When one lives in an enormous house in the country, sometimes it can be difficult to fill all the rooms. Naturally, one expects to have several bedrooms, a couple of sitting rooms and a few bathrooms, but then what? As a family of bookworms we have a couple of libraries (one for the grown-ups, one for the kids - we should have another "overspill" library by the spring), I have an office which is often used and a gym which is rarely used, and there's the usual workshop and so on.

But what I really want is a "snug": a tiny chamber, with a comfortable chair, a small table and a little shelf of books, warmly lit and cosy, with a lock on the door: a place to escape and hide, far from sticky fingers and argumentative little voices. There's a room I have in mind for exactly this purpose, though I haven't told my wife yet. If I'm very, very quiet, maybe she won't notice.

If you could have a special room, fitted out for your unique needs and pleasures, what would you have?

Let your imaginations run free!

Dungeon

Hmmm a place to 'relax in a gentleman's way' in other words.

Another workshop of course!

obviously you need to have more kids to fill up the rooms

Remember the Heineken commercial with the walk-in refrigerator?

(sex) slave quarters.

Or rent it to the local plod as an interrogation room.

Or, get an au-pair.

Or, all of the above!

Tom

A room filled with mirrors so I can keep track of my lovely flowing locks from all angles.

Living in an apartment with only the bedroom and sitting room, I'd quite like to have a office/library to clear out the stacks of books that keep appearing in the corners of rooms.

You could always ask your wife what she would like.

Perhaps (and not wishing to sound sexist in any way with the ideas):

A yoga room.
A sewing room.
A craft room for her.
A craft room for the kids.
An art studio.
A workshop.
A billiards room.
A sauna or steam room.
An airBnB room.
Home cinema.
An office.


Or simply just a snug of her own so she can get some peace from the family.

Fill it with spare of course...

What about a Hair Styling Room?
Or a Trophy Room for the ibex horns?

Our spare room is the storage room for all the artwork that is not currently on display in the rest of the apartment.

Tom

P.S. This is what happens when you inherit a villa full of artwork.

A wood stove, definitely must have a wood stove. And not some cheapo internet one but a nice one with aesthetics. An inglenook. And then a pair of comfy armchairs, and a cabinet with a collection of fine malts. No TV or other electronics. A place where deep conversation counts.

Yarn. Lots of yarn.

And a large amp.

A piano and a harp, perhaps.

Especially if the room is for him, and him alone.

Would be nice to bring my jakuzzi inside (always use it clutching my pearls)- but it would have to have huge glass windows to the fields and woods- and which can be fully open May to October.

A room with a telly all for myself where I can catch up with all these series people keep recommending to me.

My books, my viola, 2 arm chairs, little table and a small stereo to listen to music. Which is what I did with the spare room :-)

Spare rooms? I've forgotten the meaning of the word since moving to Switzerland. If I had one, it would be dedicated to guests, subletters, couchsurfing, Airbnb, workaways and any other activity which provides me with free in-house entertainment of the human kind. For the moment, just the idea of a spare room seems an unspeakable luxury. But then, I do live in Zurich.

I’d like a winter garden.

I think our flat is mostly spare rooms - spare bedroom, two studies and two cellars. I think it’s why we like living here despite it being a characterless concrete box - from the outside.

My study has books, yarn, guitars, computers and an assortment of tschotskes.