Room of the Week: A Dark Loft Becomes a Bright And Open Master Bedroom
In a masterclass on decorating around a pitched ceiling, this loft uses its odd angles to its advantage
In this loft renovation, it was all about the angles. Awkward roofline angles, so often found with loft walls and ceilings, can be made cosy and light with the right approach. In turning this loft into a master bedroom, interior designer Sarah Wittenbraker knew she needed a free-flowing wallpaper to work with the room’s challenging nooks and crannies, and after choosing a colourful bird and butterfly pattern, she needed to apply it to the right walls. ‘The last thing we wanted was for it to feel like the butterflies were attacking!’ she says. Here’s a closer look at how she turned the formerly dark and uninviting space into a happy nest for the parents of two young children.
Room at a Glance
What happens here Sleeping, lounging, reading, working, nesting
Location Austin, Texas, USA
Size About 200 sq ft (18½square meters)
Loft tip When choosing a wallpaper for a room with odd angles, opt for a free-flowing pattern over an unforgiving geometric one.
Room at a Glance
What happens here Sleeping, lounging, reading, working, nesting
Location Austin, Texas, USA
Size About 200 sq ft (18½square meters)
Loft tip When choosing a wallpaper for a room with odd angles, opt for a free-flowing pattern over an unforgiving geometric one.
Loft tip ‘Consider unified colours for floors and ceilings, so they will all become one thing,’ Sarah says. ‘This helps with all of the odd angles.’ She chose Decorators White by Benjamin Moore to brighten up the once-dark space, which has only two small windows. She carefully chose focal walls for the wallpaper, to avoid the aforementioned butterfly attack. ‘The beautiful wallpaper makes the walls recede and adds interest, but overusing it would have made it dizzying and highlighted the odd angles,’ she says. She used it on the headboard wall, the wall behind the desk and the window wall in the reading nook.
She also made the room look deeper by choosing two matching flat-weave striped rugs - the stripes orient to accentuate the room’s length. They create zones (the workspace-reading nook zone and the bed-bedside table zone) without overwhelming the floor. Their light colours work well with the whitewashed floors and add more of the blue, green and aqua tones she used throughout the rest of the room.
To keep everything from looking too stark, sparkling and new, she added a few items that show age, like warm brass finishes and a vintage-style chandelier over the bed.
Nightstands, Jacqui 3-Drawer Side Table from Bungalow 5. Rugs, Dash & Albert.
She also made the room look deeper by choosing two matching flat-weave striped rugs - the stripes orient to accentuate the room’s length. They create zones (the workspace-reading nook zone and the bed-bedside table zone) without overwhelming the floor. Their light colours work well with the whitewashed floors and add more of the blue, green and aqua tones she used throughout the rest of the room.
To keep everything from looking too stark, sparkling and new, she added a few items that show age, like warm brass finishes and a vintage-style chandelier over the bed.
Nightstands, Jacqui 3-Drawer Side Table from Bungalow 5. Rugs, Dash & Albert.
Loft tip Get the lighting right. ‘Proper lighting is really important in this type of space, as the angles can cause a lot of strange shadows,’ the designer says. ‘This couple wanted to come upstairs and really feel like they were entering a bright retreat.’ She used a mix of two pairs of table lamps, a pendant light (seen here), a chandelier and recessed lights in the ceiling.
The owners already had the chaise longue, but it was covered in a cabbage rose fabric. Sarah had it reupholstered in a basket-weave natural linen for a more tailored, modern look. To make the reading area stand out, she introduced a vibrant coral on the throw cushion, which draws the eye to the cosy nook.
The owners already had the chaise longue, but it was covered in a cabbage rose fabric. Sarah had it reupholstered in a basket-weave natural linen for a more tailored, modern look. To make the reading area stand out, she introduced a vibrant coral on the throw cushion, which draws the eye to the cosy nook.
Warmer natural materials, like the reclaimed wood on this tabletop and the woven natural-fiber headboard, also help soften the stark white. Like the chandelier over the bed, they add some age.
‘I knew I wanted colour on the lamps, but I didn’t want it to be opaque, so that the light could shine right through,’ she says. The glass lamps pick up on the aqua hues in the wallpaper and on the rug.
The bed area continues the use of blues from the wallpaper, with a blue-grey quilt and dark blue detail on the pillows. The homeowners wanted to save on the headboard, because while they had decided to use their existing full-size mattress, they knew that someday Sarah would probably talk them into getting a bigger bed. She picked this headboard up at Pottery Barn to add natural fibers to the room.
Small pillow, John Robshaw Textiles.
The bed area continues the use of blues from the wallpaper, with a blue-grey quilt and dark blue detail on the pillows. The homeowners wanted to save on the headboard, because while they had decided to use their existing full-size mattress, they knew that someday Sarah would probably talk them into getting a bigger bed. She picked this headboard up at Pottery Barn to add natural fibers to the room.
Small pillow, John Robshaw Textiles.
The built-in desk was part of the former homeowners’ renovation and was perfectly functional. Sarah had the natural wood piece painted in a high-gloss white to help it blend in with the walls, floors and ceilings, then added vintage-style green glass drawer handles. Two modern table lamps add symmetry while blending in seamlessly. ‘We wanted something modern, to contrast the feminine lines of the chair and wallpaper,’ Sarah says.
Privacy was not an issue, so she left both windows bare, not wanting to block out any of the natural light.
Tip When upholstering with a larger-scale print, carefully consider how the pattern will be framed out. Note the composition and where the bird is on the back of the chair here. ‘I would usually choose something geometric and not another free-flowing pattern for a chair like this, but we scooped this one up at a great price, and the black breaks up all of the soft colours,’ she says. ‘Now that bird is part of the team in here.’
Drawer handles, House of Antique Hardware. Chair, local antique shop.
TELL US…
Have you ever renovated your loft? How did it go? Tell us what you like about this project in the Comments below.
Discover what you need to consider when planning a loft conversion
Privacy was not an issue, so she left both windows bare, not wanting to block out any of the natural light.
Tip When upholstering with a larger-scale print, carefully consider how the pattern will be framed out. Note the composition and where the bird is on the back of the chair here. ‘I would usually choose something geometric and not another free-flowing pattern for a chair like this, but we scooped this one up at a great price, and the black breaks up all of the soft colours,’ she says. ‘Now that bird is part of the team in here.’
Drawer handles, House of Antique Hardware. Chair, local antique shop.
TELL US…
Have you ever renovated your loft? How did it go? Tell us what you like about this project in the Comments below.
Discover what you need to consider when planning a loft conversion
When this couple moved into their antique Tudor-style cottage, the former owners had begun converting the loft into their master suite but had not finished. To save costs, Sarah built on the existing renovations without doing any major architectural changes. Phase one was creating a cosy bedroom; updating the master bathroom would come later. The biggest splurge was the beautiful wallpaper, which makes the biggest impact in the room.
Wallpaper, Birds and Butterflies by F. Schumacher.
See 10 inventive ways for working in wallpaper