A new survey reveals the one room we'd add to our home if money were no object

Because you can never have too many books

Cambridge Barn
(Image credit: Neville Johnson)

When looking at Pinterest, a clear distinction must be made between our ‘dream’ home, and ideas that we could feasibly bring to life without breaking the bank. The prospect of a walk-in wardrobe might leave us giddy, but forgoing a spare room for guests or an office space might mean we have to put it on the backburner. 

According to Compare The Market's recent survey, it seems that of all the many dream home rooms, a library is high up on the list.

See also: Book storage ideas

A corner of the living room with black and grey armchair, gold and marble floor lamp, and a wall of bookshelves decorated with bottles

(Image credit: Katie Lee)

Comparethemarket.com recently conducted a survey to see which room we would add to our homes if money were no object, and the results showed that we’re actually very divided, with less than one per cent between the three most-desired rooms. 

The most in-demand room is, perhaps unsurprisingly in lockdown, the home gym. 18.9 percent  of people said that they would like their own space to work out in. With gyms having to close over the last year, more and more of us are wanting to create our own space for home-based fitness routines. 

We can certainly see the appeal of having a room dedicated to exercising, as not only would it be somewhere to store those yoga mats and dumbbells, but if there’s a gym right there in our home we’ve got no excuse to delay our workouts. 

See also: Home gym ideas that will work in your tiny apartment

organization ideas

(Image credit: IKEA)

The home gym was closely followed by a home cinema room, which 18.13% said they would like to add. Having a big screen and comfy chairs for watching movies sounds pretty dreamy, but will we still be so bothered about it when we can go to the cinema again, with the joys of overpriced pick ‘n’ mix and the smell of cinema popcorn?

With 18.08 percent of the vote, many of us said we’d like a library in our homes. As we’re spending so much time at home, it’s not all too surprising to find out that we’re looking for an additional room to escape from the noise elsewhere in our homes.

Julia Eldon's Cheshire homes is a masterclass in maximalism

(Image credit: Katie Lee)

Many of us have been reading more in lockdown, and we love the idea of a room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with our favourite hardbacks. After all, the books we’ve read are part of who we are and help tell our story through our home.

We love the idea of curling up with a book and a big mug of tea in a room dedicated to reading. For the meantime, we'll work on creating a cosy reading nook in our home. The younger of those surveyed showed a clear desire for a bar for some at-home cocktails, and a home office was also, understandably, a high priority.

Living room by Laura Ashley

(Image credit: Laura Ashley)

Which would you pick?

Millie joined Real Homes in early 2021 as a homes news writer. When she isn't writing about trends, makeovers and houseplant care, she spends her free time making tweaks to her rented flat in North London. Her next project is a very basic armchair reupholstering job to help create a cosy reading nook in her living room. She loves browsing antique centres, tending to her small front garden, and is never without some fresh flowers at home.


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