Old houses often come with rooms that are difficult to use. Strange layouts, low ceilings, and quirky entrances can equal a lot of wasted space.
This is exactly what I found in my third floor attic area. It quickly became my “box” room. The space where clutter is stored away and eventually forgotten about. I decided to rectify this issue by changing the area into a usable guest room and a kids play space.
My first goal is to obviously use space more effectively. This means adding storage locations, usable floor area, and making it comfortable for occupants. Wasted space = wasted resourced = wasted energy!
First Issue: What would make people walk into a scary attic?
First Answer: A fun entryway!
Next step was brightening up the space to encourage use. It is a fact that people do not like sitting in caverns. This is why most basement rooms often go underutilized. A white ceiling and bright colored walls greatly improved my attics ‘likeability’.
Continuing the idea of brightness; I added some cheery window curtains and made sure all the windows are both operational and have screens for air circulation. Attics have a way of becoming stale and uncomfortable. Windows located on opposite ends allows a cross flow whenever the weather is nice. I would also like to add a high efficiency “breathing” style ERV system….but this will be a project down the road.
