Victorian Attic Bedroom

Victorian Attic Bedroom

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Design ideas for attic rooms and loft conversions

If you're wondering how to make your attic conversion or loft conversion work with a dormer roof, or how to integrate the stairs, we've got the ideas

If you're thinking of doing a loft conversion, or you're lucky enough to have an attic that is as yet untouched, we say it's time to make better use of it. Converting loft space can not only provide much needed extra space, whether it be an additional living room, home office or bedroom and bathroom, but when done well can provide financial rewards, should you ever sell your property. There are various ways to convert an attic, some quite low maintenance, such as simply adding roof lights or building dormer windows into the roof, and others which involve creating a new structure out of your existing roof, known as a mansard loft conversion.

Any way you do it, you're likely to have some tricky pitched ceilings to tackle, whether it's a compact city house or a country barn brimming with beams, whether you want a closed off staircase or a more open-plan space. We've gathered together some of our favourite design ideas for attics and lofts from around the archive, full of clever ideas for storage, bed placement, window dressings, and much more.

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  Elsa Young

  We love what Victoria von Westenholz has done with this tiny attic bedroom in her London house. The bed is built in to the wall to maximise space, and wallpapered to match the walls in Robert Kime's subtle 'Attic' wallpaper. The roof light has curtains stretched across it in 'Greuze' by Le Manach, a much prettier option than the usual blinds. Victoria has also found a tiny armchair to fit into the space beneath the pitched roof.

• Maree Homer

  The top floor of this Sydney cottage decorated by Lisa Burdus has panelling on the ceiling, and everything is painted in the same shade of mustard yellow, Dulux's 'Alluvial Inca" for an enveloping effect.

• Transforming this small attic room in a glamorous French chalet into a children's room for two required some ingenuity, but Kate Earle of Todhunter Earle has designed these overlapping bunk beds as a clever space-saving solution.

• Known as the 'Mary Poppins' room, this eaves bedroom in Louise Roe's house is one of the first that Louise set to work decorating. Inspired by a magazine shoot that she had torn out and kept, all the walls and the headboards are covered in a Pierre Frey fabric, which creates a wonderful cocooning effect in the charming space.

• Michael Sinclair

  In the attic bedroom of this Hampstead house renovated by Maria Speake, a mix of reclaimed boards have been used on the walls. The room is for the owners' teenage children and provides a sense of their own space in the house. The circular window is an interesting feature.

• Alexander James

  Interior designer Amanda Hornby has papered in pink and green Manuel Canovas toile de Jouy pattern in the the eaves of this jolly children's dorm. Patriotic bunting is hung to add fun to the idea of an up-and-coming sleepover.

• Ngoc Minh Mgo

  This attic bedroom, belonging to designer Harriet Anstruther's 22-year-old daughter, continues the modern yet rustic feel of Harriet's restored farmhouse while adding sophisticated elements such as the chandelier and canopy bed. The canopy mimics the shape of the sloping roof, making them a design feature and the effect is clean yet cosy.

• Richard Powers

  For the past 17 years, Pierre Frey has made his home at the summit of the sixteenth-century building that is the Paris headquarters of the company bearing the family name, founded in this very building by his grandfather - the original Pierre Frey - back in 1935. With the help of architect Marika Dru, he has transformed the flat's modest rooms in to an airy, open-plan apartment, pushing up in to the attic area to create an enhanced feeling of space and light.

  A mezzanine gallery was installed which looks down on to the main living room, and serves as a home office for his wife Emilie. Trawling the Paris flea markets, the couple found a vintage spiral staircase designed by Gustave Eiffel to access the mezzanine. It forms a sculptural focal point in the apartment. The original beams were exposed to add warmth and character, while the walls are papered in a classic Pierre Frey palm-print paper.

• Paul Massey

  Use the slope roof of the attic roof to your advantage, as Todhunter Earle have in this child's bedroom. A bed tucked behind a curtain under the eaves makes for a charming den.

• James Macdonald

  Decorator Diana Sieff has converted her attic in to a spare bedroom. Clever division of space is key to this design. A dividing wall creates space for an en-suite and storage, while tongue-and-groove panelling 'weirdly makes the ceiling look higher', says Diana.

• Just because the room is small doesn't mean the bed has to be. We love the elegant four-poster from Guinevere, in this house in Cap Ferret designed by Guy Allemand and Jonathan Tuckey. Furnished sparingly, apart from the fantastically clever storage flanking the door; the lack of furniture makes the view of the sea beyond the balcony doors the main event.

• Note the positioning of the pictures in this tiny attic bedroom belonging to lamp designer Lucy Cope. Framed embroideries by her mother-in-law accentuate the gabled shape of the room, totally distracting from the low, sloping ceiling to either side. Make the most of wall space where you have it, and use art to draw the eye to the parts of the room you want to accentuate.

• If you're desperate for drapes in an attic room, but there is no space around the window to draw curtains back, opt for dormer rods. They will allow curtains to open fully without blocking the light.

  Take inspiration from these in the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's Welsh retreat lwynywermod, a former model farm in Carmarthenshire repurposed by architect Craig Hamilton.

• In the Cumbrian barn conversion of former House & Gardeneditor, Susan Crewe, a bespoke wall-mounted oak ladder - often mistaken for a piece of art - allows stylish access to the storage space above.

• When considering storage, fitted pieces can work with the geometry of the space for maximum effect. In the West Country home of Victoria Von Preussen, fitted wardrobes are designed to fit under the sloping ceilings and to frame the fireplace.

Victorian Attic Bedroom

Source: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/loft-conversion