Attic conversion

Bid08

hi

just wondering if someone could help me. my attic was already converted when we bought our house. we are now hoping to make use of that space. However, as it is the attic the room is oddly shaped (head height at the sides restricted and chimney up through the middle) so im just looking for any recommendations who to approach to get ideas to best utilise this space?

is it an interior decorator I would go to?

Reader1937

Bid08 wrote: »

hi

just wondering if someone could help me. my attic was already converted when we bought our house. we are now hoping to make use of that space. However, as it is the attic the room is oddly shaped (head height at the sides restricted and chimney up through the middle) so im just looking for any recommendations who to approach to get ideas to best utilise this space?

is it an interior decorator I would go to?

I will bet there are decorators, but buy a design book or two first and get some ideas on what direction you would like it to go. The odd spaces and low ceilings lend itself to a study - not difficult to use for a low number of people and given most of the time is seated at a desk, the ceiling isn't that much of a bother. If you do go in that direction, you may need an engineer to see what weight the attic floor might take as study furniture and books in particular are extremely heavy. The attic floor may not have been designed for heavy loads as it would originally been part of a roof. Better to know for sure beforehand.

Bid08

thanks, id like to turn it into a bedroom but would like like ideas on where wardrobes and such should go.

thanks I never even considered the fact I may need someone to check it out, only thing is the house was built and had planning for the attic already converted so it wasnt an afterthought as such but still something definitely worth looking into

thanks

JustAThought

No doubt they'd be delighted to draw you plans & charge you a fortune!!!

OP what do you want to use the room for? Do you need it for a bedroom ? TV room? Study? Home office?

Start with this & that will define what you need to start looking at.

My friend got in a designer for her house & the first thing the designer got then to do was to look at the function of the room & than to use boxes or newspapers to see the size and shape of the furniture they wanted/needed in the space. She wanted wrap around couches, he didn't -big argument -but once they cellotaped 12 foot of newspaper together & laid it out on the floor & saw how much of the room it ateup , it really helped them to imagine what they could fit into the space & what would work better space wise. Might help for your attic. Of course you can do it on paper too but if you attic is a funny shape/size that might be more practical for you .

Visit the oversize & interior design section of your library & have a good browse. Take your phone & take pics of what you like .

Also visit Ikea -they have lots of clever space saving ideas & rooms laid out & that might help too BEFORE you start paying big money for someone else to do the same!

Is the room sunny/bright/ freezing etc.

Bid08

hi, ideally we'd like to use it as a bedroom, we would need to put in a toilet and sink (im not going to bother with full ensuite as we currently dont even use the shower in our ensuite)

its a good long room (32ft) and decent width (14ft) but with the chimney pretty much in the middle. so we were basically thinking wardobe and toilet on one side and then bedding on another but its just which way round do we go with them and for wardrobe space what will work the best, I had always thought of walk in space but dont know if that would work, would built in work best. just looking for all these types of ideas

we meausered our current bed so we know a same size bed would fit okay without looking cramped

Dragon fly

Would you consider putting in a large dormer, it would open up the whole room but you would have to go for planning permission.
A few things worth looking into;
Water tanks in attics tend to be lower then radiators and cisterns etc so you may have to change/add to your plumbing list to accommodate this.

If you plan on using the attic as a bedroom, my understanding is that among other things there should be fire doors fitted to all bedrooms downstairs.

Don't forget to check all your furniture will fit up the stairs to your attic. Check the head height & the angles. Beds & mattresses can be difficult to get up!
Enjoy your new room

North West

Hi
Any chance you could post a picture of the attic.
NW