What Other Room Could a Dining Room Be Remodeled Into?

Family/Play Room

• Depending on the location of your dining room, it may be the ideal spot to create a family room or children's playroom. You may choose not to go this route if your dining room is located near the front door where guests can see all the toys when they first enter. On the other hand, you could move your formal living room to a front dining room and make your playroom out of the now empty room. Whether you add doors to a playroom during the remodel is entirely up to you, but leaving the room open will allow you to more easily hear children from other rooms in the house. Install shelving or cubicles so there is plenty of space to store toys. A TV/media center and comfortable couch will make the room cozy and inviting.

Office

• If you or your spouse has the option to work at home, converting the dining room to a home office may be the ideal solution. This is also a simple solution if your children must share the same computer for their school work, gaming and social activities. Keeping the computer out of the kids' rooms enables adults to monitor children's computer activity. Your home office should include at least one desk for the computer, but you may want to add a second writing desk for kids to do their homework. A file cabinet to store your important documents and a small bookshelf complete the room.

Craft Room

• If there is a crafty or artistic family member in the household, you can convert the dining room into a craft room to contain all the craft supplies and provide plenty of work space. You may even find that with proper organization, you can parlay your hobby to a successful crafting business. You may want to close this type of room off with a door, especially if there are small children in the home who could wreak havoc on your handiwork. The room should have a large work table, which is a good way to repurpose that old dining room table. You'll also need to add lots of storage space, including shelves and drawers, for all the crafting supplies. Clear plastic totes or storage drawers are ideal because you can see what's inside each bin without opening it.

Library/Den

• If your home lacks a quiet retreat, a library and den may be the best remodeling solution for you. The most you'll have to do for this remodel is to add a door so that you can experience silence when you want to read or relax. Install several shelves in the room, perhaps even designating an entire wall for shelves so you'll have a place to store all the books in the house, which will drastically reduce the amount of clutter in other rooms in the home. You may wish to give each member of the household his own shelf for personal books.