Life is swimming along, you have the house just where you’ve always wanted it to be and your last little one has left the nest to pursue their dreams; you have an extra room!

A corner of the world just for you is now available and your head fills with dreams as to what to do with all this space.

Sure, your kids will come back from time to time but that’s what hide-a-beds are for in

the TV room – you don’t want them staying TOO long at Christmas!

What has been on your mind?

Do you crave a beautiful new space to pursue hobbies and long-lost passions or do you just need extra storage?

I hope that you take the former shrine to adolescence and (hypothetically speaking) blow out the walls to design a brand new space.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Meditation room – whether you meditate, pray, practice yoga or martial arts a space

for you to be peaceful and become aware of your breathing is a great use of extra

space in today’s crazy stressed-out world. Concentrate on control of lighting using

dimmer switches and room darkening window coverings which will allow you to use

the bright light of day or the peaceful soothing light of candles.

Cork would be a great flooring option as is it antimicrobial and sound deadening. Keep clutter in the room to a minimum and make sure to have closed storage for mats and necessary equipment.

This space should be a reflection of your beliefs and values and it is a good idea to have

inspirational reminders either spread throughout the room or in one central focal point

area for easy concentration.

2. Reading room – my personal wish list. This room includes perfect task lighting over the shoulder of the most comfortable chair and footstool I can obtain.

The chair has to be large enough for relaxing in different sitting positions and there must be room darkening window fashions so that I cannot detect the passage of time by fading daylight.

This room of course needs shelves of loved books with room for more and would ideally have a place to set a cup of tea while I dig into the next novel.

Carpeted flooring and deep muted colours are a perfect idea for the palette in this room which will work well with the heavy drapery creating an inviting cocoon.

3. Craft room/scrapbook space – clients are into all sorts of handicrafts and to have a

space all your own is a scrapbooker’s dream.

Hard surfaces are a must for any craft space and lighter coloured surfaces make spilled and dropped items easier to find.

Craft spaces can tend to look junky to try to incorporate as much closed storage as you can to hide away your beloved projects during the creative process.

Craft spaces demand good lighting and the brighter the better when it comes to wall colour or wallpaper.

Consider yellow-based colours as yellow is known to drive creativity and stimulate our

Senses.

However you decide to utilize your newly acquired space it will be a place just for you, a place to dream and create and breathe.

A place of retreat and balance which is your deserved reward at the end of a hectic day.

Kim Wyse is an interior designer with Carpet Colour Centre in Red Deer.