The Bonus Room Makeover For the Whole Family
So what do you get when you take three growing boys, two busy parents, and a family that homeschools? A family is need of more S-P-A-C-E! And a Bonus Room Makeover was the way to do it. This sweet Mama of three reached out to me after their room flooded and they had to gut their entire room and start over. And I couldn’t have loved the email she sent me more any more! I loved her honesty AND her willingness to try something new. In fact I think this will ring true to a lot of people, so I wanted to share a part of the email she sent me:
“I can’t believe I’m emailing you – interior design has always been close to the bottom of my priority list, much less enlisting the services of a professional!
I finally realized – I’m tired of feeling like I live in a frat house; I want a functional room that I love! Pinterest is inspiring but paralyzing. I have no idea how to make those things happen, especially on a budget. I’ve seen your work pop up for a few weeks now but dismissed hiring decorator out of hand. However, I can’t quite shake that feeling like this is my chance to get it right! I just love the idea that you can tell me what to get, where to get it, and where to put it!”
Don’t you love that?! I could totally feel her overwhelm and frustration. And let’s be honest-this Mom has a thousand things to do on her To Do list, and decorating her Bonus Room top-to-bottom wasn’t one of them. So I was beyond thrilled to work with her to finally do the room “right”.
One Bonus Room: 8 Rooms In One
This Bonus Room makeover was custom designed for a busy family (and remember she has THREE growing boys!) who had to fit a whole lotta needs into one room. For this 17’x20′ Bonus Room we had a list of 8 different functions this room had to serve for a family of five:
TV Watching
Video Game Playing
Family Movie Nights
Home Office for Mom & Dad
Homework Space for 3 Boys
Homeschool Classroom for 2 Boys
Craft/Project Room
Music Room
Whoa. This Bonus Room had to work hard. But it also had to be super practical, durable, and budget friendly as well.
Bonus Room=Home School Classroom Design
Since this room was going to work daily as a homeschooling/homework center for the boys, we did want it to have a loose “school” theme. So prints such as this fun US map and world map will replace the boring, laminated version. Plus prints like “Work Hard, Play Nice” and these over sized Book Quote prints also played into the “learning” theme
Bonus Room Design Tip #1: Max Out Storage
(Don’t forget to use your vertical space)
We created two work stations for the boys out of Ikea desks, very similar to Item #8 below. This 8 foot long table has plenty of work space and tons of storage for each boy. Then the top shelf gave plenty of room for our decor (#3, 9 and #14). The shelf was also deep enough for extra storage baskets for supplies (#15). And I also suggested to add a corkboard (#7) for each boy to have his own personal space, similar to the inspirational image #6. We wanted every square inch to be used in this hard working space! These durable wood and metal chairs (#2) are even called the “school house” chair!
Bonus Room Design Tip #2: Use Mobile Furniture
Something as simple as this Ikea rack on wheels (#11) can be tucked away when not in use, then pulled out when needed. Fill it up with project supplies, books, games, crafts. Or assign a shelf to each child if that is easier.
Bonus Room = Project Space
Something every Bonus Room Makeover needs is an open, flexible place to spread out and work on homework, projects, puzzles, and more.
Bonus Room Design Tip #3: Repurpose a Dining Room Table
Honestly one of the best ways to provide this type of open space is a Dining Room table. I don’t know about your house, but my own Dining Room table is often used…not for Dining. But homework, craft projects…it has a constant layer of stuck on glitter on it!
So why not give a designated space for this! Whether the boys are working on a school project, building a model, or doing a family puzzle, this gives them plenty of space to spread out. In this makeover, we did our own DIY version made from Ikea table legs and top (you can check out a similar look on Item #1 on the above Mood Board) and paired it up with these gray Target chairs (#10).
FYI: This would NOT be the place to use a fancy table or an easily scratched surface. Go durable. Go big.
Bonus Room = Movies & Video Games
Another huge component of this room was a hang-out space for the whole family. Mom requested plenty of space for video game and DVD storage AND wanted enough seating for the boys and friends to be together. Plus this area works for Family Movie Night (ahh, my personal favorite night of the week!). So it had to be comfortable enough for Mom and Dad too. And a huge part of the space was the oversized Ikea media unit (#22) that was literally floor to ceiling storage to maximize every inch!
Bonus Room Design Tip #4: A Sectional Sofa is your BFF
I don’t think you can beat the functionality of a sectional sofa. These things may be a beast, but you can cram a party onto one! In this Bonus Room Makeover I suggested one of my favorites: The Ikea Ektorp sectional. I actually own TWO of things. It is budget friendly, uber comfortable, and the best part is…it is slipcovered. I love slipcovers with kids: just take it off and wash it.
We all know how dirty kids are. Just look at their socks. I don’t want my sofa to look (or smell) like the bottom of my kid’s socks. Do you?
You can buy a second slipcover for this sectional for around $100-well worth the security of having a back-up plan!
The Bonus Room Layout
I don’t normally show the Floor Plan when I’m sharing client projects with you, but I thought in this case it was so important to see how you can lay out a big open space! A lot of Living Room and Bonus Room areas have a large rectangle floor plan-and sometimes it is tricky to know how to lay it out.
Bonus Room Design Tip #5: Lay It Out Right
Desks usually work best against a wall. And you can take advantage of vertical space for storing items with shelves.
Try to leave a minimum of 30″ as a walkway (36″ works better) between furniture groupings.
Think about how the room will work when chairs are pulled out as well. Do you have enough space?
See if you can “float” furniture for better use.
If you are tight on space, place a table against the wall to save on walkway space. (Check out the lower left side of the Floor Plan to see how we did this).
Think of the main use of this space and be sure it works the best. In this case TV watching/video games were a huge part of the room’s function. So I wanted the sofa to be right in front of it, not off to the side so you’re viewing at an odd angle.
You can never have too much storage. I like to have a good chunk of my storage behind closed doors (like in this entertainment system), because kids are M-E-S-S-Y.
If you have younger children, have a dedicated space for toy storage.
Bonus Room Makeover Version #2
After Version #1, I sent everything over to my client to see how she liked it! We made a couple of tweaks in the second design, such as incorporating these blue lockers (#1) to mimic the “school” feel. We swapped in a new piece of artwork, a different project table (we went round this time), and added in bean bag chairs for extra flexible seating.
And here is a peek at the tweaked design for Version #2:
Wanna See More? Other Bonus Room Makeovers
But don’t worry, I still have some more Bonus Room makeover design ideas for ya! Below I have an elegant glam Bonus Room that Mom loved, but still is durable, kid-friendly and has 5 Secret Ways We Hide Kid Stuff (While Still Looking Beautiful):
5 Ways to Hide Your Kid’s Stuff + A Glam, Elegant Bonus Room Makeover
And if you have younger kids and need a “Playroom” component as part of your Bonus Room Makeover, then you will love this blog post. I did a Round-Up of four of my favorite Playroom makeovers, and I shared the ways we incorporated areas like toy storage, reading nooks, craft tables, and homework centers.
Playroom Round-Up: Check out 4 Different Playroom Makeovers
Keep In Touch
Still feel like you need some professional help just like my client did? Whether you are overwhelmed with Pinterest, have no idea where to start, need help incorporating existing furniture with new items, or just don’t have the time to tackle the project…that is exactly why I started Postbox Designs. I only work via Interior E-Design, so I can custom design your room on YOUR time frame. After I get to know you with your Welcome Packet, I custom design your room, we make revisions and updates together. Then I package up your Room-inside-a-Box and mail it right to you. Inside you have your drawings, floor plans, shopping lists, instructions, material samples and more.
So you can order your entire room…without leaving home.
You can check out How Online Interior Design Works or my ROOM PACKAGES & PRICING
Or you can always send me an email at kristin@postboxdesigns.com and we can chat all about you!
Even More Free Designs?! Yup.
And finally, my favorite way to share free designs with you is always my Free Resource Library. Inside are oodles of free designs, Guides, Shopping Lists, Mood Boards, and more.
When you sign up, you will get an email with the link and password for 24/7 access to everything inside. And since we are talking about Bonus Room and Kid Spaces today, here is an example of one of the things you will see inside the Free Resource Library:
4 Mini Homework Center Combos + Shopping List
You can grab this and everything else inside by signing up right here:
Yes! I Want Inside the Free Resource Library!
Cheers,
Kristin
Milan says
You really make it appear so easy together with
your presentation however I find this matter to be actually
something which I think I’d never understand.
It kind of feels too complex and extremely extensive for me.
I am looking forward in your subsequent publish, I will attempt
to get the grasp of it! https://Www.Interior.my/projects-ref/21-design-and-build/home-design-build/954-interior-design-build-for-double-story-terrance-house-at-taman-segar