Remodeling the Empty Nest

A home study can provide plenty of storage and comfortable space to work and read. Photo by Lawrence Taylor Photography, Winter Park, Fla. Photo provided by Sisler Johnston Interior Design. Home Work Other families with less space might keep the spare bedroom but add a work area with a desk in the corner, says Rozell. It gets the computer out of the family room and provides a more private place to go online. If you're going to do this, she adds, "Pottery Barn makes great bookshelves that don't take up too much space." For those families that need more than just a desk area, the newly empty bedroom is also the perfect place to put the home office. For a more professional look, hire someone to design and install custom millwork. That's what Sisler Johnston did for her husband who was helping care for their elderly parents. Their son's bedroom was converted into an office decorated with matching mahogany desk, bookcases and cabinetry for storing paperwork and supplies. Store It Empty Nesters alone with more space? "In theory, that may be true," says Pat Simpson, an Alabama-based contractor and host of HGTV's "Fix it Up" remodeling show. "But no matter how many cabinets or closets you have," he says, "there's always a shortage of space—especially in the Southwest where, for the most part, homes don't have basements or attics." You can make good use of a smaller bedroom by transforming it into a cedar closet. "It's a safe storage space we can all use," he says. Just line the walls of the closet with cedar plank or panel liners that you can buy at Lowe's or Home Depot for less than $200, and it's an easy nail-in weekend project. "You can position the planks horizontally, vertically or even diagonally to create a great look," says Simpson. The benefits go beyond being visually appealing. Cedar planks made of 100 percent Eastern red cedar smell wonderful, are safer than mothballs and have a natural resistance to moths, roaches and silverfish. Buy extra cedar planks to trim the rest of the walls in the room. Then the entire space becomes a great place to store seasonal outdoor equipment and clothing that might otherwise take up space in the garage. Wrap It Up If you have all the storage you need and you don't need another bedroom in the house, then you might like to have a hobby room, Abele suggests. "It's great for families with grandchildren," she says of the gift-wrapping room she created for one client. She's used organizing systems, including peg boards and pull-out drawers, to create a fun place to hang ribbon rolls and store gift wrap bags and ready-made bows. And she discovered that drawer organizers that you'd use for jewelry or make-up make a handy place to store gift tags."You can get creative or carried away," she says. Whatever you do with that extra space, says Robert Weinstein from the Weinstein Design Group in Boca Raton, Fla., make sure it blends well with the rest of the house.

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