You’ve envisioned the perfect dream home for years – and now you’ve found it! It has the perfect amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and living room, and ideal storage space for all of your storage woes. It even has a bonus room! The beauty of a bonus room is that you can do whatever you like with this space. From play rooms and home theaters to home gyms and home offices – or a combination of these setups – the bonus rooms is a flexible and stylish space that can be customized to fit your family’s lifestyle and preferences. Below is a few of the most popular bonus room designs that are both fun and functional for every home – from luxury house plans to country house plans.

• The Play Room – Every mom wishes she had a place where she could put those extra toys, keeping them from clashing with her living room décor or ending up under her feet while she tries to fix dinner. So why not put that bonus room to good use as a designated Play Room? Organizational systems of cubbies, baskets, and shelves will keep an unruly collection of toys organized while providing enough space to enjoy playing with them. Bean bag chairs and play rugs in bright colors keep the room fun and functional. You could even break the room down into stations – an art area with chalkboard paint walls for your budding Van Gogh, a reading corner with special pillows and lighting, or a block table for the young architect. Keep this room child friendly and keep the mess out of the rest of the house.

• The Home Theater – To turn your bonus room into your personal theater experience, you need surprisingly few items. A quality television, proper media players, and surround sound are the best setup. Now that your theater is functional it’s time to personalize your movie watching experience. Are you going to put in squashy chairs and couches or movie theater seats?  Will you put in dimming ambient lights? How about that popcorn machine? After all, the primary reason you have a home theater is to enjoy cinema in unsurpassed comfort. Many luxury home plans are outfitted with deluxe theater systems that mirror a cinema setting’s atmosphere. For those who choose this option, professional input and installation is almost always recommended. Whether home designed or professionally outfitted, the home theater is a bonus room design enjoyed by all.

• The Family Gathering Spot – A mix of the Play Room and Home Theater, the family gathering spot is a place where the family can get together and relax. Filled with games, movies, and perhaps a snack area, this bonus room use is great for families that need an informal space to gather outside of the formal living spaces. Keep this space cozy and inviting for making family memories.

• The Home Gym – We all know someone who has purchased home workout equipment only to realize that the plan was not thought out. Bulky equipment is a pain to set up and take down everyday, so it often goes unused. If the equipment is left out, those machines always manage to take up awkward amounts of space. Even small free weights often find themselves in the way, causing stubbed toes and storage woes. Turning your bonus room into a Home Gym creates a designated space for all that equipment, plus allows options of customized flooring or built-in sound systems. Exercising is less of a chore without leaving the house!

• The Home Office – If you choose to work from home, there is no more valuable a space than a bonus room Home Office. Remember that your home office is a reflection of you and the work you produce. Make it a priority to keep the space efficient and eye appealing with necessary storage, noise buffers, and organizational systems. Keeping this room working for you makes working from home a pleasant affair and ensures the bonus room is never a wasted space.

Whether you choose to design this room as a workout room or a mix of the Home Theater and Home Office, the bonus room is a flexible space that can be transformed to fit your family’s changing lifestyle. So whether you are a newlywed or family of five, the bonus room holds numerous design possibilities for you to customize this space as you see fit – even if you live in a small cottage house plan.