Often, a loft is treated as an afterthought in the home. However, if you’ve got money to spend on home improvement, you should probably seriously consider how you could transform your loft into something more than just a storage space for random junk.
Here are just seven purposes your loft could serve surprisingly easily after being renovated.
A second living room
Why might you want a second living room? Well, because you could long for the usual enjoyable activities possible in a living room, such as watching TV or playing videogames, but to enjoy them in private, without other members of your household likely to barge straight in.
Ideal Home shares one photo of how a loft-based living room could look, with a classic sofa and mismatched armchair sharing space with a charming rug.
Bar
Drinking is obviously another thing you could do in that spare living room, but just imagine the fun of bringing more of the traditional pub experience to your home. The Homebuilding & Renovating website insists that a bar area can work well in a loft space of any size.
Outside space
There are multiple ways in which this can work. One is through the addition of a terrace that juts out from the inside loft space. Another idea is adding a Juliet balcony with double doors installed carefully around the loft’s existing structure, letting any Juliets at your home cry out for Romeo in style.
Kid zone
It’s fair to say that children can leave a lot of clutter, but it wouldn’t matter so much if that clutter was limited to a children’s play area built into your loft.
One idea could be to paint feature walls or ceiling slopes in differing colours that help to “zone” the space and leave your kids feeling as though they are in a varied arena of fun.
Bathroom
As not all homes come with a second bathroom as standard, turning a loft into a bathroom can make a lot of sense. You don’t necessarily have to fret about awkward dimensions or bulky beams foiling your plans, either – as a freestanding bath can be fitted even beneath a low ceiling.
Shower room
Now, turning your loft into this could prove somewhat trickier, as the space would need enough headroom for a shower.
Even with this project, though, wooden beams don’t have to prevent you from assembling a shower enclosure, as the glass panel of that unit can simply comprise a single sheet of unframed glass secured by two stainless steel bars. This would enable a sleek and unobtrusive look.
Home office
In the COVID era, this could be one of the most sensible ideas for a loft conversion. Still, you should make sure the space is sufficiently illuminated with natural light, as this would help you to maximise your productivity, says Real Homes.
To help keep the office warm, too, you should opt for loft boarding that won’t require you to remove insulation. Instaloft is one purveyor of such boarding in the UK.