How to Make Your Bonus Room Look Like a Million Bucks

If you have the joy of a bonus room, then you’ll want to take the time to make it functional and beautiful for you and everyone else. A bonus room is a “room” missing a vital aspect of a legal room. Essentially, a bonus room may not have the ceiling height, number of access points, or other requirements necessary for a room to be classified as a room. While this may make bonus rooms more challenging to utilize, it also means you can make the room work for you. Today, let’s look at a few options for using your bonus room. 

Pick a Function and Theme

Before you begin painting walls or placing furniture, have a vision for your bonus room. Without a clear vision, you’ll end up at square one with wasted money and energy on a space that doesn’t actually work for you. First, evaluate what type of space you need to create. If you constantly have out-of-town family members or friends over, then a spare bedroom may be the best option. If you work from home, consider making the bonus room an office. And if you’re really into hosting people, think about having a dedicated theatre or game room. The sky is the limit for what you can choose. 

After you pick the function, it’s time to pick the theme. If you’re choosing to do a game room or theatre, it might be fun to make the decor match the function. If it’s a spare bedroom, you may find turning it into a little hotel room fun. Having your library decorated with themes after your favorite books could also be fun. Your bonus room is the perfect place to explore your creativity, but it needs to be cohesive. Once you pick a theme, stick with it.

I can’t overstate the importance of keeping your function and theme in mind when creating your new space. But let’s move on to the fun stuff. Let’s look at a few ideas you can implement in different types of bonus rooms.

Spare Bedroom

A spare bedroom is perfect for showing your guests how much you love them. While you can keep the spare bedroom as simple as you like, a few tweaks and additions and you’ll have a bedroom better than a hotel room. For example, a full-length mirror is something you can add that will be greatly appreciated. Not only is it functional for guests, but it also helps the room seem more spacious. Since spare bedrooms are typically smaller, a full-length mirror can do a lot for a small amount of money. 

Another addition to elevate your spare bedroom is a reading nook or seating area. Pull in a chair, a floor-length lamp, and some books or magazines, and you’ve successfully made a reading nook. If you want a seating area, add two chairs and a side table. The size of the bedroom will determine the best solution, but don’t be afraid to add a comfy chair to the bedroom! Finally, I recommend ditching bedside lamps for sconces. Hotels typically use sconce lighting, and I think you’ll enjoy them in your spare bedroom as well. Of course, this addition requires installation, so proceed cautiously if you’re doing everything yourself. 

Game Room

Another excellent option for your bonus room is making it into a game room. Whether you enjoy board games, video games, bar games, or a combination, a game room is a great place to host your favorite people. It’s important to know what type of games you want to play in your game room before you begin setting up the room. This goes back to understanding the function of the room. Because each type of game requires a different setup, knowing what furniture you need is crucial before you start putting items in the room.

Once you know the layout of your room, it’s time to start adding the fun stuff. I recommend first assessing the drink and snack situation in the room. People typically enjoy eating or drinking when playing games, so why not add a mini fridge and snack cart? Another addition I recommend is nice shelving. If you’re planning on having anything stored in this game room (like board games), then be sure your shelving matches the color scheme and style of the room. Even a quick coat of paint will add to the room's overall look. And finally, I recommend having a fun way to play music. Whether it’s a speaker, an Alexa, or a record player, this will surely add to the room's overall experience. If you know you like to listen to music while you play games, go ahead and intentionally plan for it.

Office

Turning your bonus room into an office is probably the most practical option, but that doesn’t mean you must leave out the luxury and fun. First, pick a color palette that makes you happy and excited to be in the room. Avoid typical office grays and beiges; instead, try adding some color around the room. If you like a bold look, I recommend choosing one wall to paint an accent color. (Hint: Ask a paint expert at your local hardware store for help on what colors look best together.) 

Another upgrade you should make to your at-home office is good lighting. If you take Zoom calls often, you know good lighting is essential to your work day. So, when you’re creating the at-home office of your dreams, be sure to have adequate lighting in the correct temperatures. While there is a lot of science behind proper lighting, my big recommendation is to ensure you have enough light and that it’s balanced between cool and warm temperature bulbs. Finally, organization is vital to having a suitable office space. Use drawers, desk organizers, and cabinets to store the necessary supplies and documents. Find an organization system that works for you and use it! This helps decrease clutter, subconsciously making you more willing and excited to go into the room.

Library

The final option we’ll go over today for a bonus room is a personal library. If you’re considering this option, you probably have an overwhelming amount of books somewhere (or everywhere!). Having a designated space for your many books is a great way to love your inner bookworm and free up space around your house. Personal libraries don’t require much, so you can make a library happen in almost any sized room. 

The most important part of a library is the books. It’s up to you to determine how you will organize them, but I recommend you take the time and not just throw them up on a shelf. Whether you organize by color, author, or genre is ultimately up to you, but pick a way and stay consistent. Next, focus on your shelving. Since bookshelves can be expensive, you may buy some from Amazon or Walmart. If you decide this, then I highly suggest you paint them. Paint them a richer black, a beautiful brown, or another color with depth. The color of your shelving will make or break the luxurious feel of your library, so pay attention to it. And the final aspect of a library is the seating. I love a comfy chair with a footrest, but you may choose to have a chair and desk or a couch. Ultimately, this is up to you; just make sure you select an option that fits the size of the room and what you will utilize. 

Conclusion

There are almost infinite options for utilizing a bonus room, and what each person comes up with will probably be very different from the next person. Start by assessing the current needs of your household and going from there. Make your bonus room work for you, and make it something beautiful in the process.