Unearth Your Attic
Like bathrooms, attics often become catchalls for all sorts of odds and ends. When they are not renovated, they become a simple and convenient space to store the furniture, old clothes and other products. However, a loft can quickly turn into additional space for your home. These four attics started out as dark and cluttered spaces. But with a little planning and elbow grease, they have been transformed into efficient and bright rooms, adding space and value to the home.
Colorful Girls’ Getaway in New York
AFTER: Katie O’Hagan wanted to change the attic from her Beacon, New York, dwelling to a bright and cheerful space for her two brothers. “We needed to move from a home they really loved to a relatively cramped space, so my primary goal was to create rooms which could make them excited to move in,” she states.
Bright greens, yellows and oranges have been chosen for their cheerful notes and capacity to reflect the restricted sunlight. Furniture with simple lines aids the remainder of the room feel fresh but not lean. Considering that the beds have drawers tucked underneath, there’s lots of space for the women’ odds and ends.
BEFORE: O’Hagan had the basics to work with, but a lot of work remained. The attic had some giant holes in the walls, which necessitated cutting sheetrock and patching it into place — a skill O’Hagan discovered on YouTube. Old stickers needed to be removed, and spackle was employed to get an even painting surface.
AFTER: There are two other bedrooms on the primary floor of the home, but O’Hagan saw the loft’s potential as a perfect hideaway for her women. “The stairs are really steep but manageable,” she states. “This suits my daughters fine, as they are too steep for your puppy to have upstairs and eat their stuff.”
BEFORE: For O’Hagan, the main challenge was finding time to work on everything. So that the family could quit hanging out in the living room she worked round the clock.
The biggest project was handling the scuffed-up flooring with a handheld rotary sander. “I would say to rent a floor sander,” she states. “I gave myself a lot of additional work and then discovered that it is really cheap to lease a bigger one.”
AFTER: The sleeping spaces are separated by a doorway, and the women share a closet. O’Hagan gets the women craft supplies and store their toys to reduce clutter. A skylight in each room as well as a window at either end of this space let in lots of natural lighting.
O’Hagan, an artist, painted the polka dots by hand.
Before Photo
Soorikian Architecture
Atlanta Expansion for a Family of Six
BEFORE: Karen Soorikian renovated this large attic space for an Atlanta family with four young women. The family knew they were going to want a little extra space as their women climbed, so that they wanted to turn their attic space into a package with 2 bedrooms, two bathrooms and a playroom.
Soorikian Architecture
AFTER: “A loft layout is always an exercise in distance maximization,” Soorikian states. “I needed to actually play with the plan and section to make sure that we were getting the maximum from this space at hand. Every nook and cranny is used.”
Soorikian Architecture
AFTER: To make use of the slanted walls and awkward corners, Soorikian made the chambers so that all the regions with the right elevation for standing room were used as living and built in sleeping spaces. Each of the other awkward places under the roofing are used for storage with bookshelves, cabinets, closets and window seats. The dormers which were inserted to the roofline were designed to look like they had been there.
Before Photo
Soorikian Architecture
BEFORE: The initial attic consists of only the bare bones. Soorikian transferred the HVAC unit from the attic and replaced a port with a triple casement window, the specific match of this historical triple casement at the front part of the home. Overall, the renovation took approximately seven months.
Soorikian Architecture
AFTER: Two fully outfitted bathrooms were constructed into the huge attic space. This historical home was a Quaker house and a place for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s meetings. Due to its rich history, there were strict renovation guidelines which Soorikian needed to follow.
sherry hart
Multi-Use Hangout for Four Girls in Georgia
BEFORE: Though this attic was intended for another Atlanta household with four women, the present use couldn’t be more distinct. The attic had turned into a sort of dumping ground. Designer Sherry Hart edited most of the furniture from the room, saving only what was needed. “If you’re considering doing a loft renovation, first determine what the purpose of the space is. Try not to make it work for too many tasks,” she states.
sherry hart
AFTER: Hart helped reorganize and rethink. The family actually wanted a space for their children to watch TV, work on the computer and do arts and crafts in. A computer work place was put from the far wall, with a larger desk space against the wall of windows. For watching TV an L-shaped living room offers separation and just the right quantity of space.
The room’s design renovation came from the rug, lifted from a different room. Hart had them re-covered and accented with nail heads, although the couches were reused too.
CG&S Design-Build
Cottage-Style Girl’s Bedroom Suite in Texas
BEFORE: This fundamental Austin home was originally constructed in the 1940s in a typical cabin style, which has been the primary inspiration for this attic renovation. Ryan Davis and his team at CG&S Design-Build worked for six months to reconstruct this bare, dark and cluttered attic into a light and bright bedroom suite to your customer’s daughter.
“I’d say there’s more involved in a loft renovation than most men and women realize,” states Davis. “The shell is there but not much else.” As Davis and his team experienced with this project, a loft renovation is not only a matter of making the space quite. It is making sure that there’s a safe and comfortable stair at the ground floor, the ground is strong enough to support added weight, electrical lines are removed and a whole lot more.
CG&S Design-Build
AFTER: The main design goal was to bring the adolescent’s bedroom to the upstairs without changing the house’s cabin style. Davis and his group extended the sloped roof up higher, then used a curved “eyebrow” dormer to keep the inclusion within the framework of the home.
CG&S Design-Build
An open closet space allows for lots of storage but still maintains an open walkway and keeps the space from feeling cramped.
More:
5 Basement Renovations Designed for Entertaining
Look Up: There May Be Living Room from the Attic
More Living Space: Making Space for Your Family