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ATTIC TREASURES

Renovation: approx: 1280sf (ie. a three-car garage size!!) Costs: approx $10,500

The treasure in my attic is SPACE!!

Having lived for 33 years in a house (3600sf) with no attic, basement, or garage and paying for 2-3 storage rooms we recently downsized to 1800 sf and feel we now have more space! How?

I am an architect, you would normally expect beautiful architectural glamour photos from me. Today, none of that! Here is my behind the scenes secret to gaining more space in your home and saving a lot of money at the same time!!

As all “Space Gurus” mantras preach…..learn how to rethink using the space you already have and to do that you have to change your attitude about your spaces.

Problem:

Our new home had a pull down attic stair. Too awkward and dangerous to use that efficiently now or as we age!! The attic is low and unusable for real rooms with the sloping ceiling at the peak being 6 feet 7 inches high.

Easy Solution: Construction

We took 3 ½ feet out of the long end of the Living Room to build a walk-up attic stair. Then we had the attic ceiling (not floor) professionally sealed & insulated and added a HVAC unit (which we keep at a low temp of 60 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in the summer……just enough to make it usable for great storage - the real treasure). The bonus…..we are now saving about $100 a month on our utility bills in this house, about $150 + + a month on the storage unit, and a lot more than that with cutting our square footage in downsizing (mortgage, insurance, taxes)!

Original Living Room

Before - Living Room where new stair will go

New Living Room w/ stair behind wall Door to attic stairs

After - Renovated LR with hidden staircase to attic Hidden attic door behind wall

Hard Solution: Attitude

To change our attitude about that space we needed to see it as “our found treasure”. We had to use money to save this treasure. Efficiently used, with this new found space, there was no need for expensive additions and cabinetry to the kitchen, closets, and home offices to store all of our nice (but rarely used) stuff. In those main floor rooms we only store everyday used items. This is what keeps your expensive living space square footage to a minimum.

I renamed the attic – now calling it “The Shopping Mall”……if I am in the kitchen and need an extra large cooking pot….I just run up to the “Mall” and pick one out on the open shelves….everything is openly displayed on shelves like at a store. Beauty?? Not here! Only functionality and low cost fixtures!! All of our old beat-up looking shelves, drawers, etc were utilized for this “store”. Need spring clothes? In the attic closets! Luggage? On the shelves! Fine china, silver, and crystal for a party? In the Fine China department. Wrapping paper? Use the wrapping table and ribbon drawers! Office copier, books, and files? In the office department. Weekend project? Tool department!