9 Amazing Ideas for that Extra Room within Your Living Room

Got some spare space within your living room that isn’t being put to any good use? Feel like a corner is under-utilized and would prove its worth when converted into a dedicated room?

Or perhaps you have an awkwardly-shaped living room that’s either too long or has a weird projection like a den that’s adding no real value to the space.

Or maybe you’re a homeowner who’d like to increase the value of your home by adding that extra room. If you’re staging your home for sale or renting it out, chances are a 3-bedroom condo’s going to get you more money when compared to a 2-bedroom.

Whatever your reason might be, if you’re thinking about splitting your living room into a living + extra room, then here are some ideas that might spur you on with the project!

But before that, let’s address the big question…

Can you build a room within your living room?

Yes, of course! In fact, it might be an economical way to make the most of your real estate. Building an extra room out of your living room is not just a practical solution to increase your home’s functionalities but also a quick and easy way to add value to it, especially in areas where rents are proportional to the number of rooms. If your living room is larger than your required size, then it might be smarter to split it up to make an additional room that could be used for several different purposes.

Use temporary walls to split your living room

Temporary walls and room dividers can be immensely useful for dividing your living room. They don’t have any structural significance and usually fall within the scope of interior décor. Since temporary walls usually don’t go all the way up to the ceiling (and hence don’t disrupt light and ventilation), you have fewer complications in the renovation laws department too.

Plus, with modular and DIY temporary walls, building a room within your living room can become a quick and easy task! Modular wall kits like these don’t require any expert assistance at all. You really don’t need to go through the hassles of hiring a contractor or carpenter to get that extra room. You can simply build one yourself with nothing but a drill and screwdriver within a couple of hours even!

9 ways to use that extra room within your living room

1. Set up a productive home office

If you’re a remote worker who’s been bearing the brunt of an unproductive WFH situation due to all the distractions of the household, a dedicated home office might well be the way to add value to your living room. Even if a mere 4’x5’ space is all you have to spare in a corner or one side of your living room, it’s plenty to create a nice space to work from.

Set up your work desk, get a comfy office chair, and hang some shelves for your files, books, stationery, and other work items. It’s also a good idea to add a collapsible door to your divider so you can have full control over those distractions. It’ll help you effectively isolate your work zone from the rest of the living room. The isolation can sometimes become crucial in achieving that much-desired work-life balance while working from home. After all, the simple ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach is really all we need when the two get too mixed up and start affecting each other, not in a good way!

2. Make a temporary guest room

In expensive cities with exorbitant rents, the couch is as much of the guest room as most of us can afford to put up the occasional guest. But what if you could give them a little more? Perhaps a graceful element of privacy, but without burning a hole in your pocket?

With a DIY temporary wall like this L-shaped Partition Wall, you can convert a portion of your living room into a private room (yes, with a door!) in just an hour or two! So what if you don’t have an extra room? You can always have that guest room up your sleeve to make your guests feel at home whenever they come knocking on your door.

3. Make room (quite literally) for your growing family by building a small nursery/kid’s room

Most child specialists recommend that you make your infant sleep in a separate room to promote independence and self-soothing. But what if you just cannot afford that spare room just yet?

Here’s where that unused living room corner might finally come in handy. Even a simple divider might do a great job of demarcating a clear nursery or kid’s room. Add a crib, a multi-function changing table and a comfy chair, and you’ll have everything you need to provide your little one with a space of its own.

4. Make a home library with a cozy reading nook

If being surrounded by books is what makes you feel most at home, it’s only fair that you dedicate a nice, cozy corner of your living room to a home library. But what if this home library doesn’t do well with all the chaos of the living room? Well, then, all you need to do is to establish its independent territory with a solid partition wall!

Then, put up a nice lazy chair, set up some ambient and task lighting, and personalize your home library with artwork, plants, or more books! Use acoustic partitions to drown out the noise and create a quiet and peaceful space to read, think and relax.

5. Build a home gym or yoga room

A dedicated workout space at home can ease a lot of that resistance and those struggles you face when it comes to following your fitness regime. Even if it’s just a fraction of your living room, some basic cardio equipment, a yoga mat, and some free weights can make a world of difference and also give purpose to that unused space. Add customizations like rubber mats, full-sized mirrors, Bluetooth speakers, posters, and anything else that keeps the motivation up and the body moving.

6. Create a quiet meditation zone

Meditation needs a degree of peace and quiet that can be hard to find amidst the busyness of the household. But if it’s something you’re keen to make a part of your life, it might be worth allocating even just 10-12 sqft of your living room to an isolated meditation zone. 

For more focus and concentration, consider building this room-within-the-living room with acoustic partitions (yes, while it might be hard to believe, temporary walls can provide some soundproofing!) Set up the perfect ambiance with the right lights, a comfortable chair, and even some light background music.

7. Convert it into an entertainment area

Fond of board games, snooker, video games, and other forms of entertainment? Why keep them in the living room when you can create a designated entertainment room within it? Apart from the game consoles and arcade games, also get some comfy loveseats, bean bags, and floor cushions to add to the grandeur of your new favorite room in the house.

8. Use it as a hobby room

Just because you don’t own a big house with spare rooms doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the luxury of a dedicated space for your passions – the things that bring you joy and delight and the activities that feed your soul. Steal a few square feet from your living room to create a hobby room – there’s no chance you’ll regret it!

Set up the furniture and equipment you need for your hobby – your easel, sewing machine, craft table, etc. – and organize the tools and supplies. Then, personalize the space with your favorite works and all the things that inspire you.

9. Make a home theater

Living rooms are not always meant or designed for that perfect movie experience. But if a home theater seems like a distant dream, why not go for the next best thing – a home theater within your living room! Set it up with temporary acoustic partition walls that absorb all the echoes for a higher sound quality. Pick a dark corner of the living room and set up a projector and some comfy seating to do justice to the movie buff in you.

If you cannot designate a portion of your living room into a full-time home theater (and frankly, you don’t need to either), consider a movable temporary acoustic divider like this instead. Not only does it come with a noise-reduction-coefficient of 0.6 (meaning it can effectively absorb 60% of the sound waves), but you can also put up and dismantle this temporary wall to create your home theater, at will, in just a few minutes!

Give yourself room for flexibility…

More often than not, the fear of permanence can be a massive deterrent to your creative endeavours and home renovation ideas. Unfortunately, adding an extra room within your living room isn’t as simple as hanging a painting on the wall. You may have several doubts – what if it doesn’t make sense as your needs change in the future? What if it kills the vibe of your living room? What if you may want to go back to your existing layout later?

That’s where modular and flexible partition walls and dividers really shine. Especially when you can put them up and take them down on your own, quickly and without any hassles. With DIY temporary walls, you can adapt your space to your changing needs and moods in no time!

Looking for DIY partition walls to make an extra room within your living room? Reach out to us! We have just the solutions you need to turn that spare space into a spare room you can use for multiple purposes.