Room Redo: Attic Playroom

I'm back with another photoshop room redo. Remember the attic my parents and I cleaned out a while back? We were surprised by how much space there was. Once we finish cleaning it, the majority of the things that will remain in the room will be kids toys. The ceiling is low at about 7 feet and the door into the room is very small as well. That's when we had a light bulb moment, what if we turned this attic space into a playroom?

I got to work designing a room that would be fun for kids and full of storage. Because the attic actually extends beyond this room, my parents wouldn't be losing much storage space for other attic-worthy items and since a corner of this room has been dedicated to toys anyway, it would be the perfect space to make use of them. The room is also out of the way so my darling new niece and any future grand kids can make as much mess as they want.

My inspiration actually came from these tea towels, on sale right now at Target for $8-9. I loved the warm colors and wanted to incorporate them into the room.

Here's the attic before:

And the after:

Starting at the back, I've always been fond of window seats, especially when there is something interesting to look at outside. Built in bookshelves flank each side of the seat, which has a cozy plaid cushion, soft curtains and pillows, making it the perfect place to curl up and read a book under the lamplight on a rainy day. A diamond grille on the window and a dentil cut valance in raspberry adds extra charm.

Did you notice the blue table in the back right corner of the before photo? We would cut it down to be a more appropriate size for the room and paint it white. Storage boxes underneath would corral toys. Upper kitchen cabinets added as built ins into the knee walls provide tons of storage space as well.

See the raspberry stripe? The stripe above it would be painted a few shades lighter than the ceiling paint to act as "crown molding" - a trick to make the short attic ceiling appear taller.

Before (the other side):

After:

A sectional couch full of colorful pillows is the perfect place for kids to plunk down and watch a movie or play a video game. A white Moroccan pouf could be moved anywhere in the room for extra seating. The wood floors would be sanded and stained a deep espresso color and a Flokati rug adds an extra touch of coziness and texture. Recessed lighting would work well with the low ceilings, and a few lamps (Velcro'd down of course since this is a playroom) would cast a warm glow. A tone on tone pattern on the wall (I love the pattern used by The Vintage Laundress) adds a bold punch of color.

As a side note, the accessories used in the bookshelves would probably be toys rather than vases or other breakable things.

Here is a top-down floor plan of the space for better visualization:



Since the room would need insulation and drywall (not to mention a ton of decorations) this idea is really a pipe dream right now while the rest of the house is under construction, but it sure has been fun to think about!