Converting a loft within your home is one of the best possible ways to increase your living space and home value. With a loft conversion, you can add an extra bedroom, gym, cinema or home office. This can greatly increase your house’s attractiveness and resale value. But where should you begin? How would you design your loft? Well, we’ve put together a short guide on how you can design your loft conversion down below.
Space – How are you going to use it?
It is always best to consult with a professional when you are planning out your loft’s use of space. A loft often appears to have a large amount of space on the floor plan but that is because people often forget to take into account how the sloping ceilings may reduce that space. It is thus useful to have a professional who is able to render or create three-dimensional drawings or plans for you. This would allow you to clearly visualise how the loft will look like and you could then plan your layout better.
It may seem costly to hire a professional to help you but this is much better than planning out a layout that ends up unusable in the end. A professional would also be able to best guide you in ensuring that you have best utilised the space and that all your plans will work out well. Professionals would be used to planning such things and may be able to point out aspects that you would not consider until it has been built. For example, a professional could correctly point out that the ceiling height is too low for comfort and this can be fixed prior to building.
You should sketch out and plan where all your furniture will go within the room. Make sure that there is still space to walk in between all the furniture. You wouldn’t want to build a room that ends up being highly uncomfortable and difficult to live in.
The Stairs Up To Your Loft
The most straightforward and efficient way to build stairs to your loft is by following the already existing stairs and building them directly above. This allows for people to easily reach the loft. There will be no confusion. It also allows the loft and new staircase to look like it has always been part of the house. There will be no mismatch or weirdness and the loft won’t look out of place.
However, you may also want to consider other alternatives so that your loft and the space on the lower floor will be best utilised. For this, you’d have to take into consideration things like the ceiling height, roof shape or where the door to the loft is. You’d then want to connect the staircase from the lower floor to the door. For this, you’d also have to take into consideration the fire safety and building safety regulations that might exist. Hiring a professional for this part might make it a lot easier on you too.
If you’re interested in ensuring that your house still remains looking like a cohesive whole, you might also want to use the small wood or material as your original stairs for the loft stairs. Railings, balustrades and spindles should also be similar so that it does not look too dissonant. For extra storage space, the sides of the stairs can also be built to be shelves. This will provide the loft’s occupant with more storage options.
Where’s The Door Going To Go?
You would want to choose the best position for a door for your loft. With lofts, you’d like to create an open and spacious interior. Placing a door at the foot of the stairs or even halfway through could be a great idea. This opens up the room further and really provides a feeling of spaciousness for the loft.
Lighting in Your Loft – How Can You Maximise It?
A fear for many is that your loft may end up being too dark. It is thus important to carefully manage the placement of your loft’s door and windows to maximise the amount of light it receives. These fixture placements can also greatly enhance the room’s look and make it appear more spacious. For example, having top-hung windows could allow your room to seem larger than it is. Or windows can be spaced regularly alongside one side of the roof and this would make a narrow room appear wider. Alternatively, you could also choose windows that can open up to create a tiny balcony. This provides the room with the ability to grow bigger.
However, do remember to gain approval for these plans by your local authorities first. Some of these fixtures may not be regulatory or safe. It is thus, better to hire a professional for help here as well as they may know such laws better.
Another way that you can enhance the light in the loft is by having white ceilings or floorings for the room. Alternatively, light colours would also suffice. But these would all help to reflect light within your room to make it look brighter.
Managing Your Loft’s Awkward Spaces
With the sloping ceilings of your loft, your loft might be filled with awkward spaces. These spaces would have less headroom and would make certain layouts awkward. However, these spaces can still be utilised with clever planning.
For example, such spaces could be the location of storage. Built-in cupboards or shelves could be installed in such places such that the awkward space is utilised fully. If your loft comes with an attached bathroom, the bathroom could be built under a sloping ceiling. The toilet bowl or bathtub can be placed under these sloping areas easily and comfortably for use. Areas like the shower or washbasin, on the other hand, would have to be placed beneath full ceiling height areas.
Whatever your plan is, do remember to create a model for visualisation beforehand. Creating such segregations or boxes within your loft could make it seem even smaller. Therefore, it would be pertinent for you to visually see such a layout before you make permanent installations.