This post in collaboration with my longtime friend, Sunny Harrison. Sunny is a recent graduate of the Heritage School of Interior Design and is currently a designer with Manor Fine Wares & Curious Goods. We had a lovely catch-up time at Breken Kitchen, where she gave me great design insights for this post over avocado toast and coffee. Thank you for all your notes, Sunny! – Dawn
My dream interior design situation? A neoclassical feel with high ceilings and ornate details. I am especially mad for that Parisian studio type of vibe, with chevron flooring, chandeliers and plenty of open space. As you can imagine, an attic room is the complete opposite: Low ceilings, small space, wonky architecture, and no room for ornate details. When I moved into my attic room, it seemed like I had to abandon my Parisian studio dreams…
Or did I?
After perusing on Pinterest, watching room tours on Youtube, flipping through interior design books at Powell’s Bookstore, and staring at the empty room for hours, I somehow managed to make the Parisian style work for the attic room. Along the way, I discovered the beauty of mid-century Danish modern designs, as well as Scandinavian and Japanese minimalism. My attic bedroom includes these styles too! If you asked me, “What does your room look like?” I would respond, “Why… it’s an eclectic mix of Parisian and mid-century, with a nod to minimalism.”
This little attic room has become such a cozy and beloved space to come home to. I learned so much throughout the design process and would like to share some of those insights with you! The following five tips are about working with the challenging architecture of the attic room and figuring out how to still incorporate your favorite designs in it.
5 TIPS FOR AN ATTIC BEDROOM DESIGN
1. Use a Cohesive Negative Space
- In art, negative space is the area around the subjects. When it comes to interior design, it’s the space around your furniture and decor. Think: Walls, ceilings, and floors. Negative space is like the setting of a picture book story, and as you’ve noticed, the setting is typically larger than the characters. If we apply the picture book logic, this means that the space (setting) in your room should be larger than the furniture and decor (characters) in it. This is especially important for an attic room, because we want to maximize the space and minimize that claustrophobic feel. Cohesiveness is key. Just like how the setting ties a story into place, a cohesive negative space ties the whole room together. You can achieve cohesion with a monotone approach, such as making sure that the walls and ceilings have the same color. I highly recommend the use of white, because it’s a safe and easy choice to work with. White offers greater freedom of choice with decor, captures more natural light, and opens up the space. However, if you prefer not to use too much white, contrast walls (or ceiling) in a different color are good alternatives. Contrast walls can look beautiful and add more interest to the room. If you absolutely do not want white in the room, a tone-on-tone with the color of your choice (i.e. walls + ceiling = same shade of grey) works too. Whatever your heart desires, don’t neglect the power of negative space!
2. Small Furniture and Less Decor (For the Most Part)
- If a cohesive negative space is key, then in terms of furniture and decor – less is better. Now, that doesn’t mean that everything must be small – just most. I see many attic room tips that recommend a low bed because it elevates the ceiling. This is a good tip, but for me, I couldn’t resist that vintage brass bed frame. I also had a giant full size ornate mirror and my late uncle’s big chest of drawers to work with. How did I get away with such large items? I balanced everything else with smaller ones, such as a simple ceiling fixture (a single light bulb), small nightstands, multi-functional storage solutions (i.e. books in my nightstand/bench instead of having a bookshelf), my mini Penelope Desk, a few decor pieces, and most importantly, not a whole lot of other furniture. An attic room doesn’t necessarily have to be small everything. If you’ve been eyeing on a large furniture or decor piece, don’t let an attic room stop you. As long as there’s a good balance and harmony, you’re good to go!
3. Add Dimension
- Dimension was something that I discovered in the design process. Think of the difference between a square and a cube. To the human eye, the dimensions of the cube give the illusion of more space. Thus, the more depth and layers that you add into your negative space, the bigger the room will seem. An an easy way to achieve depth is to add mirrors. My full size ornate mirror may seem gigantic for an attic room, but it automatically generates multiple layers for the space. Remember contrast walls in tip number 1? This is another way to achieve depth. For my attic room, I use a white faux brick wallpaper as an accent wall. The depth that it brings instantly makes the room seem a whole lot bigger than it was before.
4. Work with the Unique Architecture
- The nooks and crannies of an attic room set it apart from a standard room. Those awkward ceiling slants and protruding walls can limit your furniture placement. Placement is entirely subjective, but here were some things that I kept in mind when I designed my attic room: Don’t put a desk or bed under the lowest ceiling points, don’t hide protruding walls (since they do add “dimension” and interest to the room), and do take a look at some Feng Shui principles to help with placement ideas. Limitation can be a good thing, because if you’re indecisive like myself, it puts the furniture in place for you. You just need to devise a blueprint. I drew up a layout of the room on graph paper, where I noted all the crannies and figured out where each furniture should go. The blueprint is like a puzzle, and once its completed, it really does help bring your whole design project together.
5. Decorate Cohesively
- Tip number 5 is my favorite one. Once you have a cohesive negative space, a harmonious ratio of furniture, and good sense of how to work with the architecture of the room, you’ve established the setting for your characters – aka, your favorite furniture and decor pieces. These personal treasures and trinkets transform your attic room into an inviting home, rather than a cold and confined space. I sat down to think of the specific “characters” that I liked: Simple black & white sketches as art prints, wood accents, brass gold bits, mid-century tapered legs, and millennial pink. Then, I noted some common themes between them. Hence, “an eclectic mix of Parisian and mid-century with a nod to minimalism.” I now had a design plan and made an effort to stick to it. Sticking to one plan forces you to be picky on the type of furniture and decor that you allow in your room. If you tend to fall in love with all the beautiful decor pieces out there, this tip will keep you in focus. I remember admiring many pieces at different stores, but eventually rejected them because they just didn’t fit into my plans. In the end, money saved and indecisiveness prevented.
Cohesiveness, balance, and personal touches are the main takeaways from these five tips. Attic rooms are a challenge to design, but I hope that these tips can encourage you to have fun and learn from the process! To conclude this post, I would like to introduce you to the “setting” and “characters” of my little attic room:
