Well, the day arrived for Bubbie to move out and into his own apartment. While I am happy for him to gain his independence, I am feeling the Empty Nest thing hard! Time for a big project - I already have a home office and sewing room, so this is now a bonus room.
As of Friday morning there were still things in here that needed to be dealt with. So I moved it all out into the garage for him to make decisions and deal with the pile. (including that desk which is a beast!) I carefully peeled those posters off and removed all of the tacks and nails in the walls.
I emptied the shelves and closet, too. I want a completely empty space so I can decide how to reimagine this space. Plus, oh my goodness its dirty in here! Everything needs cleaning and dusting.
The carpet for the entire house will be replaced, but in the meantime, I vacuumed and steam cleaned in here, and made a plan for refreshing the space:
*use Magic Eraser on the doors, clean the fan
*replace the mini blind, one of the outlet covers, the switchplate cover, and the ceiling fan pull
*repaint the closet and the trim
*paint the room a soothing color. A green/gray blue?
*remove the shelving system and patch the holes
But, how to use this space? I don't really want to just leave it empty and close the door - I'm not selling the house anytime soon. And someone warned me that a guest room would mean its available for someone to come back home...but what about having a day bed in here, with a table and lamp, possibly a chair. I may very well have a guest one day! Originally, I was going to make a reading room, but I have found a different solution for a place to read. I know I will use the closet space for storage, though. I'm taking it step by step until I figure it out.
Any and all suggestions are welcome!
Gina
12 comments:
I have a very soothing green/gray/blue color called stonewashed on my bedroom walls. Its bright in the winter and cooling in the summer.
Have fun deciding on a use for the room! I think a daybed would be a great choice.
I'm years away from an empty nest, but I already have plans.( A daybed in the family room, take down all the bunkbeds, redo the hardwood floors.) I'm glad you're having fun renovating your nest!
I think having a guest room with a sofa bed or trundle bed would be lovely. 5hat would still leave lots of space for exercise gear, etc. or just open space for future needs.
Hopefully as you work your way through all the minor room changes some inspiration ideas for how to decorate and use the room in the future will strike. You don't have to make all the decisions right now.
Bonus room, nice! I like your idea of keeping it flexible with a daybed against the wall, making room for the more everyday ways you might use it. Storage, like you said; could even use for extra pantry space/bulk buys. That's how we've been using our dining room - pantry storage, and it's very handy to have the table there to use for things like leaving out a jigsaw puzzle, or game that takes a long time, or craft that needs several days, etc. So maybe you'll want a flat space in there for things you do that have to stay out for a few days, but you don't want to constantly look at in the meantime!
(And I like calming blue-gray too - actually the room already looks like a pleasant blue gray color on my screen, but I know things vary in real life : ) - Suz
Wow! You have certainly been busy, and that is the thing to do when the last of your children moves out of the house. It’s bittersweet, isn’t it? I love the idea of a daybed. I have toyed with that off and on for years.
I'd personally use it for an exercise room with my treadmill and mini trampoline & a TV to watch while I exercise. A day bed would be nice too for visitors.
When I was young, my great aunt & uncle lived in a tiny house. They essentially acted as my maternal grandparents, and I generally spent a week or so with them each summer. My favorite chair in their living room was very mid-century and folded out into a single bed. I always wished that I had asked my mother to bring it home to me when they were done with it.
You can find them now on Waifair etc, and I still want to take down the bed in our guest room and put one of those chairs in there instead. :)
game room Sewing room.
You have your work cut out for you fixing up your son's room. Along with the hard work will be the fun of deciding how to use it. I think the day bed, chair and lamp are great ideas.
People that told you to not have a guest room are weird, a guest room would mean that if something goes back kids have parents to help them or that a visitor is welcome. In Latino culture this is a no brainer.
So I'm in the same place with the same color room!! This weekend we converted the full size bed into a twin daybed to give us more space as an office...because a bigger desk was delivered last week when my other daughter moved back in!! Haha...that revolving door on the empty nest is real!! I will say I like having a guest room for out of town family and friends and the daybed was a great solution. It's rarely used, but I like the option.
Looking forward to see what you do with the space.
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