It’s a bittersweet moment when your son or daughter reaches the age where they leave home to continue their studies at university. You’re proud because they’ve grown up so much, but you’re also aware that the house will be much quieter without their presence. Look on the bright side though; you know have a bit more space to play around with in your home! Yes, your teen may bemoan the loss of their childhood bedroom, but you’re the ones who will be living in the house full time – and you pay the mortgage!
So embrace this time of change, and go ahead and do something positive for yourselves. Here are a few suggestions for what you can do with the room:
Convert it into a guest bedroom
One of the most common room transitions is one from a child’s bedroom into a stylish guest room. This means that your son or daughter will still have a place to stay when they return for the odd weekend or reading week through the next couple of years. However it will also serve to accommodate other guests; perhaps your own mum or dad, or an overseas relative.
To get the right effect, you’ll probably want to replace most of the furniture for a matching set – that way the bedframe, wardrobe, dresser and bedside table will look uniform. Look for luxury bed linen online or in the shops, and finish the look off with some statement cushions.
Create a study space
It might be the case that you’d rather just have a room that can occasionally be used for a bedroom; therefore a study might be the perfect choice. You could use the space to put in a desk, armchair and a bookshelf, as well as a fold out bed or a futon. It means you would be able to use the room more regularly which is very handy.
You’ll probably want to donate or sell the existing furniture that has been left behind by your teen, or you could put it in the loft if they will need it for their own home in the future. Make sure you do your measurements and figure out how big each piece of furniture will need to be to fit in the space; then you can head to the shops to make a few purchases.
Put in a home gym
Lastly, you could get rid of the idea of having a spare bed altogether and put in a home gym instead. You could always put a blow up bed in the lounge when your son or daughter comes home to stay! Think about how great it would be to do your exercises without having to pay for an expensive gym membership, and the machines will always be available.
It’s worth checking that your second story can support the weight of gym equipment, but when you get the go ahead you could put in running machines, weights and benches.
