Have you ever wanted to add a spare bedroom to your home but felt that you lacked the space? You may not realize that most people can actually find at least one space in their home that has the potential to transform into an extra bedroom.
From converting spaces to building extensions, adding dividers, and more, we’ll explain how to transform spaces into new bedrooms.
Note that this article is not about creating an extra bedroom from scratch (construction). Rather, this article will share tips on how to make an extra bedroom in your house out of unused spaces.
We’ll share tips that rely on resourcefulness as well as creativity when it comes to interior design. Further, we’ll share tips for how to do this on a budget. Keep reading to familiarize yourself with different methods.
Ways to Make Use of Space for an Extra Bedroom
There are a lot of ways you can utilize extra space in your home to create a spare bedroom. You can alter spaces such as attics, garages, sunrooms, offices, basements, and living rooms to create a private space suited to sleeping in.
Below are some of my favorite ways to transform or change a space to make it new.
Transform Your Garage
A garage can make a great space for an extra bedroom. With a little sprucing and some modifications, you can transform a space like this from dark and cold to warm and inviting.
Further, if your home has a detached garage unit, you could even transform it into a sort of guest house that would fit one person or a couple.
If you want a garage space to be fit for sleeping in during all weather conditions, you need to make sure it has insulation and has electrical wiring. This way you can add lighting, sources of air (space heater, fans, AC, etc.), and outlets.
In terms of making a garage space more personalized as a bedroom, make simple additions and changes, such as a fresh coat of wall paint, furniture, and cozy rugs to soften the floor.
Once your garage is fit to sleep/live in, you can customize it in just about any way that you want to, choosing decor that matches your own personal aesthetic.
Turn Your Attic Into a Loft Bedroom
Depending on your budget, you may or may not be able to afford an attic transformation. It’s much easier and more affordable to turn a finished attic into a bedroom space than it is to transform an unfinished attic.
An attic makes a cute and modern sort of A-frame loft space, given the shape of most houses’ roofs.
If your attic already has drywall, insulation, electrical wiring, and a foundation/floors, then you can easily spruce it up and make it fit for a bedroom.
However, if you need to add these components, you’ll have to drop a significant amount of money to change the space.
Adding furnishings, decor, lamps/lighting, and special touches will go a long way to making an attic into a cozy living space. You might also consider adding string lights to make it warmer and brighter.
You’ll also want to ensure that you have ample sources of heat and cool air since hot air rises to the attic in the summer, and the attic can get quite cold in the winter.
Divide A Room in Half
Another way to create a bedroom (or two) out of a living space or extra space is to divide a room in half.
For example, you could divide your living room, dining room, or other large space in half to create a bedroom.
There are a few ways you can do this. A more permanent method of doing this is to build in an extra wall or walls to sanction off a room by itself. Then, you could actually add a door frame and eventually a real door.
However, if you’re on a budget and don’t want to take on a full construction project with drywall and other materials, you could also buy a room divider.
Room dividers are really cost-effective but still, they are really efficient at creating a temporary extra bedroom space.
Note that you don’t get optimal privacy this way, but you do have a solid option for creating a spare bedroom if you need to house some last-minute guests.
Upgrade And Furnish Your Basement
This option is perhaps one of the easiest options, especially if you already have a finished basement.
By finished I mean that the basement has drywall, electrical wiring, lighting, and basic heat/cooling features.
These are the main aspects of a sleeping space that you’ll need to translate a basement into a spare bedroom.
Since basements are typically separated from the rest of the house with walls, stairs, and a door, you already have the basic ingredients for a bedroom.
You can spruce up a basement space with cozy decor, a bed, a dresser, some lamps, and a few other touches to make it more bedroom-esque.
If you have an unfinished basement, of course, you’ll need to install the proper elements like drywall, lighting, etc. To make a space liveable, after all, you may need to put in some investments and work.
Transform A Sunroom
Sunrooms are excellent spaces for relaxing, soaking up some rays, and escaping from the regular atmosphere of your home.
But have you ever thought about converting your sunroom into an extra bedroom?
While it’s not the most convenient way to add another sleeping space to your home, it is effective and you can do it with little effort required.
One thing you’ll need to keep in mind is that sunrooms are usually located on the outset of a house. They outcrop from the porch, the sides, or the back of the house in most cases.
Further, a sunroom’s borders/walls will mostly consist of windows. This means that the insulation is going to be different, and less effective, than the insulation on the rest of your home.
Because of this, you’ll want to take care of some extra insulation by adding seals to windows and the cracks under doors to use a sunroom as a converted bedroom. This way, your guests or whoever is sleeping in the sunroom won’t get too hot or cold, depending on the weather. Adding seals also help to safeguard the sunroom against pests, such as bugs, bees, and rodents.
Once you’ve made the sunroom more indoor-friendly, you can furnish it and add personal touches. You may also want to add a layer of protection to the room by adding extra padlocks since it will be closest to the outside world.
Keep a Pullout Couch in Your Home Office
This isn’t the most ideal way to convert a room into an extra bedroom. However, it’s a smart and cost-effective way to give a dual purpose to one of your pre-existing rooms.
If you have a home office (closed off by walls and a door) with ample space for a sofa, then you could try out this method.
Purchase a pullout sofa bed and place it in your office space. When it comes time to use the office as a bedroom, simply clear a space and pull out the sofa.
The room will already be ready to use since most offices already have electricity, lighting, and an air source.
Then, when you need to use the office as an office space again, simply fold up the sofa bed and the room will be back to its original state.
Again, this is a really cost-effective way to add an extra bedroom to your home. You really just need to supply the sofa bed, and then you can use the space as a guest bedroom.
Convert a Walk-In Closet
If you can convert an attic, sunroom, or garage into a new bedroom, then you can surely transform a closet into a bedroom if it’s large enough.
Although this isn’t going to be the most spacious of options and is probably reserved for those with homes large enough to house proper walk-in closets, it is an option nevertheless.
Since large walk-in closets already have lighting, electricity, and storage, they make the perfect space to convert into an extra bedroom if you really need one.
I understand that this won’t be a valid option for everyone since the average homeowner does not have a closet large enough to keep a bed.
However, if you do, it’s a very affordable way to add an extra bedroom by using what was once a storage space. All you would really need to do is clear out the closet, bring in a bed, and add whatever else you need to make it feel like home.
The main downside to this option is that most walk-in closets usually attach to other bedrooms or the master bedroom, which means you can only get to them by entering another private bedroom. This can be inconvenient if you want full privacy for the closet-turned-bedroom.
Turn A Shed Into A Bedroom
If you really have no other options or extra spaces in your home, the last resort could be a shed.
Outdoor sheds, when large enough, make suitable makeshift bedrooms in a similar way that detached garages do.
Many sheds are large enough to fit at least a twin bed or twin XL-sized bed. And you might even be able to fit a few extra pieces of small furniture, as well as lighting.
One thing you’ll need to take care of, though, is safeguarding the shed against the elements.
Take measures to insulate your shed so that cold air, rainwater, and other elements don’t get inside when you’re sleeping.
Furthermore, you’ll need to take precautions to keep out animals, insects, and other potential intruders.
This means you may need to set traps, fumigate before transforming the space, or even add extra seals to any windows or cracks. You don’t want to be in a scenario where a beehive is forming inside your now-bedroom.
And you definitely don’t want to be in a place where an intruder can get in, so make sure you get a proper lock system in place on the shed door.
The only thing you may be missing with a shed is electricity, so keep this in mind unless you plan to add wiring.
How To Make Extra Bedrooms On A Budget
Now that we’ve looked over some of the best ways to transform spare home space into extra bedrooms, let’s consider ways to achieve these dreams on a budget.
Not everyone will have money to invest in renovations or construction, so you should think of alternate ways of transforming rooms, such as DIY jobs and/or temporary adjustments.
Thrift and Second hand
One easy way to save money on furnishing a new bedroom is to thrift your bed, lamp(s), dresser, and other furniture. Most towns have at least one thrift store that sells furniture items for prices much lower than retail value. Spending $50 on a gently used bed frame, as opposed to spending $300 on a brand new one, makes a huge difference.
You can also turn to online sellers, such as those on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, which allows you to buy second hand from locals for a cheaper price.
Furthermore, if you want to get second-hand items for really low prices (or even for free), ask around among friends and family to see if anyone has hand-me-down furniture or decor they could give to you.
Make Temporary Modifications Instead of Permanent Ones
Another tip for cutting costs is to make temporary changes to a room, rather than permanent ones.
In other words, use things like room dividers, pull-out sofas, and other temporary objects to turn a room into an extra bedroom part-time, rather than permanently.
Instead of starting construction to build a wall in the middle of a large space, put up a divider to act as a wall. It’s cheaper and much faster.
And when it comes to adjusting a room meant for something else (like an office or playroom), if you add a pullout sofa bed, you can keep the space for its original purpose and get a bedroom out of it part-time.
Do DIY Projects
This is one of the oldest money-saving tricks in the book when it comes to remodeling and modifying your home. If you do the labor yourself, you get free labor, as opposed to paying a professional.
This means that, instead of hiring a painting or construction crew to remodel your basement, you could potentially do the job yourself if you have the know-how. You’ll save a lot of money this way and even get to add a personal touch.
Other DIY jobs to help create a new bedroom include installing shelves on your own, refurbishing thrifted furniture, adding wallpaper, and other smaller jobs.
Make Use Of Already Finished Spaces
When I say “already finished”, I just mean to look for spaces in your home that already have four walls, a finished ceiling, electricity, and a solid foundation.
It’s much cheaper to turn a finished attic into a bedroom loft than it is to go into a wobbly unfinished attic and pay for construction to bring it up to standards.
Furthermore, the same is true when it comes to a basement or a garage. You want a spare bedroom to mimic the rest of the bedrooms in your home. You can save a lot on remodeling costs by cutting out the excessive work of flooring, drywall, and wiring.
Plan Ahead
No home remodeling project is complete without a set of blueprints or at least a basic plan to start with. Planning ahead allows you to create a budget. After all, you can’t stay under budget if you don’t have a clear budget to begin with.
Planning ahead also gives you time to research the most affordable furniture and materials, as well as where to find the best deals.
You can even go to a home improvement store, such as Lowe’s or Home Depot, and get free advice from employees about what you should buy. This way, you won’t waste funds buying extra materials that you don’t need.
And finally, planning ahead also ensures that you don’t make mistakes in the process of setting up your new bedroom.
Mistakes in remodeling often lead to wasted resources, and thus, wasted money. This is especially true when you end up having to buy more materials or start over.
Final Thoughts
Adding an extra bedroom to your house isn’t always as expensive or complicated as building a new room from scratch. There are several ways to make use of unoccupied spaces in your home and transform them into extra bedrooms.
Whether you convert your attic, garage, or basement into a new bedroom, or split a living space in half, there are plenty of ways to achieve your goals on a modest budget. Try out the ideas above!
