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Creating an Organized Multipurpose Room

Home has always been more than just a place to eat and sleep — it's also the place where many of us spend most of our days working or learning. Today, our space should be more flexible than ever before.

A Multipurpose Room of One's Own

It seems no matter where we live — whether in a single-family suburban home or a one-bedroom urban apartment — we all invariably need more space. Luckily, you don't have to upsize to get the added utility you need. With smart space planning and a little creativity, you can pack a ton of function into the tiniest of spaces.

Creating a multipurpose room may feel like a daunting task at first, but chances are you're probably already using one. Whether your dining room also acts as your home office or your seldom-used guest room doubles as your weight room, most of us already try to squeeze as much function as we can out of our existing spaces. 

The trouble comes when our homes lack organization and thoughtful design — without the right storage tools and design strategies, we quickly find ourselves feeling trapped in a chaotic, cluttered mess.

Benefits of Organized Multipurpose Rooms

Designing an organized multipurpose space is relatively easy and can provide many benefits, such as:

  • Increased functionality: A multipurpose room layout includes extra storage to remove clutter and add much-needed real estate. This might mean clearing walls to hang essential items and shelving or placing storage bins beneath furniture to clear our floors for more functionality.
  • More savings: When we rent or purchase a home, we're paying for that space, so it only makes sense to maximize it by creating multipurpose rooms. Instead of moving into a larger home, you can simply add storage and multiuse furniture items. This way, you make the most of your space without paying for additional square footage or furniture for a second room. 
  • Improved focus: Studies show that a cleaner home promotes better productivity when your attention isn't directed at unrelated objects and room clutter. By organizing a multiuse room so all the debris is away from your floors and walls, you can better focus on tasks such as learning or working from home. 
  • Enhanced comfort: Removing clutter to create multipurpose rooms can enhance your comfort and improve your mood by letting you gain control over your environment. When you design your multipurpose room the right way, you'll have extra lounge space to spread out and participate in the relaxing activities you enjoy the most, like reading or practicing yoga. 

Multipurpose Room Ideas

There are numerous ways to make a multipurpose room. We'll list a few room ideas below so you can make the most of your living space. 

Closet Office

If you have a guest room with a closet, then a closet office — or "cloffice" — makes the best use of your additional space by turning it into an area to learn or work.

Use the closet door for storage items and functional tools that you'll need for your school or career. Think pens, calculators, computer chargers and notepads. Hanging a convenient door organizer beside your work desk ensures you have essential items on hand without sacrificing space. It also means your desk is clear of clutter, so you can focus and be more productive.

In addition to working or learning, your multipurpose room will make the ideal space to host guests. Include a bed, dresser and shelving to maximize your space and increase comfort. You can also place bins with additional school items like notebooks and textbooks in storage bins beneath the bed or atop wall shelving inside your closet. 

Make use of furniture that tucks against walls like fold-away beds and folding chairs — the organizational possibilities are endless with this type of multipurpose room.

Cozy Corner Nook 

There are so many ways you can organize your living room to accommodate additional activities. Corners make the coziest hangout spots. You might opt to transform your living room corner into a reading nook or a playroom area for the kids. 

You can separate your corner area from the other parts of the room by creating a theme and placing specific furniture items in that area. If you're making a reading nook, only include cozy items such as soft area rugs and plush chairs and bean bags in the corner. 

Hang string lights or wall lights only in this section of the room so you can relax and read at night. This way, your state of mind changes, so you're ready to jump back into the next chapter of your favorite novel when you step into your corner nook. 

If you want to use your corner as a play space, make it stand out with bright colors and furnishings. Place colorful carpeting that's comfortable enough to sustain any trips or falls in this particular area of your room. Include rockers for reading and relaxing, toy trunks and other furniture items so your kids can get excited about playtime when they see their nook.

Dining Living Room 

Family rooms can make excellent dining rooms when you separate and organize the areas properly. Configurable furniture such as tables, chairs and sofas help make your dining room double as a comfortable space for watching movies and hosting family and friends. 

Incorporate tables that can comfortably fit four to ten people. You can easily convert an expanding dining room table to accommodate any guests you have over before shrinking it back down to save space when you need your living room for movie nights. 

Include cozy folding chairs for your dining room that double as living room chairs. This way, you save space and have comfortable seating for yourself and your guests. 

Guest-Friendly Family Room

Your multipurpose room creates extra functionality so you can entertain your guests and ensure their comfort. Convert your living room from a relaxing weekday space into an active weekend guest space. 

Living room sofas can easily convert into beds for those nights you have guests staying over. Place additional pillows and bedding in storage bins beneath your living room coffee table or sofa. Some sofas even include built-in storage with removable cushions and pull-up sections that provide additional space for items, so your guests have everything they need.

How to Organize A Multipurpose Room? 

A multipurpose room layout should provide functionality, visual appeal and comfort in one area of your home. 

Before transforming your rooms into multipurpose areas, you'll want to declutter and prep the space. Tidying the room first will help you see the amount of space you have to work with and determine the types of storage you'll need:

  1. Create three piles — one for items to keep and store in the room, one for items to donate and another for items to throw away. 
  2. Donate the items you no longer need and throw away the items you can't donate. 
  3. Consider different storage options for the remaining items. For instance, vertical shelving, floor bins and door storage are all excellent storage options to create a multifunctional room.

Here, our editors share their top tips for creating and maintaining an organized, functional, multiuse room. You'll want to make use of double-duty sofas and beds as well as various types of shelving to create the ideal multifunctioning room.

1. Foldable Furniture

It may seem obvious, but the very first rule of multifunctional design is to utilize multifunctional furnishings: pieces that fold away neatly to free up floor space when they're not in use or double-duty components that transform into something else entirely.

Fold-Away Desks

You probably don't use that desk sitting in your guest room when the in-laws are over for an extended stay, so why should your workstation take up so much valuable space when it's only used a fraction of the time? 

Instead of using a traditional freestanding desk, why not go with a fold-away desk that disappears into your wall — or better yet, a wall bed with an integrated desk. When the guests are gone, simply close up the bed to reveal your desk and — voila! — your home office has appeared in its place.

Wall Beds

Multifunctional wall beds come in every variety imaginable. Plain wall beds, like the Penelope 2, completely disappear into your wall, multiplying the size of any given space. Wall beds with integrated sofas and sectionals, meanwhile, allow your living room or den to double as a guest room. And wall beds with integrated desks or dining tables provide needed table surfaces where they couldn't otherwise fit.

Because wall beds are specifically designed to create a diversity of use in any space, they also feature many built-in storage options. Many of our sofa wall beds, like the Oslo or the Swing, feature a hidden under-seat storage area for keeping extra bedding, shoes, winter coats and other pesky items that always seem to take up too much space.

Even wall bunk beds, like the Kali Duo, can be true life-savers in shared kids' rooms. Of course, these bunk options are also available with integrated sofas and desks — so the kids can fit their bed, their hangout space and their homework desk all in a tiny room.

2. Corner Tables and Shelves

There is an incredible amount of space hiding in your home, no matter how tiny it may be — you just need to know where to look for it! Corners, for instance, are often overlooked and under-utilized storage spots. Organize your multiuse room with the correct corner storage. 

L-Shaped Desks and Shelving

The addition of a simple L-shaped corner desk or corner shelving unit can instantly multiply a room's storage space, freeing up your floors and closets for other functional uses.

Corner desks are especially great for dual-purpose home offices, as they keep all of your work items at arm's length without taking up the real estate that a traditional desk would. Their distinctive L-shape also creates a sense of separation or delineation from the rest of the room, so you will still feel you have a designated workspace even if you are working out of a multipurpose space, like a guest room or living room.

Banquettes

But don't stop at desks or shelves — the uses for corners are endless and help create the ideal multipurpose room layout. 

Use a banquette to create a corner dining nook and instantly double the size of your kitchen. Make a cozy reading corner in your guest room or home office, or use a corner to store kids' toys and keep the center of the room clear of clutter. To make the corner feel like a separate space, consider painting the corner walls a different color from the rest of the room.

3. Vertical Expansion 

Ask any small-space designer and they will tell you — vertical expansion is key to organizing any multiuse room. Walls are precious real estate in your home, not merely places to hang pictures.

Use your walls for practical purposes — hang a bicycle, hang your folding chairs, even hang a fold-down table or desk. The less floor space these items occupy, the more square footage you have available for other purposes, whether that's entertaining guests, exercising or working from home. If you're stretched for wall space, look to the backs of your doors as an alternative.

4. Clear the Clutter

Multipurpose room layouts should include a whole lot more storage than your average, single-purpose space. Keep clutter at bay with creative storage options. Resource Furniture offers storage solutions to suit nearly any space need — everything from walk-in closets to shallow cabinets, shelving systems and wall hooks. 

You can easily pair a full-height shelving or cabinetry system with a space-saving wall bed to create the appearance of a seamless, wall-to-wall built-in.

Totes and Bins

If you're not ready to install new cabinets or closets, plenty of low-tech storage options are available to organize a multiuse room.

Is your floor an obstacle course of children's toys? (We've been there!) How about tossing those toys into open-wire bins hung on the bedroom walls? This is a great way to teach young kids how to tidy up after themselves, and it doesn't eat up valuable under-bed storage or closet space. You can even hang up colorful tote bags on the back of your children's bedroom doors for quickly stashing toys after playtime.

Whatever storage options you choose, the key takeaway is that everything in your multifunctional home needs its own designated storage spot. When every item has its home, it's much easier to keep your space clean and find what you need in a pinch.

5. Multifunctional Styles

Your multipurpose home should still feel homey, no matter how many other functions it may serve. You don't want your bedroom to feel like an office cubicle, nor do you want your laid-back media room to feel like a stuffy, formal dining room.

Adaptable Furniture

If your furniture has to perform double-duty (think a wall bed that transforms into a sofa or desk), make sure the furniture still matches your style and décor in various configurations. 

Our Cristallo table, for instance, converts in height and length from a standard coffee table to a banquet table for ten. However, its sleek, contemporary design suits nearly every environment, so it never feels out of place no matter how it is being used.

Complementary Colors

Play with colors and textures to create a unifying theme across your home. Consistency across your color palettes and furniture styles can take a multifunctional home from crowded to cohesive. 

When using wall colors to delineate spaces from one another (see our advice on delineating corner spaces), make sure your colors are complementary. Otherwise, you run the risk of sensory overload.

6. Consider Your Actual Space Needs

When it comes to multifunctional rooms, it's not about splitting your space in half down the middle — it's about allocating your area according to how you'll use it. 

If you only use your formal dining room on special occasions and holidays, why should all that square footage go to waste for the remainder of the year? If you only host overnight visitors every once in a while, why fill an entire spare room with a stationary guest bed that rarely sleeps guests? 

With transforming or fold-away furniture, you don't have to choose between a guest room or an office, a dining room or a den — so design your multipurpose room layout to prioritize the activities you'll use the most.

Browse Multifunctional, Transforming Furniture at Resource Furniture

Whether you'd like to downsize, save space with roommates or transform your home into an adaptable space for guests, you can find the furniture you need to make it happen at Resource Furniture. 

We offer a plethora of transforming and multifunctional furniture systems that enable you to maximize every square inch of your home:

  • Wall Beds: With over 60 different types of wall bed systems, you can gain all the functionality of an additional bedroom without upsizing your home. Our wall beds are created in Italy by a family business specializing in crafting beds for over 50 years. We provide innovative designs and high-quality craftsmanship to get you the furniture you need. 
  • Transforming Tables: Turn your coffee or console table into a dining table fit for ten or more with expanding and converting tables.
  • Seating and Storage: Try these space-saving essentials to give your multifunctional home a finishing touch. You will find everything from transformable accessories to compact seating and customizable storage systems.

Creating a multipurpose room has never been easier with our vast selection of high-quality furniture and accessories. Our wall beds even come with a lifetime warranty on their mechanisms to ensure your secure investment.

To create your dream multipurpose room, contact us for a quote or schedule a consultation at one of our showrooms today!