Create a Bedroom with Your Unused Formal Living Room

Although the formal living room is a great showplace in any home, it is oftentimes used very infrequently or not at all. For growing families, this room can be converted somewhat with ease into another bedroom. In many instances, you may need to convert this room into a room that will only be used at night. Still others may want to create a guest bedroom that can become a home office when guests are not staying with you. Whatever the case, with some planning and preparation, you will be able to transform this unused or underused space into a functional bedroom.

Planning

The room’s location is oftentimes the biggest challenge that you will face when converting the formal living room area into a functional bedroom. Because the living room is often found near the front of your home, the main entry to the house often opens into it. This is the ideal placement for a formal living room, but can make it hard to transform the space into a bedroom. Even if visitors to the home after bedtime are infrequent, it will still be awkward to have people walking into the guest bedroom during the day when visiting your home. Inversely, this is not an issue if the formal living room is located elsewhere. When location is an issue, you will simply need to think in a more creative fashion about the design of your space. In some instances, you can design the room so that it doubles as a welcoming entryway during the day. The placement of furniture in a strategic way is vital, as you will need to maintain a clutter free walkway through the room from your front door into the home. A day bed or futon in lieu of a more conventional bed can have the effect of making the room look less like a sleeping room during the day. You can also use a divider or screen to disguise the sleeping area.

Options for Furniture

The selection of the right furniture can either make or break the notion of making a bedroom in the formal living room. One solution is to choose pieces of furniture with hidden storage or drawers. During the day, an antique chest, a highboy chest, or even a fun steamer trunk can double as a table to add an appealing look to the space. This hidden storage can come in handily for storing clothing and personal accessories, particularly if there is no closet in the living room. A cozy seating area in the room will make the room more useful and functional during the daytime hours while providing a place for folks to sit and relax. In addition, a small desk can be a welcome addition to the space when it is used for a bedroom that can also be useful during the day. Add a few shelves to the walls to decorate and then bring in a full height bookshelf along with accessories and framed art, paintings, or unique wall art, such as iron door toppers, a personalized wall grille or Southwestern metal wall artwork. The outcome will be a functional and useful space during the day and incognito bedroom during the night.