# What do we do with this room in our new house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542 "2010-07-22T01:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/21 "2010-07-22T21:30:41Z")
This thread is why I vowed to never buy a house with a formal dining room and/or formal living room ever again. I had those once and the result was that a full 1/3 of the main floor of the house never, ever, ever got used. Nowadays our house is too big, but the great room that encompasses our eating area and living room is used just about every single day. It’s the library on the second floor that never, ever, ever gets used now (except for book storage). But at least it looks nice, and I walk through it to get to my office every day. And the dogs sleep there. Nothing like a beautiful formal library with lovely furniture and book-lined walls for your dogs to sleep in. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/22 "2010-07-22T22:07:24Z")
The hobby idea is interesting, especially if your hobby is aircraft models. I can picture having them all hanging from the ceiling in a diorama of exploration and combat. That could interfere with guests, depending on how low you hang them. ETA: Your house is lovely, **corkboard**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/23 "2010-07-22T22:23:18Z")
If it were mine, it would definitely become a library: Plenty of bookshelves, a comfy chair or two, plus a large sofa to lounge on with a book. No pesky traffic patterns, so maybe reading a few paragraphs without interruption would be feasible. (But the bouncy castle would be my second choice!) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/24 "2010-07-22T22:24:45Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Pool table. Also a genius idea, especially when our kid is old enough to play. I can turn her into a hustler! In fact, I’m picturing a giant arcade. Pool, maybe a Skee-Ball machine… ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/25 "2010-07-22T23:10:50Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Pool table. > [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Also a genius idea, especially when our kid is old enough to play. I can turn her into a hustler! > > In fact, I’m picturing a giant arcade. Pool, maybe a Skee-Ball machine… Yup. Full size pool table, not one of the scale model ones they put in bars. And a pinball machine if there’s room without interfering with the pool table. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/26 "2010-07-23T02:31:03Z")
Perhaps some history will shed light (NOT “lite”): Back in the day, a house had a Parlor, wherein the adults would entertain. It was also where the dead were laid out for viewing before final service and burial, The (new) Mortician trades did not like that. They got laws passed REQUIRING embalming on all bodies whch passed through their greedy hands. Some think the “Living” iin “living room” was a direct dig at the practice of the family burying their own. However the name came about, “Living Room” = Parlor In the 1960’s Recreation Rooms (rec room) came about - often in the basement. Builders started offering them pre-built shortly thereafter. These are for informal adult entertainment (when the boss came over for dinner, he/she would be entertained in the Living Rooom, the kids and their friends were confined to the rec room. “Family room” = rec room. You don’t want ot know about split parlors, do you? Good furniture and adult conversation go in LR. No-longer-prime furniture (and/or home theater) goes in the FR. My (1979 tacky tract) house has the only fireplace in the family room. WRONG - adults get to use the fireplace, the kids get to watch TV. How old is your daughter? Pre-teen? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/27 "2010-07-23T13:09:51Z")
I don’t know how I didn’t think of this sooner- stripper pole! ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/28 "2010-07-23T13:18:35Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > The room is directly below the nursery, so I don’t think it’s going to fly as a home theater–plus, that’s essentially what we’d planned on doing with the lower level. > > The ball pit is intriguing–I’m not sure how much damage a toddler can do to hardwood if we turned that room into a giant playroom for her right now… We have oak flooring and the answer is not that much. Even his jumping up and down with his scooting toy hasn’t really done any damage. I second the idea of a toy room, getting all that stuff out of the rest of the house would be golden. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/29 "2010-07-23T14:59:02Z")
Gift wrapping room. I remember seeing the layout of some rich person’s mansion in the Hamptons and they had a ‘gift wrapping room’. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/30 "2010-07-23T15:09:17Z")
Leave it empty except for a saingle small mat. Then use it for a meditation room, We didn’t do that, ours is a guest bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/31 "2010-07-23T15:09:46Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I don’t know how I didn’t think of this sooner- stripper pole! This almost made me spit out my coffee! Stripper pole, pool table, wet bar … sounds like a side business to me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/32 "2010-07-23T15:10:55Z")
Learn to [tango](http://www.arteyvidachicago.com/wp-content/themes/rockin-chrome/gallery_images//duvall2.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/33 "2010-07-23T15:24:19Z")
Wackatorium ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/34 "2010-07-23T15:38:23Z")
It’s your BAR, for heaven’s sake. 😃 Yes on the pool table, maybe foosball, add a wet bar. A nice poker table, the kind with the cover so that you can use it for board games as well. Then (this is the pièce de résistance) decorate it entirely in Buffalo circa 1979 style, with all throwback Bills and Sabres stuff, and those weird wall hangings that say things like “Beer: Not Just For Breakfast Anymore.” And one of those lamps that looks like a waterfall. Well, that’s the plan for my extra room, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/35 "2010-07-23T16:09:24Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > So what do we do with it? Do we put our workout equipment in there on pads and use the lower workout room (a much smaller room with a door and a cement floor) as storage? Obvious answer: workout equipment goes upstairs, downstairs room becomes the new sex dungeon. Or, hell, maybe you can make the formal living room the sex dungeon, I don’t know what kind of friends you have. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/36 "2010-07-23T18:42:51Z")
Paint the entire room white, furnish it entirely in white, and say to guests, “This is the White Room.” And just leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/37 "2010-07-23T18:45:30Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > It’s your BAR, for heaven’s sake. 😃 > > Yes on the pool table, maybe foosball, add a wet bar. A nice poker table, the kind with the cover so that you can use it for board games as well. > > Then (this is the pièce de résistance) decorate it entirely in Buffalo circa 1979 style, with all throwback Bills and Sabres stuff, and those weird wall hangings that say things like “Beer: Not Just For Breakfast Anymore.” And one of those lamps that looks like a waterfall. Well, that’s the plan for my extra room, anyway. …the house already has a bar. I know. I know. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/38 "2010-07-23T18:46:41Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > It’s your BAR, for heaven’s sake. 😃 > > Yes on the pool table, maybe foosball, add a wet bar. They already have a wet bar downstairs. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Paint the entire room white, furnish it entirely in white, and say to guests, “This is the White Room.” And just leave it at that. Brilliant! Maybe add a white curtain in front of the entryway… ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/39 "2010-07-23T19:00:20Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Give it to a poor person who needs a place to live. Seriously rent it out and help someone. Maybe a college kid or older person. > > I know people don’t want the hassle but as Archie told Edith on an episode of _All In The Family_, when they were renting out a room > > Archie) Make sure you rent it to an ugly girl who only cares about working hard and paying the rent on time." Seconded, but there’s also the luxury version of that. Furnish the big room as a studio; bed, table, chair, little walk-in bathroom corner. [Then rent it out as a B&B.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/rentingproperty/6485891/Let-out-a-spare-room-and-let-the-money-roll-in.html) Brings in heaps of money, and you only get to have guests when you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542/40 "2010-07-23T19:03:49Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > the room opens directly to the foyer. DB - am I right in thinking the opening to this room isn’t just a door, but rather a large threshold of some kind? Possibly with no doors at all? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-do-with-this-room-in-our-new-house/547542.md?page=3)