Awkward, useless loft space
praskey
5 years ago
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Strange loft space in bedroom
Comments (10)Thanks everyone! Funny you mentioned mannequins! We'd thought about that but decided it would be too creepy! The rolling library ladder is a very cool idea, but our bed has to go on that wall. We'd thought about putting in an antique iron spiral staircase and then replace the shutters with a contemporary iron railing, but then we'd still have the useless space. It would be fun to put a really great piece of art up there. I wonder if suspending about 4 contemporary framed black and white photographs from the ceiling might "block" the view to the back shelves and then we could use the space for storage? Hmmm. Pinterest, here I come......See MoreThinking of altering plans a bit - "Open Loft vs Closed Bonus Room"
Comments (10)I have friends who have a loft area between their upstairs bedrooms and I always thought it was so nice. So when I started looking for a new house, I mentioned to them that I liked their floorplan and they said the loft is just wasted space. They never use it. If they have the tv on, the sound travels through the house. And there's no door, so it always has to be tidy if guests come over, especially if they're staying for the weekend or something. They wish there was a door to close it off if it's a mess or to allow people to do separate things upstairs and downstairs without the noise traveling. In regards to children, I currently have 2 under 2 and I work full time..... so in the evenings, when we get home and need to make dinner, I would never send the kids upstairs to play while I make dinner. I need a playroom or space for toys on the first floor near the kitchen. So as a playroom, a loft or bonus room upstairs might work on weekends (or if you are a stay-at-home mom/dad) or in the future when the kids are older, but it won't be fully utilized while the kids are little. Just food for thought..... Depending on your first floor layout and your families needs, maybe you could put an office in the loft/bonus room and utilize a downstairs office as a playroom while kids are little....See MoreHelp! Awkward space
Comments (21)I would do as others suggested, put a wall up so the opening isn't visible from the stairway at all; add a chandelier in front of the new wall and add an access from the master bedroom to use as extra storage. The access from the master could be as simple as a closet door or elaborate pull out shelving. Someone mentioned Christmas storage, what an excellent idea! You can't have too much storage space and accessing it from the master is the safe way. From the current opening it wouldn't be a good idea at all. You should check first to see if the floor can handle the weight of whatever you are storing. It sounds like it can, after all a bronzed statue of a tiger was there previously and presumably it was heavy....See MoreKitchen Dilemma - Awkward Layout, Several Possible Solutions
Comments (23)divingcardinal, they have these things made out of cloth called "curtains". You pull them closed when things get too shiny. Or this other weird thing called a "blind" that goes straight up and down. Also very effective at blocking the light sometimes while letting it stream in unimpeded at others. To the OP - while the idea of enclosing the porch isn't horrible, it really doesn't look all that wide, enough to make it practical as a laundry room, unless you could put stacked units at the far end. Not sure where that is in relation to the window, which I absolutely WOULD NOT want to lose in the kitchen. However a better solution seems to me to be to fix the basement stairs. If they are SO narrow and/or shallow that a young person such as yourself wouldn't feel safe going up and down them with a basket of laundry, they're too narrow/shallow to be safe in any case. I would rather invest the reno money in fixing those stairs, give them a landing and a turn if necessary. I don't know what kind of space you have down there but if the stairs are as bad as you seem to imply, you won't use that space much, if at all. Plus I would worry about little kids and steep/narrow stairs. I'm 60 and if I had a basement that is where I would want the laundry area to be. Preferably with a built in floor drain. That would give me the space to have an actual laundry tub for the washer to drain into instead of those stupid little plastic bins they mount behind the drywall these days. Plus, laundry tubs are SOOOO useful for so many reasons. Even if they are in the basement....See MorePatricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agoJennifer Dube
5 years agosuezbell
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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