There comes a time when many a-design-loving woman casts a sharp look around a house to ponder how to increase the per-square-foot pleasure factor it provides each day.
Is it possible to enjoy a home MORE? The answer is most usually yes, and the solution easily arises from transforming a less-used space from its original or former iteration into something else.
The spare bedroom is a great place to start. Some common reinventions clients love include:
- Reclaiming a now unused kid’s bedroom as a yoga studio or gym.
- Converting a spare bedroom into a craft room or art studio.
- Converting a guest room into a tricked-out dressing room or closet, possibly knocking down a wall to provide access from the primary bedroom.
- Reinventing a spare bedroom into a dual-use home office and guest room.
Rarely used formal living rooms are another great place to mine design gold. By definition, a formal living room is a contained space with three walls, not an open living room that spills into a dining room. For this exercise, the formal living room usually found in a center hall Colonial house can yield great opportunity, with any of these options to convert it into:
- A library/sitting room, adding beautiful millwork and built-in cabinetry for concealed workspace and a niched area for lounge seating and voila: half living room/half personal space.
- A music room with ample space for a handsome baby grand piano and some soft seating.
- A decked-out lady’s home office that is replete with style and function, bells and whistles, perfect for work from home and beautiful enough to hold court at the front of the house.
Formal dining rooms that are 'all look but no touch,' clearly are more limited in their conversion options, but in some cases, they can become extensions of a kitchen for the cook who craves a bigger, gourmet kitchen experience. This option requires a wrecking ball and designer/architect/builder, but the results when well done can be quite good.
Repurposing and redesigning for the lady of the house is an excellent use of design budget. Spinning little used spaces into an often-used, always-loved space is as gratifying as it is life-enhancing. What a perfect way to leverage every inch of square footage, and every penny in the mortgage, all to support elevated living.
Lift the glass! Here’s to the pendulum swing from glum to glorious in the transformation of what was, into what IS. Lean into what brings the highest joy at this present moment in a present home. The results will be something to toast.
Happy Mother’s Day.
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About Donna Hoffman:
Multiple award-winning and Bucks County-based firm, Impeccably Designed Homes by Donna Hoffman, specializes in new construction, renovation, whole home- and full-room design, delivering livable luxury to discerning clients. As seen in Forbes, Real Simple and on television, IDH works locally as well as throughout the United States. Industry sources often refer to Donna as a thought leader, calling her the nation’s No. 1 design coach because she founded TheInteriorDesignAdvocate.com. Donna says she also loves providing online courses that empower DIYers.
"Repurposing and redesigning for the lady of the house is an excellent use of design budget," whole-heartedly agrees interior designer and industry coach Donna Hoffman.