[AD] Your loft might be the hidden room (or even two rooms) you never realised you had. Many would have gone through the trouble and expense of moving into a larger home without even considering that they might be able to convert that place they’d been storing boxes for the past 20 years.
If your loft is large enough and high enough, it might be the perfect extra bit of living space you’ve been desperate for. It could be an additional bedroom with en-suite bathroom, or even an office that’s conveniently separate from the rest of the house.
But you’ll soon discover that the sloping ceiling and the bitter chill are just two ways in which this is no ordinary room. However, there are a few things you can do to get it looking and feeling like a seamless extension to the rest of the house.
Painting, furnishing and finer details
Try painting your room in colours that match those in the rest of your home. This will really help to make it feel like a part of your home (rather than the unwelcome new kid at school!).
It also helps to have furniture in your loft that coordinates with the furniture in the rest of your home. If space is of the essence, try to pick items that double as storage to maximise efficiency.
There are many other little details that can help your converted loft room to feel as modern as the rest of your home, such as adding gas struts to loft windows to allow for assisted opening. These little touches can make all the difference.
Insulation
If you’re wondering why your loft always feels freezing compared to the other rooms in the house, it’s because it’s normally poorly insulated, and anyone staying there will suffer the consequences during the colder months unless you get it sorted. Insulating your loft conversion can also help to keep the rest of your home insulated, as lots of heat is lost here.
A good way to do this is to put an insulation board between and beneath the rafters. And you might also want to add noise insulation by putting in a sound deadening quilt.
Lighting
Most loft conversions will be very well lit if you put in one or more windows. Rooflights are the simplest to install and are very effective, while a dormer will also make the floor space larger and provide better views, though is more expensive.
You’ll also need electric lighting, however, and track lights and downlights are ideal for sloping ceilings. And to make the room feel really snug, add a couple of floor and table lamps for ambient lighting, and you’ll soon find your new room becomes very much part of the family.
Ceiling ideas
Depending on how you perform your loft conversion, you might find yourself with a surprising amount of vertical space. However, depending on your circumstances and the property itself, you may need to board it up or add extra insulation to keep the loft nice and warm. There are many ideas that you can try with loft ceilings and it’ll depend on how much vertical space you want to keep. Some people prefer to see the full arch of the roof while others like a flat ceiling for aesthetic purposes. Others will enjoy adding large windows to let in natural light, and some actually prefer to see the support beams to give the loft a more rustic feeling.
No matter what idea you go with, it’s always important to keep your insulation in mind and ensure that you don’t damage or weaken the structure of your roof.
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For most loft conversions, planning permission is not required. That’s because they generally fall under your permitted development rights. That said, you will need to get planning permission if your plans exceed certain limits and conditions, such as extending or altering the roof space beyond its current limits.
Article was great. Thank you for sharing.
Looking for more ideas. Thanks for sharing.