Much of designing a house is about getting all the basics in there: the basic room, the structure, the facades, the materials, and so on. This is all well and good, but doesn’t cover everything. Often you need a space that’s a little different, a room beyond the basics, that you want to use for something unique to your lifestyle. You might need it for privacy, space, togetherness, work, relaxation or hobbies. As a broad concept, we’ll call it a ‘hangout room.’
What is a hangout room?
Easy, it’s a place, or THE place, where you go to, you know… hang out.
But above and beyond the obvious, your hangout space is special. It’s the room that doesn’t usually fit in the standard list on your design program. (ie. How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? What do you need in your kitchen? etc.) Your hangout room is for you.
Ask yourself: What do you do when you have time to just do what you want? Do you relax? Do you play? Do you create? Are you with your friends, or your family? Or are you wanting to make the most of your personal space and time?
Do you have the right space?
Similar to concepts we’ve discussed about hospitality design, a hangout room is about setting the mode, the atmosphere, and telling the story that becomes the backdrop for your hangout time.
What makes a room a great hangout?
Creating a modern hangout room is about more than just style. It’s designing to find the true substance that inspires you to use the room and to make the most of your time there.
You might want a place to meditate, stretch, relax and heal, or a room to paint, sew, draw, sculpt. Maybe a tucked away place to read or write, or a room to watch the game with your friends. Or perhaps it’s for the kids, the ultimate play room or a unique loft where they can share secrets and create memories. The possibilities are endless.
Here are a few types of hangout rooms that we are asked to design into our projects, and some ideas to guide your vision.
6 Hangout Room Concepts
What is your dream hangout room? This won’t cover everything, but here are a few concepts that we’ve designed for our clients.
Snug
It’s the perfect place to get cozy, cuddle up under some blankets, look at read a book, drink some hot tea. You get the idea.
The snug is sometimes adjacent to the living room, tucked on the other side of the fireplace, or up under the eaves, with a big window looking over a view. It’s a great place to read a book. A cushioned window seat is built-in under the window with beautiful light or a chance to look up at the stars.
There should be soft seating. At least enough for a couple to cuddle up, and storage for extra blankets and pillows. These are the essentials. The rest is determined by your design and your imagination.
Relaxing Wellness Retreat
Do you want to get away from it all, hangout by yourself and get into your meditative zone? Or have your friends over for some chill time. tea, etc…. your own fortress of solitude…find your bliss.
Given our focus on the Architecture of Wellness, it’s not surprising that most of our designs have a space dedicated to wellness and recovery, to peace and stillness. In fact, this space is the focal point in many projects.
The first thing to note is that it’s not just about designing a room. This gets into the core of how we define wellness architecture. In the same way that you would, if you want to encourage people to take more steps and get more exercise as they move through a building by placing the stair before the elevator, you start asking questions like: how do you create a space that encourages meditation and relaxation? Is it about a view that it overlooks—nature, or a private courtyard? Is it about quiet—getting away from the noise of family, TV, phones ringing? Is it about light and shadow? Is it finding the place on the site where it just feels right? This may sound esoteric, but sometimes you can feel the right place as you explore the site. These are the opportunities you’re looking for.
From there it can all start to come together. For example, a small room with a large window onto a private view court takes you back to ancient principles found in temples and zen gardens. Indirect light comes in softly. The courtyard separates you from the rest of the house. It’s quiet. A small reflecting pool bounces light deeper into the room. Pale colors and cozy furniture make it come to life. Plants and artwork are part of the theme. All your accessories—yoga mats, cushions, and so on—are tucked away into perfectly designed storage, out of mind until you need it.
You see how it goes. Every space is different, yet designed around you, your vision, and the opportunities of your site. Even in a renovation project, it’s not uncommon to find a place that was overlooked in the original design or the room that feels peaceful for reasons you can’t explain but can be improved and transformed into its true potential.
Home Cinema Experience
If you’re a movie lover, or want a place to binge your favorite shows, designing a home cinema experience can take you to the next level. The home theater is great for the kids or for getting your family together.
In many projects, this becomes a design unto itself, bringing in specialists to fine tune the acoustics and get you the sound and picture quality you’re looking for.
The basics, though, are a dark room, a quiet space, comfortable seating and a good theatre system. From there you can start leveling up by giving it a theme, playing with your lighting and, as we mentioned, bringing in the technicians for the A/V, which is a science unto itself.
Do you want?:
- Tiered seating with recliners
- Killer ifi and elite cinema gear
- Blackout curtains (if it’s not a dedicated space, but a multi-purpose room)
- A vintage theater concept? Something that goes with the rest of your design? A modern theme?
Add snack stations or a minibar, or a popcorn setup. Bold wall colors like dark navy or deep burgundy work great to create the cinematic vibe while absorbing light. Fabric, leather or perforated wood paneling can work with a variety of styles and are well suited to acoustic treatments.
Versatile Craft and Hobby Room
Whether it’s your craft room, your workshop, or your art studio that you’re building, there are some common things we build into our designs.
Why do you need this space?
This is where the magic happens! Sure, you can try to make it work at the kitchen table, or in a corner of the office, but to get into your flow state it helps to have the right space.
Here you can dig into your passion, your side-hustle, do your thing without getting distracted by interruptions, or by needing to constantly search for the right tool. When you have the right workspace, everything is right where you need it, you can walk in and get into the zone. This is valuable, especially in the midst of everything else you have going on.
What makes the ideal work, hobby or craft room?
First, you need the right space. This is a given. You need to be able to spread out your work and have enough room to move. This can mean an assortment of desks, tables, counters, and workbenches. But it’s worth thinking about your process and hashing through it with your designer. Similar to designing a great kitchen, creating a flow of movement can change everything.
Storage and organization. Whether you’re sewing, painting, sculpting, crafting, you’re going to have some tools. You’re going to need to organize and file ideas, experiments, past projects, and new concepts. Designing the right cabinets, shelving, and racks will help you be more productive.
Lighting is huge. You need the right lighting to see what you’re doing, of course. You want plan for daylighting, task lighting and ambient lighting that gives you crisp colors and contrast, while avoiding glare, harsh light, dark spots and distracting reflections. Even if you don’t have the perfect north facing windows or skylights, your designer can help you make the most of what you’ve got. For your artificial lighting, your decisions here are important. Much of the modern LED lighting doesn’t render the full spectrum of color. Make sure you are installing high-CRI (color rendering index) bulbs so your work doesn’t look dull and flat.
Acoustics are always underrated. You never really want to be bothered by loud sounds from your air systems, rattling appliances, the TV in a room down the hall, and so on. But especially not when you’re trying to focus. Make sure to consider where you are locating your work/hobby space in relation to other rooms (in a new design) but also make sure your designer is working with their team to give you the peace and quiet you’re looking for.
Bigger question: What inspires you? In a sense, this isn’t that different from your zen or meditation space. It’s about designing a space that lets your mind go free. This is different for everyone. Do you want windows overlooking a great view? Do you prefer to look onto a zen garden? Or are you just surrounded by your work? Do you need a window seat, to read or write notes? Some creatives prefer to have everything put away other than the one thing they are working on and the exact tools they are using. Others thrive in a bit more clutter, surrounded by inspirational images or art, ideas on sticky notes, scribbles on napkins, stacks of books, arrays of tools to pick from. It’s personal. Invite your designer into your process and work with them to create your happy place!
Outdoor Hangout Haven
Even if it’s not ‘technically’ a room, your outdoor hangout space can be an amazing place to entertain, socialize, spend time with your family, or get away from it all.
Are you setting up a deck, patio, outdoor kitchen? A pavillion, firepit, grill and meat smoking station, outdoor dining and lounge… a bar? Is it covered, screened, or open to the sky? Historically, there are many ways that people have designed their spaces to spend their lives outdoors.
When done right, these can be some of your favorite places. Gourmet grilling, fresh air, beers with your friends, marshmallows with the kids. What’s better than spending an evening outside?
Even though there aren’t always walls or a roof, these are still spaces that deserve a well thought-out design. We’ve gone into detail about designing an outdoor kitchen in a previous article, and many principles apply.
But, as always, you want to organize your spaces around flow, views, symmetries. Furniture, storage and lighting can also make or break your design.
Kids Secret Loft
We’ve talked about bunk room design ideas before, and there’s nothing like adding a hangout loft for the kids to sneak off to, a place to climb up to and get away from the adults.
In our projects we’ve carved out attic spaces, designed slides and fire poles, suspended netting filled with pillows, built secret doors through cabinets, and more. It doesn’t need to be fancy to make it fun. But a special nook to play games, have sleepovers, watch movies, or tell ghost stories is a win-win for parents and kids.
It starts with access and location. What makes it feel like more than a room, but a getaway? Like the bunk room, it can have a theme all to itself, or something that plays of the theme of the rest of the house. In your mountain getaway, you can play up the rustic cottage vibe and make it feel like camp. In your city house it can feel more modern, maybe with movies or games. Whatever your theme, you need couches, mattresses, soft pillows and a little privacy and it will be a place the kids love to disappear to.
Practical Ideas for Designing Your Modern Hangout Room
You’ve got some ideas. You’ve got a concept, Now it’s a question of how to make it real.
What is it that makes your hangout space really work?
Maximizing Small Spaces
When space is limited, clever design tricks can help you make the most of every inch. Multi-functional furniture, foldup sofas and tables and ottomans with storage help make your small space bigger.
Vertical space is your ally—install floating shelves for books, plants, or decor can help set the scene. Play with color to enhance your theme. Are you going for light and airy, or moody and cozy?
Organizing for Function and Flow
You want it to feel relaxed and charming, so cold minimalism probably isn’t necessary. But you don’t want to to feel like a mess, or a junk pile that no one wants to deal with. We’ll designed built-ins can help keep things in order. Getting the proportions right is always part of the process.
Consider zoning the room into different sections, such as a seating area, gaming corner, or study nook, to make it fit your needs.
Creating the Cozy Hangout Room Atmosphere
To truly enjoy a modern hangout room, creating a comfortable and inviting atmosphere is essential. From lighting to furniture, every detail plays a role in setting the mood.
Lighting Makes all the Difference
Lighting is fundamental in any design. It controls the ambiance, brings out colors and makes it work for… work, play, whatever. Use layered lighting to adapt to different activities. Combine ambient lighting—soft uplighting or reflected light, with task lighting—work lamps or adjustable floor lamps, or directed spots. For added emphasis in interior design, use lighting to highlight art, textures, or architectural details that give your hangout room character.
For added ambiance, use:
- LED strip lights along shelves or under furniture
- Spot-light to highlight art
- Cove lighting in the ceiling
- Lighting washing up or down walls to bring out texture
Natural light is your friend. A reading space under a window almost always feels good. Pay attention to your orientation and sun angles. You don’t want too much sun blasting into your hangout room—unless it’s a sunroom or garden room. Use drapes and shades to add softness and filter light. Your use of natural light will vary depending on your concept, but getting the daylighting right is part of your designer’s job for any space.
Did You Know? Light color temperatures affect mood. Cooler tones can enhance focus, at certain times of day, but feel harsh after the sun goes down. Warmer hues promote relaxation and work better with your natural rhythms in the evenings.
Furniture for Style and Comfort
Designing your furniture layout and choosing the right pieces is a par of the project where you’ll be spending time going back and forth with your designer. Create vision boards and mood boards to help them see what you’re picturing. They will be going through their process to bring you into their concept, and it will progress from there.
Key Furniture Tips:
- Quality and timeless style are worth it in the long run. Get pieces that are well built with good materials, and that feel good. Just because a hangout room is considered a secondary space, your don’t want to make it uncomfortable. Then your dreamy little space won’t get used.
- Prioritize durability by choosing materials like leather or linen. The manufacturer should have specs.
- Experiment with the layout. Sometimes doing something a little bit playful or unexpected gives your space some extra character. Feng Shui principles are good to consider.
Decor That Reflects Your Personality
Of course it has to be about you! A modern hangout room is an opportunity to show off your personality, style and taste. Fun, quirky, zen-like or some combination, these little spaces are better when you put yourself into them.
Key decor elements include:
- Wall art: Hang your art collection, frame your photography, or make a fun gallery wall.
- Plants: Add plants and pots for life and character.
- Personal touches: Put up your books, collectibles, tapestries or cool things you’ve picked up on your travels.
- Rugs, blankets, pillows: Add color, texture, history, patterns, imagery, softness and style.
Conclusion
Designing a modern hangout room is more than just making another room—it’s about creating a special space, one that inspires you to relax, enjoy time with your favorite people, or to follow your passions and get your work done.
We’ve gone over a few ideas for workshops and craft rooms, zen and meditation spaces, secret lofts and outdoor hangouts, but there are tons of possibilities. Whether you are designing and building from scratch, or just looking to carve out a corner in your home to create your happy place, creative and thoughtful design will help you maximize your hangout space potential.
In our projects, there are often opportunities that pop up, either through the design process, or through conversations with our clients to build-in a room that is unique and special to the project. These creative discoveries are some of our favorite moments as designers.
