Oh my, our spare room was full of crap. Since Harper ditched it as her nursery and moved in with Raff it had kinda lost its purpose in life. It looked very sorry for its self.
It had become a room for old magazines, post that needed to be filed away, and of course the trusty clothes drying horse. And dust. There was some dust too.
Last month I set out to give the room a use, a purpose, and bring some love back into its sorry little life. Here’s how…
Yep, more paint people
It’s no secret, I do love painting. It’s fairly quick (ish) and cheap but instantly changes a rooms feel. I went for this bold and beautiful deep navy from Dulux. I was shit scared about this colour, however. I’ve not painted with a colour this dark before so had my concerns that an already small room would feel dark and moody. And not in a good way. Plus, I was painting in the evenings too so I didn’t have the natural light to ease my concerns. 
It was SO worth it though and I love it! It looks all kinds of awesome! Todd was really not sure until I had finished with decorative odds and sods, but loves it too. I think.
We already had the pure white picture rail and top part of the wall white which I definitely recommend if you are unsure that all that dark hue is for you.
The rooms purpose
This is a big one. You need to give the room a purpose. Be that, a spare bedroom for guests, a study, library if you’re well posh, whatever, it needs to have a solid use. Once decided, the main piece of furniture in the room needs to be the focal point. Be that the largest item in the room (desk, bed etc) or the first item your eyes are drawn to. It sets the scene and reinforces the point of your spare room.
Accessories and stuff
Choose carefully and thoughtfully. Try not to fill the room with items that will make the room fill full. It doesn’t need it. If your room is going to be a guest bedroom, choose items that you would want if it was your bedroom. A side light, somewhere to put your glass of water, a mirror perhaps? And bedding! Please don’t leave guests with a sleeping bag. You like these guests right? Probably, a little bit. Our new duvet and pillow were from Amazon and cost £30. A bloody bargain and has done wonders to our sleep. Well, when that’s allowed with kids, of course.
A study should be equally as welcoming. A workplace that wants you to work there rather than in front of the TV with a cushion on your lap. A beautiful desk helps (my desk, below, is from Ikea), comfortable chair and a organised workstation.
A final thought, J Springer style
Our house isn’t big so obviously the spare room can, and may need to have multiple purposes. It’s about making the key use the main feature. Storage is your friend here, use box files to encourage you to file the papers, and laundry bins to keep the undies under control.
I’m spending my first night in the guest room on Monday night so I’ll see how it goes!
We did our spare room recently (as you know) and we’ve tried really hard not to let it become a dumping ground of “stuff”. It’s a guest room with a sofa bed (futon) and a gorgeous black ikea desk (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80133402/ this one). We need to to be a good working space as both me and S work from home (me more regularly) but also a welcoming guest room. However as I have too many hobbies, it currently has 5 large bags full of slings, wraps and carriers from the library!