Multipurpose Room Ideas

One of the easiest ways to maximize a small space is to make your rooms work smarter. Use these multipurpose room ideas to make the most of your square footage.

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June 22, 2015

By: Briana Mowrey

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Photo By: Photographer: Christina Wedge

Guest-Friendly Living Room

This Urban Oasis living room is perfect for accomodating overnight quests. Vern Yip considers the sleeper sofa a must-have. 'It's so important in New York to have things that actually serve many purposes,' he says.

Dining Room to "Hangout" Room

Once a rarely-used formal dining room, this space sees much more action now as an office space for mom and a hangout room for kids. The daybed adds seating and capacity for overnight guests. Photography by Christina Wedge

1 Room, 4 Functions

This 120-square-foot multipurpose great room functions as a family room, lounge, dining room and office. (That's the power of good design!) Two pairs of bookshelves placed back-to-back divide the space neatly but don't disrupt the room's flow. Design by Brian Patrick Flynn

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Multipurpose With a Murphy

It's a home office, it's a guest room — it's both! This desk unit by designer John Gidding has plenty of storage shelves, plus a hidden Murphy bed that pulls out for company.

Sleek Cabinets

The multipurpose home office/crafts studio/laundry room in this Green Home hides its many uses inside its wall-to-wall cabinetry. (The laundry basket makes more sense when you know that there's a stacked, front-loading washer and dryer inside one of the panels.)

Craft Cubicle

Green Home designer Linda Woodrum packed as much versatility into this room as possible. While the washer and dryer are concealed by cabinets, the craft cubicle's retractable desk is on display here.

A Tricky Table

This combination lounge and exercise room by contractor Chip Wade, host of HGTV's Elbow Room, has a secret weapon: a retractable coffee table that disappears into the floor at a touch of the button. That way there's no awkward shuffling of furniture when it's time to work out.

Custom Solutions

Sometimes you have to tailor the small-space solution to the room. Wade also tricked out this multipurpose great room with custom swing-arm desks. Finally — no more using TV trays as makeshift desks!

Arty Loft

Art is a great, subtle way to divvy up a multipurpose room. The grouped antique tools in this industrial loft help set aside the office from the rest of the space.

All That and an Office

This small room manages to function as a dining area, entertainment space AND home office thanks to this closet, which has been upgraded to a mini-workspace.