The Multipurpose Room
When downsizing, you will most likely find yourself having to create a multipurpose room. That means you need to pack a ton of function into a small space. That can be done if you have thoughtful design and stay organized. Otherwise, you will find yourself feeling trapped in a chaotic, cluttered mess.
The first step is to define what the space is functioning as. In my case, I needed one room to be a guest room, a craft room, and a home office. I needed each of those “rooms” to have their own designated space. I also needed to decide the storage tools that would work for each area. Just like when you organize a clothes closet, the key is vertical expansion and being able to see everything. Originally, I thought using underbed totes would work, but quickly realized that I had no idea what was under there.
The Guest Room
in a multipurpose room
The best way to create a guest room is to think about what you like as a guest. Obviously, you need a bed. We opted to keep our king-sized bed, even though I knew it would fill up the room. Downsizing is about repurposing versus buying new. In addition to the bed, I feel like guests like a nightstand with a reading lamp. One of my favorite guests (our older son) also appreciates a TV. Space wise that was not so easy, so we opted to hang that on the wall to conserve space.
The guest bath
The final thing a guest needs is a bathroom to use, and although this one is small, I make sure it caters to the out-of-town traveler. By that I mean to have all the things they may have forgotten; an extra toothbrush, toothpaste, small soaps, razors, shampoo/conditioner, lotion and if you’re really savvy a small sewing kit and shower cap.
The Craft room
in a multipurpose room
This was the space I struggled with the most. In our last house I had an entire attic space that functioned as a craft room including wall to wall built in shelving. Now I had a walk-in closet to house that. Here is where vertical storage came in handy and my husband put in shelving ALL the way to the ceiling. In addition to that, I came up with fun storage ideas to house everything from ribbon to ink stamping pads. I will tell you that this required some major decluttering. Just like you do with clothes, you create piles of like things and decide which ones you really need. I found that I had things I hadn’t touched since the good old scrapbooking days, so it was time to let go.
Side note
My old craft room held bins of memorabilia like art my kids created in elementary school and diaries from my high school days. I even had 3 binders of a sticker collection! As painful as it may be, these are some of the things you need to let go of when downsizing. I took pictures of the art projects and did allow myself one small bin per child to keep things I really couldn’t part with (Cullen’s 1st sandals or Caden’s 1st Halloween costume).
In addition to the craft closet I made use of a storage bench that would hold wrapping paper, bows, gift bags, and tags.
The desk would serve multiple purposes both in the home office and as a work space for crafting.
The most important thing was being able to see everything, so I recommend using clear storage or labeling.
The home office
in a multipurpose room
What do you really need in a home office? A desk, office supplies, a computer, a printer, and a filing system that works for you. You may also want some binders; I suggest this for financial statements and budget planning. Since a large part of my real estate life also takes place in the home office, I needed to make room for that as well. The solution came form IKEA. Two tall towers, a desk, and a little rolling cart make up my entire home office. One tower dedicated to home and the other dedicated to real estate. Filing should really be contained to one drawer or in my case one rubber tote. Each year that tote needs to be cleaned out and anything worth holding onto should go into a file box and be stored in the attic.
My real estate tower also has one filing box and binders. In addition to that, I have plenty of room for presentation items, client binders, and note cards.
How long do you need to keep important documents? Here’s an article that can help.
What is in your filing system?
Almost everything is paperless these days in the statement world, but I am still secretly a paper girl. I have a file for health insurance, auto insurance, each vehicle we own, our house records including HOA statements, each child and their school, my dog, stock statements, and a file for each month of this year with bill statements and a budget sheet. That’s probably a whole other blog.
the rolling office cart
In between the two towers is a desk with a desk top computer and a hanging file for the things I need to have at an arm’s length. Because this desk must function as an office and craft table, the less stuff on it, the better. This is where the rolling cart comes in that holds all office supplies from pens to paper clips to staplers. It rolls out when I need it and rolls into the closet out of sight when I don’t.
So sadly, after all that, I still had a little overflow that needed a home. From the old house, I had a cube shelf from Ikea that used to be in a closet. It wasn’t in the greatest condition, but with a few small touches was good as new! I used peel and stick wallpaper to cover the outside of the shelf and bought fabric cubes that matched the room décor.
In the end, no matter how functional your room is, you still want it to feel homey. Your furniture should match in color and in style. Play with colors and textures to make it feel like somewhere you want to spend time. I fell in love with the polka dot pillow and planned the entire room around it. Since all the furniture felt really white, I painted the walls to give it some definition. This room is now a place that I can work in, craft in, and think guests will feel comfortable in.
I love the concept of a multipurpose room.