If you’ve just moved into a house that features a bedroom with a sloping attic ceiling for the first time, you might be at a bit of a loss as to how to design and decorate the room. Quite often they are awkwardly shaped and angled, and in the past were thought of as devaluing to a property since they were left as an empty space, only good for storage. But in recent years, architects and designers have been only too glad to take on the challenge of these character filled rooms and used them to their full potential.
One of the plus sides of having an attic bedroom is the amount of light and good view it gets. You’ll most likely want to invest in some Velux roof windows to use the space on the ceiling to its best advantage. These can fill a huge space and allow plenty of light into the room. Alternatively, you can use dormer windows to increase your usable space, adding height to the room. Playing with colors too much in a room with a sloping ceiling can make it claustrophobic, so try to stick to neutral, light colors like ivory, gray or beige.
The biggest consideration you’ll need to have is your storage space; sometimes it’s necessary to be a bit more creative in your attic rooms. If your ceiling gets particularly low in places, it might be a good idea to separate these off and take advantage of them to store things – these areas wouldn’t be useful space anyway since people wouldn’t be able to walk through them. You’ll also find that doors that open into the room will severely limit your usable space; as an alternative, find a wardrobe with sliding doors to maximize what space you have.
A bedroom with sloping ceilings might be particularly good for children, or could even be used as a playroom. Since they are smaller, they’re less likely to hit their heads on the lower ceiling or need to crouch to get around. In fact, they’ll find them more fun, especially if you create hidden alcoves or tunnels as play areas.
