What to Do with an Unused Dining Room
If your dining room looks more dusty than dinner-ready, it might be time to rethink how you’re utilizing this space. After all, there’s no reason to hang onto formal traditions if they don’t fit the current needs of your home or your lifestyle.
Explore what to do with an unused dining room — including ways you can transform your floor plan to make it more functional and appealing.
Ideas for Unused Dining Rooms
Whether you’re an empty nester, or you work remotely and spend much of your time at home, there are many reasons for why you might be reevaluating your traditional dining area. The following are some unused dining room ideas that’ll suit nearly any design style and budget.
Home Office
If you’re new to working from home, you might be looking for ways to optimize your workspace and boost your productivity. According to CraftJack, 32% of people who work from home work from a proper office, but nearly as many (31%) say their bedroom is their office. Eek. That can’t be a healthy long-term idea!
A great option is to turn your formal dining room into a home office. All you need to do is swap out your dining table for a desk, hang a few shelves (or install a shelving unit), and add any other accessories that’ll help you settle in and get to work.
Video Game Den or Playroom
Why let your dining room go unused when you could turn it into a playroom or video game den for your family and friends? Gather up all your board games, gaming electronics, or move in your pool table. Make the space both fun and functional. Alternatively, if you have young children, you could make a playroom for them complete with toys, coloring books, and more.
Having a dedicated playroom can be especially beneficial for young ones, notes the family blog, Zizzy. It makes playdates easier, encourages collaborative play, leaves bedrooms for sleeping, and shows kids that you take play seriously!
“Play is vital to healthy social development and a dedicated playroom is a great way to give your children these important life skills,” writes Zizzy.
Home Library
All the book lovers out there are sure to be excited about this next idea…
“A personal library serves as a visual display of the time you’ve spent reading, the knowledge you’ve acquired, and the development of your interests,” explains The Morning Call. And creating your very own library space can be pretty easy!
To turn your unused dining room into a home library, start by collecting all your books from wherever they’re stored in the rest of the house. Attic? Basement? Garage? Then, remove your dining room table, add bookshelves, a few strategically placed lamps, and a comfortable sofa — and you’re ready to enjoy a good read.
Guest Room
You don’t need to be an interior designer to convert your dining space into a cozy guest room. You can bring in either a conventional bed frame and mattress, install a Murphy bed (for small spaces), or purchase a futon or fold out couch that’s appropriate for sleeping. Add a side table and bedside lamp, throw in a colorful rug, and just wait for all your visitors to arrive.
Lounge Room
Another great idea for an unused dining room is creating a space that’s dedicated to lounging. This can look a lot of different ways depending on your taste, style, etc. You can deck out the space with oversized sofas and armchairs that invite conversation, purchase a big screen TV to host home movie nights, or set up a bar area for parties and/or entertaining guests.
Workout Area
If you’re someone who prioritizes fitness but doesn’t love going to the gym, you might be interested in turning your dining room into a workout area. Get a treadmill, roll out your yoga mat, or add a few free weights to your space and you’ve essentially got yourself a home gym. You really don’t need much to create a personalized mini gym you can use whenever you like.
Homework Station
For any parents out there, your unused dining room would actually make a great homework station. The room is already close to the kitchen, and you can keep an eye on your little ones while cooking or taking care of everyday chores.
There’s a good chance your kids already have desks — and by moving those desks into a designated homework center, you can give them more of a living area in their bedroom. Stock the space with whatever books, tools, and resources your children need to succeed.
Hobby Room
Creating a space for your favorite hobbies is a terrific way to repurpose a lonely dining room. Changing your dining area into a hobby room means you can pull in musical instruments, arts and crafts, and whatever other activities you love to do. So stop scrapbooking in the living room or doing your sewing in the basement, and redo your dining space ASAP.
Let Rent-A-Center Help Redecorate
Hopefully, these dining room ideas have helped you envision all the possibilities for transforming your own home. And remember, Rent-A-Center is here to help turn your dining room into a space for work, play, exercise, or entertainment.
Rent-A-Center has tons of options for home office furniture, exercise equipment, and even guest bedroom furniture. If you can dream it for your dining room, you can find it at Rent-A-Center. Visit your nearest Rent-A-Center location today to get started!