Designing a Multipurpose Room

Over the last several years, homeowners and renters have increasingly reimagined their underused spaces, creating multipurpose rooms to meet the influx of new activities and work-from-home challenges. While this initial shift was born out of necessity, the idea of creating multifunctional flex spaces has only grown in popularity as people seek homes that more effectively suit their daily lives. If you want to better utilise your home, read on for our tips for creating the ideal multipurpose room.

Transform an Underused Closet

Depending on its size, an underused closet is brimming with possibilities as a part of a new multipurpose room. For example, a spacious closet in your bedroom or guest room could easily be transformed into a work-from-home office and an extra storage area for supplies. If the closet is shallow but long, consider dividing the space with a closed system for storage on one side and your workspace on the other. 

Is there an extra closet near your entertaining space? Consider removing the doors so that it is open to your room and create a customised bar. This can be done simply by removing the shelves and adding a chest, cabinet, or bar cart to store your bottles and barware. Bring in some mood lighting in the form of a pendant light, and you are ready to host your next dinner party or cocktail soiree.

Make Your Dining Room Do Double Duty

Formal dining rooms took on new life during the pandemic, and they will likely stay the spot of more than just family dinners. While they worked well initially, you may be tired of moving paperwork and computers whenever you want to use the space for dining. If you can spend the time and money, wall-to-wall cabinetry might be the answer. Custom cabinets can house a hidden workspace with a fold-down desk or a crafts studio with a retractable worktable and plenty of shelves for supply bins. Games and puzzles also can be stored here. And if dinner parties are in your future, save one of the cabinets for specialty serving platters, dinnerware, and table linens you don’t use daily.

If you don’t have the time or space to install wall-to-wall cabinets, consider bringing in a convertible armoire that opens to reveal a workspace with charging stations, lighting, and storage for your essential files. When the day is over, close the doors and move your chair out of the way, and the dining room can be restored for a relaxing family dinner with minimal hassle.

Create a Hidden Laundry Room

Are you hoping to invest in a new laundry set up in your home? If your bathroom has a spacious closet or an underused vanity area, it might be time to convert it into a multipurpose bathroom/laundry room. As you already have water running into the bathroom, this room and the kitchen are often the most accessible places to add stackable (or even side-by-side) washers and dryers. If your bathroom is large enough to accommodate the units, consider installing double-louvered doors to effectively create a separate room for the appliances when they are not in use. 

Invest in Multifunctional or Convertible Furniture

There is a range of furniture that can make any multipurpose room more functional. Folding tables act beautifully as slim console tables for daily use. Plus, they can be opened and expanded to transition your living room into a dining room that seats six comfortably in seconds.

Sleeper sofas are a quick way to transform a living room or family room into a guest bedroom. But have you seen sleeper ottomans? These wonders are ottomans with storage by day and, after a simple pull, convert to single beds by night. They are a dream invention for studios or small apartments that thrive on the creation of efficient multipurpose rooms.

Do you love the idea of the cabinet or closet workspace but don’t have the square footage for a full-scale conversion? A fold down desk can turn a small space into a  multipurpose work/live room by opting.

With these tips you can use the underutilised space in your home to create multipurpose rooms.