Who remembers the old furniture-and-pillow hoarding room at the end of the hall that we used to call “the storage room”? We stole a bit of its square footage to create our laundry room, which left a more rectangular-shaped space and easier access through the new glass door we installed at the end of the hallway.
If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook, you’ve probably seen that the room has been undergoing a transformation lately.
Some background: when we moved in this space was framed and had HVAC but wasn’t finished, so we kept the system turned off there to avoid heating or cooling an uninsulated room. For a few years it served as a catch-all for seasonal decorations, extra furniture, and Sherry’s impressive pillow collection. It wasn’t glamorous, and we rarely showed it because there wasn’t much to show. You get a glimpse of it in a past house tour video and in some laundry renovation posts. Mostly it was the place where you might unexpectedly find that single shoe you’ve been missing or a forgotten box of old raisins.
Turning it into a usable room was low on our list initially — we figured we wouldn’t need it until our child was older and could use it as an independent play, movie-night, or sleepover space. As time passed (and our family grew), we realized that finishing this roughly 360-square-foot area would be far more valuable than using it to hoard pillows. It will work well for art, homework, play, movie nights, and as overflow sleeping space when friends and family visit.
Late last year we began the process of turning the unfinished storage space into a finished room. The plan was straightforward: update some electrical, add insulation and drywall, install flooring and trim, then paint. Here’s one of the few “before” shots, taken while we were using the room as a staging area during a hallway project.
We had our usual electrician add outlets and recessed lights — easier and less expensive with no drywall in the way — and hired a local window company to replace a single window with a triple window to bring in more natural light. The opening was already framed with a header for a larger window, so the swap was straightforward. (Excuse the slight bowing in some photos — we used the panoramic feature on our phones.)
We debated doing the drywall ourselves, but it’s not a task we enjoy or perform quickly, and this space is about six times larger than recent drywall jobs we’ve tackled. We hired a local pro who brought a small crew and finished the drywall work in three days — best decision ever.
After drywall, the remaining steps were priming and painting the walls and ceiling, installing hardwood flooring, and adding trim and baseboards. We opted to continue the same oak hardwood that runs throughout the upstairs for a seamless flow from the hallway into the new room. We’ll likely add a large area rug to make the space cozier.
Fortunately this room had a plywood subfloor rather than particle board, so we were able to do a traditional nail-down hardwood installation instead of a floating installation. It ended up being oddly satisfying, and we’ll share tips from that process in a future update.
We painted the walls — using the same Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore that’s in the hallway — before laying the floors, then installed baseboards and window trim. By that point the kids were so excited to see the room come together that details like trim barely registered with them.
Now we’re furnishing it gradually: bringing in existing pieces, relocating some toys, and updating a Craigslist find into a hand-me-down craft table for the kids. We’re resisting the urge to fill it with new purchases right away so we can see how we actually use the space. We do have a plan for the recessed/sloped area around the window and will share more details as it comes together. For now, imagine kids (and Burger) running laps, laughing, and barking while their voices echo in the newly finished room.
P.S. We finally created a Shop Our House page to help you locate furniture and accessories you see in our home, along with our paint colors.