Loft
Raise the rafters & add lighting Clad your sloped ceiling with painted timber boarding to maximise the sense of space and reflect precious light. It’ll also add bags of character to the room. A window in the gable wall, combined with skylights in the roof, will flood your loft with light. In a town or city, your loft may well be the brightest room in the house – and, perhaps, the room with the best view.
Even out the eaves Forget random access hatches and line your eaves with long runs of useful storage. Handleless doors, as seen here on both the right and the left (in the form of drawers in the latter case) will create the effect of a neutral wall. What you store will determine the depth of the units. Clothes storage will be happiest in a depth of 60cm. Bear in mind that most garments require a hanging height of just 120cm, a dimension available in the eaves of most compliant lofts.
Make a mezzanine In the case of a one-storey or tiny house, you may be able to create a mezzanine beneath the roof, instead of a fully enclosed loft room. The sense of space will be greatly enhanced and, if you put in skylights, as seen here, the floor below will benefit from light flooding in from these windows at roof level. Invest in bespoke units to make best use of storage on your sloping gable wall. Mix cupboards with drawers and open shelves to create storage moulded to your every need.
Glaze your whole roof If you’re creating or refurbishing a loft space, you could use the opportunity to glaze your roof – imagine how much light you could let in! Of course, there are privacy and overlooking issues to be considered as part of the Planning Permission, but any problems can often be solved with opaque glazing or a good-quality adhesive film. A good guide on whether you’ll be able to get the permission is to check adjacent properties. If in doubt, call the local duty planning officer for advice.
Rear full-width dormer with folding doors and Juliet balcony Bifold doors like these were once only used on the ground floor, where they would connect the inside of the new rear extension with the garden. However, there’s no reason why you should only have a window facing your garden in your new rear dormer, when you could have a full-width opening. When you install bifold doors, remember to add the cost of a balustrade to your budget – preferably a frameless glass one, like this practically invisible example, for uninterrupted views.
Build storage into your new stairs… But if you don’t go for the ladder option, one advantage of having the excuse to build a staircase from scratch to reach your new level is that you can choose to build storage into it.
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