Attic design in a private house: interior design ideas

The attic is considered to be the space located under the very roof of the building. Many people confuse it with the attic. However, the difference between these concepts is that there may be no light and heating in the attic, and the attic is part of the living space.

In the attic-type rooms, there used to be small windows through which the sun's rays made their way with difficulty, and it was always dark, damp and cold there. Therefore, such housing was very cheap. Historically, people of creative professions - musicians, artists, writers - often lived on the attic floor. The merits of many were recognized only after their death, and during their lifetime none of them could afford decent housing.

Later, the attic premises began to be reconstructed: the walls were insulated, the roof was altered, new windows were inserted, the heating system was rebuilt. As a result of all the transformations, the attic has turned from housing for the poor into luxury apartments. Today, private hotels in many European cities have rooms with sloping roofs, from the windows of which you can see a magnificent panorama.

As for private houses, some owners do not know what to do with this room. Often in the attic in the country, many people keep old toys, magazines, out-of-fashion things and other junk. Meanwhile, if you make some effort and add fantasy, then from a dusty attic in a country house, you can make a wonderful additional room for guests. And if you live in a country house, then in the attic you can equip a matrimonial bedroom or a nursery. Thus, you will have additional living space.

In order for the attic to make its magical transformation into an attic, a lot of work remains to be done. First of all it is necessary insulate the room around the entire perimeter, from floor to ceiling: if necessary, re-cover the roof, cover the walls with insulation, carry out heating.

In order to always have a comfortable temperature in the room, all the necessary communications should be brought there - light, heating, and sometimes even water. Even the smallest room can become the most beautiful in the house if you add light and air to it.

If possible, old windows can be exchanged for new, modern, larger designs. These can be large panoramic windows, round windows resembling portholes in cabins. Or there may be original retractable balconies, but in this case, you will have to rebuild the roof. If this idea is difficult to implement, you can add light artificially - with the help of finishing materials and lighting.

In older houses, there are load-bearing timber floors on the roof, which make the installation of a new window difficult. In this case, you can install a light tunnel with a reflective box. To do this, in the outer part of the roof and in the ceiling from the inside of the room, it is enough to make holes of about 30-40 cm, which are connected to each other using a pipe, trimmed from the inside with reflective material. This technique will not only add light to the room, but also save electricity costs - with one such box, you can illuminate an area of ​​about 10 m2.

Before finishing all existing gaps should be carefully sealed and the entire room should be waterproofed.

To create an original interior design for an attic room, you need to first think over the project of the future room, plan in advance the arrangement of furniture, lighting and decorations. Finishing materials that will be inside the room are also better to choose moisture-resistant, and if there is a fireplace with live fire in the room, they are also fireproof. If possible, it is better to close sharp corners with clapboard or drywall - this will facilitate further cleaning of the room.

As a rule, the territory of the attic room is small, therefore do not overload it with a lot of furniture and decor... The interior should be as functional as possible - no useless trinkets, the whole space is filled with meaning and benefit.

In a room with a roof, you can arrange a cozy nursery. With low ceilings, low furniture will look good - just for the height of the child. It is better to place a desk or cabinets along the sloping wall, and it is better to put the bed on the high side so as not to bump your head on the roof when you wake up.

The walls can be painted in different colors or pasted over with wallpaper for painting, so that the little owner or hostess of the room can freely express their creativity on them.

An equally popular option is to equip a study or a library under the roof itself. In this case, it is appropriate to use a moderate color scheme in the decoration. It is desirable if light tones prevail, and accents are made dark or, conversely, bright. White, beige, light gray, blue, pale green are suitable as a base color. And make curtains, upholstery for furniture, a carpet or a picture on the wall contrasting. Instead of curtains for the office, fabric blinds are suitable, and outside from the sun and precipitation, windows can be protected with hinged awnings.

Some country house owners set up a gym in the attic: there is just enough room for a treadmill, a bicycle and several sports equipment. Alternatively, the room under the roof can be equipped with a billiard room. In this case, in addition to the gaming table, it will be advisable to put a comfortable sofa and, if space permits, a small bar. It can be a real wine rack or a small refrigerator like the ones we are used to seeing in hotel rooms.

There can be many ideas for arranging an attic.

Someone prefers to have a love nest there, and makes a bedroom there with a large bed and a canopy. Someone thinks to equip a kitchen under the very roof.

If you have an old sofa with outdated colors, you can give it a new lease of life by dragging it under your skin with a cloth and sending it to your relaxation room. If the sofa does not fit, do not despair. Hang a swing chair or hammock from the ceiling, throw a homemade rug on the floor, and hang a lamp on the ceiling itself that can be adjusted in height, and you can put an electric or real fireplace near the wall. That's all you need for a good rest. If you are a music lover, you can install a stereo system and speakers with good speakers.

A great idea is to equip a work workshop in the attic. Moreover, there are practically no restrictions on the type of activity - anything can fit there: from a sewing or knitting machine to a woodworking machine.

If you are haunted by the laurels of Beethoven, who just composed his masterpieces in the attic, remake your attic into a music studio with a piano or synthesizer, and maybe even a drum kit.

It is believed that the mansards were named after the architect François Mansart, who was the first to appreciate all the advantages of this building. It was he who decided to improve the aesthetics of the room under the sloping roof and make a bohemian habitation there.

The attic still has many admirers because of its undoubted advantages:

• For some, this is a real and almost the only opportunity to expand the boundaries of the usable area.

• As an intermediate space between the main rooms and the street, the attic helps to keep warm in the winter.
• Closer to the stars. Many people deliberately seek to climb higher, under the very roof of the building - they like the view from above.
• Low cost. Renting or buying a space under the roof will cost you a little less than a regular apartment.
• The air is cleaner. In large metropolitan areas, apartments on the upper floors are valued: it is believed that the smog of city streets does not reach there, and if the attic is located on a multi-storey building, you will also save money.

However, despite all the advantages of attic floors, they have many opponents. They argue against their use as follows:

• Expensive renovation. To make a full-fledged living space out of the attic, you need to invest a large amount of money, because you cannot do it with cosmetics alone - major repairs will be required.
• The need for additional buildings. Often in the attic there is not only heating and electricity, but even the elementary stairs - you have to use an accessory.

• Lack of light. Not every attic or attic can even boast of the very presence of a window. And if it is, then, as a rule, it is very small. Therefore, significant alterations in the design of the premises are required, and this is not always possible.
• Inconvenient layout. In a room with sloping walls, it is extremely difficult to find furnishings in general and furniture in particular.
• Psychological discomfort. Doctors and feng shui specialists do not recommend living on high floors - gravity decreases, as a result, the state of health worsens (up to the development of various phobias).

There can be many style directions for the design of the attic floor. The most suitable style for a private country house is minimalism. In a small room there should not be a single superfluous detail, every little thing has its own strict purpose and a specific place. The minimalist interior can be decorated in several style directions.

So, for example, it will look good loft-style attic. It will require minimal alterations - rough wooden beams and unfinished walls are quite in the spirit of this direction. This design is suitable for a teenage room - a rebellious spirit wakes up at this age.

Somewhat similar in spirit to a loft Scandinavian style. The same laconic lines, restrained colors. However, if in the first case there may be no decoration at all, then here the decor, although restrained, has a place to be. On the windows, the curtains are either rolled or absent altogether; instead of a colorful carpet on the floor, there is an animal skin or its imitation.

However, the most popular direction in the design of the attic of a private country house is considered country, in the common people it is called village. It is characterized by natural materials, furniture with a simple, uncomplicated design and pastel colors in the design. It is better to choose colors of natural shades - the color of the first green, sunny yellow, sky blue.

Nothing decorates a living space like a real fireplace with live fire.For its cladding, you can use both available materials such as asbestos slabs or brickwork, and more expensive finishes - ceramic tiles or natural stone.

Wooden floors in old houses are often unsightly and are often hidden behind drywall. They will look more stylish if you paint them in the tone of the main finish, then they will merge with the general atmosphere and will not be conspicuous. Or you can play on contrast, give the beams a radically opposite shade, then emphasize it in the rest of the interior details.

Zoning the attic space with partitions is not recommended. They will cut an already small room into tiny pieces. It will be more competent to designate zones using different levels of light - a ceiling chandelier, floor lamps, pendant lamps. The illumination built into various surfaces looks very stylish.

If the ceilings in the attic are low, then low furniture will help to visually raise them. Instead of a bulky sofa, you can cover the floor with mats and purchase a bag chair. A coffee table with low legs or on a podium will perfectly fit into the interior.

For information on how to equip a room under the roof of a house, see the next video.