Raise the roof on your attic’s design, whether you’re creating a master bedroom, kids’ playspace, or home office
For this attic bedroom, artist Windy Chien and her boyfriend took inspiration from a classic Pendleton blanket (from $199) to create a preppy, punchy wall treatment. To get the look on your own wall, use a laser level to measure and tape the top and bottom borders, 1 foot at a time; then start painting, beginning with the darkest color, allowing paint to dry between coats.
The triangular shape of an attic wall can be the perfect backdrop for a high-impact bookshelf. Here, the couple paneled the back wall of their bedroom with redwood typically used for fencing, and then hung simple wood shelves for displaying books and curios.
The couple utilized a half wall in their attic bedroom to make space for their music collection. Records, speakers, and a turntable all fit tidily on modular stacking wood boxes.
Jenna Wilson, the designer behind clothing line Ace&Jig, transformed the attic of her Portland Craftsman into a magical children's bedroom and playspace for her son, James, 8, and daughter, Adah, 6. She created various zones within the long, narrow attic—separating the sleeping quarters from the play area with colorful patchwork curtains.
For toy storage, you can't go wrong with cubbies. These are outfitted with buckets, making it easy to clean up even the biggest mess in a quick swoop.
Adah's vintage dress-up clothes are too beautiful to hide. A row of hooks keeps them out on display; below them, knitting baskets give her an easy place to toss accessories.
Like many parents, Wilson is all too familiar with the pinch of stepping on a LEGO. So when she scored a vintage black filing cabinet with 40-something little drawers, she knew it would make the ideal storage unit for organizing the pieces categorically.
In one corner of the attic bedroom, Wilson applied a chalkboard paint—a tried-and-true kid favorite—to the walls to encourage creativity.
Cassandra LaValle of design blog Coco Kelley claimed her Seattle home's 140-square-foot finished attic as her home office. "It's tucked away from the rest of the house," she explains, "so I can close the door and not see laundry." In the space, she combines pared-down pieces like this campaign desk with a few more feminine touches, such as a chair draped with a faux fur throw.
For the backdrop to her desk, LaValle chose a bold wallpaper that echoed the tree-top views from her attic perch. "I wanted something that had an indoor-outdoor feel," she says.
Polka dot Roman shades add a playful note to the space without competing with the maximalist wallpaper. The cotton-linen fabric provides privacy while still allowing plenty of sunlight into the room.
Given the attic's low ceilings and tight quarters, LaValle stuck to furnishings with a petite scale, including a slim coffee table and a bench for storing books (instead of a space-hogging bookshelf). A structured settee-style sofa replaced a chaise that used to occupy the space. "That was more conducive to reading a book or taking a nap—not working," says LaValle.
Even in the era of Pinterest, an old-school pin board can serve as the best way to keep track of design inspiration. LaValle hung an oversized cork board against one wall of her attic home office to tack up magazine tears and swatches.
LaValle paid attention to every inch of the finished attic, tucking a dresser against a wall and hanging artwork to create a sweet vignette under the eaves.