Update: What should I convert my homeschool room to ...

[Ann.without.an.e]

Update: plot twist - it now has a pack and play and play yard in it 🤣🤣🤣
We weren’t really thinking grandkids would come so soon. Especially in duplicates. 
 

*******

Oldest dd and her husband just bought a house and we let them have the table and chairs in there. My oldest three have all graduated and we really don't need a whole room, youngest and I tend to use our laptops at the dining room table or the table in the kitchen for some reason. It is currently empty except for two large bookcases that can stay in there or we have room in the living room if they need to go. 

DH thinks we should make it into a game room (of course everyone is on board with that)

I think it would make a great work out space

decisions, decisions, decisions

I'm open to other ideas too 🙂 

Hit me with your pros and cons 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Laura Corin]

Can't it be both?  I work full time, mostly from home at present.  My room is a combination office/spare room/work out room: the desk stays put, as does the sofa bed, but I roll out my yoga mat and can fold my rowing machine as necessary.

[happi duck]

I'd love a library/reading room/game room!

[Ann.without.an.e]

2 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Can't it be both?  I work full time, mostly from home at present.  My room is a combination office/spare room/work out room: the desk stays put, as does the sofa bed, but I roll out my yoga mat and can fold my rowing machine as necessary.

 

It isn't large enough to have a game table (pool or combo table) and still have floor space for workouts 😞. I wish it did.  Game tables are so huge, they take up a whole room. 

[Harriet Vane]

We have a library/game room/workout room. Our house is set up to have two living rooms, but we didn’t want a formal and a casual couch room. One is plenty for us.

Big bookcases along one wall + pingpong table + all the weights and mats and things. We keep the pingpong table folded up when it’s just dh and I at home. The dining room is just across the foyer, so we play board games and cards in there. Since the pingpong table takes up the whole room we do not have chairs in there.

Edited February 15, 2022 by Harriet Vane

[Harriet Vane]

1 minute ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

It isn't large enough to have a game table (pool or combo table) and still have floor space for workouts 😞. I wish it did.  Game tables are so huge, they take up a whole room. 

Bumper pool might work?

Or a folding pingpong table?

[JustEm]

I would pick whichever one would get the most use. And not just in theory but what fits your current lifestyle?

I know plenty of people who have established workout rooms and game rooms that simply never get used. Because while both sound like great ideas they just aren't a main part of people's lives so often don't get utilized enough to warrant the space they take up.

[Faith-manor]

I turned mine into a quilting/sewing space only to end up mentoring to teams through NASA Student Launch and Battle of the Rockets, and 10 teams through The American Rocketry Challenge so now it houses a mountain of rockets and aerospace parts. So my original intent was overrun.

What do you think would be the most practical? Would a work out room remain dedicated to that cause, and used a lot, of would a game room be used more often?

Edited February 15, 2022 by Faith-manor

[DreamerGirl]

I am not fond of dedicated rooms that serve one purpose. We have a "bonus room". Big, oddly shaped and we do not know what to use it for. So it became multi-purpose. 

It has comfortable couches to sit/sleep on. It has the big TV, projector, game consoles, table and chairs for board games, a combination billiards/table tennis table. It has a recliner and a lamp.

It also served as an overflow space for guests pre-COVID. It is the main family hang out space. 

I work from there sometimes. Kids and parents do virtual classes like martial arts and dance. We vide chat family from there, we eat there sometimes. 

You know your life. Make it accordingly.

[Carol in Cal.]

In my world, it would have bookshelves, some with doors and some without, on most of the walls, floor to ceiling.  I always wish I had more room for books and for supplies of various types.  I'd have a pretty big but pretty collapsible table in it, with both insert leaves and drop leaves, so that it would not take up much room normally but would be able to take over the whole middle of the room for specific project.  Like taxes, ugh.  I'd have a green felt tablecloth for it for card games.  There would be a comfortable couch, a flat screen T,V, a DVD player, and a treadmill that can see the TV.  There would be dumbbell weights in one of the closed cabinets, to use with 'Strong Women Stay Young' or anyone else's weight program.  Somewhere, probably ninety degrees from the TV, there would be a full length mirror for weight lifting and exercise form.  

My bias is against pool tables.  Seems like most people who have them get tired of them, and they are very heavy and difficult to dispose of once that happens.  I'd put a pingpong or fuseball table in the basement, but I would not want to have a pool table.

Edited February 15, 2022 by Carol in Cal.

[Jaybee]

For me, it would be a library/reading room/music room/work room (desk), with bookshelves, a comfy sofa (possibly a sofa bed so it could double as a guest room), and my rower would be against one wall. I agree with @Carol in Cal.that I wouldn't want a pool table. For any game tables, I would want something that is easy to change out or move if it wasn't used much. Not always, of course, but sometimes game rooms seem like a great idea, but then aren't actually used very much when it comes right down to it. YMMV though. I could definitely see members of my family wanting it to be a home gym with free weights, etc.

We have a small bedroom in our house that one day I'm thinking might contain a day bed with trundle (for grandkids) and the rower. It isn't quite big enough to make into my preference above or to have a sofa, but it could be a good room for reading when the family room is being used for the TV.

[prairiewindmomma]

I’d sit and look at functions—what functions can be done in what spaces, and work from there. From what you describe, games could happen elsewhere, but you don’t have a space for workouts anywhere.

Our current school room was styled as an away space by the previous owners—couch, lamp, and wall mounted tv with a gaming setup. One could read, watch tv, or play video games. One could also bring in a laptop and work for a bit. We have styled it as a schoolroom. Once Youngest is a bit older, it will probably transform into something else.

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

 

My bias is against pool tables.  Seems like most people who have them get tired of them, and they are very heavy and difficult to dispose of once that happens.  I'd put a pingpong or fuseball table in the basement, but I would not want to have a pool table.

 

1 hour ago, Jaybee said:

 I agree with @Carol in Cal.that I wouldn't want a pool table. 

 

 

See, I fully agree and therein lies the problem haha. I don't want a game table. DH is looking at a pool table/game table combo that has a top so it can be converted to a real table so I guess that is a plus at least. Our young adults and their So's think they would use a game table a lot but I question if it would be enough to make it practical.

I'd love to leave the two double bookcases (fills one wall), add a small loveseat and lamp to the wall on the other side of the room and leave the middle wide open for exercise, etc and have a nice folding table we can pull out for extra projects, a large group that exceeds our other two tables, etc. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[LifeLovePassion]

Skeeball! It is smaller. And some workout equipment. 

[Spryte]

Another vote for multipurpose!

Our large bonus room is divided into different areas. There’s a large tv and gaming system with the most comfy sectional we’ve ever had. That gets used mostly for movies or just hanging out, reading, whatever. Seats a ton of people. The exercise bike is off to the side in that area, because we all like watching shows on the bigger screen while we ride.

The middle section of the room — which I plan to change soon — there are ikea expedit shelves with bins that housed toys — mostly game and puzzles, art supplies now. A huge table in the center of the room for board gaming or Lego or projects that need to spread out. There’s a stacked ikea trofast tower for Lego bins. 

There’s an alcove off to the side with a small recording studio. Lots of instruments.

A wall of bookcases.

And a closet where we can store a folded Total Gym, though often we keep it out because it’s in use and there’s plenty of space.

[KungFuPanda]

Go full-out rec room. TV on the wall, sofa for lounging, table for games, and a treadmill to work out.  At this stage of life it’s only a matter of time before it’s a playroom for grandkids. I’d keep that in mind before sinking money into something that doesn’t make that transition very well. 
 

i found your coffee table 🤣

https://www.amazon.com/Foosball-Coffee-Tempered-Tabletop-Furniture/dp/B01MSCAJ53/ref=asc_df_B01MSCAJ53/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309820022522&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12089125583058834715&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007837&hvtargid=pla-584849889043&psc=1

Edited February 16, 2022 by KungFuPanda

[Tap]

My dream would be to wire it for 220, vent it and install a sauna!   MMMMMmmmmmm Warmth!  I live in the PNW but am a Texan at heart. My spirit animal must be a lizard basking on a rock.  LOL  Since most people would probably think I am a bit nutty.... here are a few other ideas

 

A sewing/crafting/creating/making studio.

A workout  room or Pilates room, but only if you already work out. I don't know anyone who used one that was created as motivation to work out at home.

DD23 has a yoga/relaxation/meditation room. The room is designed for her to find emotional peace while living in a place that does not feed her soul. (she is an ecology major....living on a stark military base in Las Vegas. )

A game room is great, but does that mean games as in board games? or a large item like ping pong? Board games/foosball/video games etc. don't necessarily take up much room and can co-mingle to make more it more multipurpose with working out. A dance bar takes up little space and can give some great stretching/core work.

A guest room, if you don't have one already to encourage the kids having space when they come back home. 

A music room for instruments. Or for mixing music or video. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Tap

[Ann.without.an.e]

Updated 

[Starr]

Back to the infant room. 🤪

[Clarita]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:05 AM, Ann.without.an.e said:

Update: plot twist - it now has a pack and play and play yard in it 🤣🤣🤣
We weren’t really thinking grandkids would come so soon. Especially in duplicates. 

My in-laws have converted their living room we never step foot in to a play room. There's a train set (two boxes full of tracks and trains), large box tunnels, a bouncy horse, misc. toys everywhere, shelved for puzzles and little kid reachable books.

Since yours are so little you are going to need this https://nuggetcomfort.com/products/the-nugget?variant=37529480364232&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_ads&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=18310636746&utm_content=&utm_term=&gadid=&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpPKiBhDvARIsACn-gzBqxiUFtOTYFo4Pd0xnnzGfZsjA8fWgnnygeKGusoRk2-N2OSfh4UoaAssnEALw_wcB#/category/all/.