space for coffee and conversations. We love the added beams to this room from House Beautiful.

CREATE A FITNESS ROOM

Whether you have a treadmill, Peloton bike, or love to do yoga, make use of that currently unused space in your home by converting it into a fitness room. Clear the area of any unwanted or unneeded items and paint the room a soothing color like Green Earth CW-455 or Silver Mist 1619, both by Benjamin Moore paints. If you enjoy working out to music, add a speaker system or use a bluetooth speaker. Add some curtains on a ceiling or wall mount curtain track so the neighbors can't watch you sweat, and then you are ready to burn some calories!

CREATE A BAR

You read that right. If your dining room isn't being used and you think the square footage would be better suited as a bar, then go for it! We love this dining room conversion into a bar from Chateau Kitchens on Twitter. For this project, they removed the carpet, chair railing and furniture, and replaced the flooring, added a seating area and a fantastic bar. They also removed the door and opened up the room to the kitchen making this space extra inviting. Cheers!