From House To Home

Q: When can a family add space to their home without calling a contractor for an addition?

A: When one of their young adult children goes to live on-campus at his or her chosen university!

             
An underused bedroom is easily converted to home office space, reading room, guest room, a private repose, or a nursery for the grandchildren, says Margaret Schomburg, interior designer and owner of MKS Designs and Interiors in Omaha, Nebraska.

None of these makeovers needs to make the college student feel unappreciated, says Schomburg. In fact, she encourages her clients to “make it so the child looks forward to coming home to this room instead of the old room.”

To accomplish this task, Schomburg suggests giving everyone the opportunity for input in choosing colors and designs. Ultimately, everyone needs to feel comfortable in the space, so compromise is the key.

For example, the nursery she helped create from an underused bedroom used red, black, and white in its design to accommodate gender and age differences, she explains.

Since flexible furniture gives the most mileage to a small space, Schomburg likes to incorporate pieces such as the fold-out chair, double-sided bookcase, and computer desk armoire in shared spaces.

Buying new furniture for the space isn’t always necessary. Reconfiguring rooms by moving pieces from other areas of the house into the new shared space also works.

While there are many options for this reclaimed space, guest and sitting rooms are among the most popular, Schomburg says. One of her favorites is a sitting room she created for a client. In it, they replaced the client’s son’s bed with a fold-out chair-and-a-half and added a bookcase and computer armoire.

“It became her private space to get away from everything,” Schomburg says, “except when her son came home, and then it was all his.”

Easing The Transition

Parents can be excited by the new-found space. Too much enthusiasm, however, may be viewed as an unwelcome push out the door by the departing college student.

To ease the transition, Schomburg stresses working together as much as possible. This enhances the student’s feeling of being part of the new space.

“Do this by giving them a say in the decluttering and storage of memorabilia. Remember the biggest thing you want to avoid is clutter,” she cautions.

Ask the young adult to sort personal items for display, storage, or giveaway. Schomburg gave her own daughter two totes and instructions to fill them with anything she might want after graduation. The rest can either be given away or incorporated in the new design.

Also, it never hurts to reassure children that they are loved and how much parents are looking forward to their return.

Tips

Underused bedroom conversion do’s and don’ts

• Make sure you leave a sleeping space—but don’t limit yourself to a bed.
• Utilize the dual duty of transitional furniture.
• Choose colors and designs that appeal to parents and adult children alike.
• Be sensitive to memories and memorabilia.
• Make decisions together when possible.
• Be sure to leave space for the adult child’s things when they do come home.