What to Do With Your Spare Room

A spare room earns its keep when it is built for one main use and can take a second without rebuilding. Decide who will use it on most days, put in the storage and wiring for that, and keep the large pieces movable. Six uses follow, each with what it needs.

A quiet room

A small room, or an attic space in a house, makes a good place to read, think or sit with one other person. Keep furniture and screens to a minimum and spend on a comfortable seat. What it needs: a door that closes, a dimmer on the light, and soft finishes that take the echo out.

A child’s bedroom now, a guest room later

If the children are asking for rooms of their own, this is the use that pays twice. When they grow up, the room becomes a guest room by moving their things out, rearranging the beds and adding some storage. What it needs: a closet with rods and shelves that can be reset as the child grows, an outlet on every wall, and plain finishes that will suit a guest. In a New York building with three or more apartments, the owner must install window guards where a child aged 10 or younger lives (NYC Health), so tell the managing agent or landlord.

A media room

A room for films, television and games gives the family somewhere to be together after a long day. What it needs: a built-in unit that hides the equipment, lets it breathe and gives the cables a route; lights on a dimmer; and something to hold the sound in, such as a rug, curtains and a solid door. Our entertainment units page shows how the cabinetry is made. The outlets and data points behind it are a licensed electrician’s work under an electrical permit (NYC Buildings).

A reading room

If getting lost in a book is what you are short of, give the room an armchair or a recliner and line it with your books. What it needs: light in layers, so you can read at any hour: a lamp by the chair, light on the shelves and a ceiling light. Shelves built in from floor to ceiling hold far more than freestanding cases. Books are heavy, so have the shelving made and fixed for the load.

A home gym

A gym at home saves the membership and removes the trip. What it needs: a floor that absorbs impact, a mirror, moving air, and outlets where the machines will stand. In an apartment, think about the people below before you order a treadmill: read the house rules on noise and floor coverings, and put dense rubber matting under anything that thumps.

A home office

If you work from home, or always bring work home, this is the obvious use. Furnish it properly: enough cabinets, a comfortable work station and a chair that supports you. Power, light and quiet deserve more thought than the desk does, and our article on creating a home office goes through them.

Whatever you choose

• Put outlets on every wall. They cost little while the walls are open and they suit every future use.
• Build the storage into the walls. A closet or a wall of cabinets serves a bedroom, an office and a gym alike.
• Choose a floor and a wall color that will suit the next use as well as this one.
• Be sure before you add plumbing. A wet bar or a new bathroom changes the job: the Department of Buildings gives adding a bathroom as an example of work that needs a filed application.
• Keep the door. A room that can be closed can become anything.

Built-in closets and cabinets are covered on our custom storage page. For the building work around them, see home renovation in NYC or apartment renovation in NYC.

Questions people ask