Tanya Manus
Rapid City Journal

Be creative, take the labels off your rooms and make your home work for you.

That’s the advice of Kara White of Kara White Interiors in Rapid City, who encourages homeowners to find new ways to make their homes fit their family’s unique needs.

Many people have a hard time seeing past room labels, she said.

“You have an architect design your house and they label the rooms,” she said.

Or perhaps you buy a house and the previous owners used the rooms in specific ways that don’t fit your family’s needs.

“It’s often hard for people to step back and say, ‘I can do something completely different,’” White said. “In your mind, if you got to label the rooms, how would you label them?”

The first step White encourages homeowners to take is to think about how they need their house to function. Do you have small children who need space to play? Do you entertain frequently? Do you have extra bedrooms to use because your children have grown and moved away?

Next, brainstorm and make a list of what spaces in your home are missing. Perhaps it’s a playroom for small children, or a home office or other space where you can work on your hobbies.

Then, look creatively at your rooms. Some spaces can be given a whole new identity.

White recently helped some new empty-nesters transform their son’s bedroom. The homeowners, who are wine aficionados, decided to turn the basement room into wine storage and a wine-tasting room.

“They have other guest rooms, so (their son’s bedroom) was kind of an unused space, and now it’s something they use all the time,” White said.

Many rooms in your house may need to do double duty to fit your lifestyle, White said. She offers the following ideas.

* Dining room/playroom: Very few families use their formal dining rooms more than a few times a year. White suggests moving your table off to one side of the room, putting in bookshelves and using it as a playroom if you have young children.

* Music room: Create a place to practice or even record music. If space is limited, keep a pullout bed in the room so it can serve as a guest room when needed.

* Walk-in closet: Turn a small or underused bedroom near your master bedroom into a spacious closet. “It can be functional and make your life easier,” White said.

* An art lover’s kitchen: “Have fun in your house,” White said. “Make your kitchen into an art gallery.” Put art you love on the walls, a gorgeous rug on the floor and even a lamp on the counter to add warm, ambient lighting.

“Avoid cliches like hanging a picture of a spoon and a knife. Make it a bit more sophisticated,” she said. The unusual elements are sure to be conversation starters, too, when friends or family gather in your home.

* A kitchen sitting room: A formal dining room space that opens off the kitchen can be a good place to create a comfortable sitting area in place of a table and chairs. “While you have guests, while you’re cooking they can still be a part of everything and still be comfortable,” White said.

* A multipurpose family room: Instead of using big furniture in a big room, opt for smaller pieces and create zones in a great room or family room. For example, create a sitting area in one part of the room, and add a game table in another part. Instead of completely changing a room’s function, simply add to it, White said, so your family can get greater use out of it.

* Sunroom/dining room: “Maybe you do entertain a lot, but you don’t like the stuffiness of a formal dining room, and you also have a sunroom,” White said. If a sunroom with a beautiful view is the spot in your home where you’d rather gather with friends, make that into your dining room, she suggests. Your dining room could then become a great room or other space for your family.

Furniture, too, can be used creatively. A little-used piece in one room, such as a buffet in the dining room, might serve as much-needed storage in a bedroom.

Rooms can continue to change or evolve with your family.

“You can play with things and make them fit your lifestyle,” White said. “It doesn’t have to stay that way forever. As your needs change, your house should accommodate you.”