Somehow we have been in our new house for 4 months already and with Christmas just around the corner I have been working hard with our lovely architect Reah of Detail Architects to finalise our renovation plans for 2020 (and beyond!). Apologies to Reah for misspelling the name of her architecture practice in my last blog and accidentally directing people to a Siberian architect specialising in extremely well insulated wooden huts. A key part of those renovation plans is adding a loft conversion to increase the amount of upstairs space we have. If you look at the floorplan of the new house against the old house you will see that whilst we have gained additional reception (and most importantly utility) space, the bedrooms are actually smaller than those we left behind meaning we have lost quite a bit of storage space! If there is a world record for the number of vacuum bags one household can fit under a bed I am fairly confident we would be going home with the trophy (or the £1000 Robert Dyas voucher). Also whilst at the moment two of the boys happily (well most of the time) share a room but we can imagine a (teenage) day when this might not always be the case!
The ground floor of our new house. It has lots more width which was a key selling point
However when compared to the bedrooms in our old house (see floor plan to the right) we have marginally less space upstairs
The upstairs layout of our old house
So whilst there are changes we would like to make to the downstairs layout our priority for next year is going to be the loft. It is, therefore, fortitious that I had actually previously written, in paid collaboration with VELUX, a blogpost all about the secrets of designing a successful loft conversion not realising at the time that I would actually get the opportunity to put them into practice. Whilst there may be seven deadly sins (and flavours of Magnum Icecream) there are, for me, five secrets to successful loft design and here is how I will be using them in our new house.
Perfecting My Floorplan
We inherited the loft in our old house (in the sense of the conversion having been done before we moved in rather than it having been passed down in my great Auntie Pat’s will). That meant whilst we could change the décor we couldn’t change the layout. There were aspects that worked really well like having generous eaves storage, 6 huge VELUX roof windows that flooded the space with natural daylight and a spacious bathroom separated out from the sleeping space.
The loft in our old house with natural daylight flooding in through the VELUX windows
However it was a long room and the design meant that the bed had to be positioned under the eaves rather than closer to the dormer window meaning we didn’t get to take advantage of the views out of the garden. We also had limited options for built in storage. This time around I am eager to achieve a layout with more separation of spaces, better connection to the view from the dormer and much more built in storage (so that I don’t have to find the hoover every time I want to locate my winter jumpers!)
The loft room in our old house was spacious but quite long which broke the connection between the bed and the view
The floor plan that I think will best achieve this is set out below. What do you think? The sleeping space is smaller but better connected to the view and there is a much more generous “dressing room” space. Our plan is to build some seating into the space to the right of the VELUX windows to make the most of the daylight coming into the room and make this feel like a multi purpose relaxing space. But would you sacrifice the seating and have a dressing table instead? I am more of a do my make up on the train and dry my hair wherever there is a plug kind of gal but maybe I could be won round to being a bit more sophisticated!
Option 1: my preferred layout for the loft is broken, created by Detail Architects, is broken plan rather than open plan with three distinct areas to dress, sleep and bathe
This is Option 2 which I had discarded on the basis it would mean we had to have a skinny bed and allows for very little bedside table space. But I am now wondering whether having the bed facing the view would be better and there might be a way to make this work?? Any bright ideas?!
In trying to decide on my perfect floorplan I have found it really useful to visit Building Inspiration, a sister site from VELUX. There are lots of case studies of real-life loft conversion projects featured which gave me some fresh ideas about how to design the space. There are also handy how to guides to walk you through the loft design and conversion process
Letting the light in
One of the most successful aspects of our previous loft was definitely the bank of roof windows on one side. I didn’t know this at the time but VELUX roof windows actually let in twice as much daylight as vertical windows of the same size. And doubling the amount of daylight means boosting your metabolic processes (without wishing to sound too #StraightOuttaTomorrowsWorld) improving your mood, reducing your risk of obesity and helping you get a better night’s sleep. The windows we had were top hung meaning we could open them to get a full, open view and maximise the amount of natural daylight that can be allowed in.
Positioning your bed under VELUX windows can actually help you sleep better
So we will definitely be incorporating VELUX roof windows again in our new space. We have some planned in for the dressing room space but I would also love to see if we can incorporate one into the bathroom space so that we can see the stars whilst brushing our teeth or at least as much of the stars as you can see when everyone has their lights on in North London! Has anyone done this in their loft conversion? Does the reality live up to my Pinterest dream??
I am looking forward to actually being able to choose the design and size this time around and there are some exciting new products being introduced by VELUX in 2020 hopefully just in time for our conversions. For example, I love the sound of the top hung INTEGRA windows being introduced which have tech built in that allow you to operate the roof windows at the touch of a button. I would also like to add some inbuilt blackout blinds which again can be remotely controlled.
Sadly I don’t think we will be able to go for a VELUX CABRIO pop out balcony window so I will have to keep this image on my Pinterest a while longer.
Creating Character and Zoning Like Beckham
In my last blog I spoke about the fact that lofts can easily feel a bit “Keanu” (likeable but bland) and need character injecting into them. In our old loft I “De-Keanued” with the help of a small builders’ yard worth of reclaimed scaffold boards on the wall behind the bed. I loved how it added texture and warmth to the space and it is very tempting to repeat the trick again.
However, this time I love the idea of using a crittall screen to create a focal point, acting as a divider between the bedroom and the dressing room and injecting a little bit of sophisticated industrial edge into the room. Although I may be back down the builders’ yard if it turns out I have crittall dreams on a cardboard box budget.
Room designed by Anna Potanka
I also love the idea of having the ability to open up part of the bathroom to the bedroom with a pocket door and, with some clever layout (and waste pipe location) planning am hoping I can fit a freestanding bath into the bathroom for a bit of added wow. This is my inspo for the idea although obviously on a slightly less dramatic scale than this!
I adore these sliding doors and the bath concealed by them. Image via @viral.archi
By having three distinct spaces divided in this way I am hoping to banish the bland and create a multifunctional space that we can sleep, bathe and relax in! If you need more ideas about how to design your space for maximum wow (and non-Keanu) factor then VELUX has a brilliant EBook available that has lots of great tips about things to bear in mind when you are designing your space. Definitely worth looking at when you consider that 70% of people have regrets about their loft conversion and that 19% of people wish they had spent more time planning their space before starting to build.
Glaze to Amaze
One of the key attractions of our new house is that is has a lovely mature garden with some seriously attractive trees Because it is so mature you cannot really see the houses behind so it feels very secluded and connected to nature.
Could be New England in the fall but is actually Enfield
Concentrate on the view not the chunky UpVc windows that are definitely on my hit list to replace
One of my key design aims with the loft is to ensure that there are clear uninterrupted views to take advantage of the setting. In my last loft blog I detailed how we removed a set of white UpVC doors to de-dentist surgery the old space and open up the view. At the time we had a limited budget so had to install, in their place, a large fixed picture window and a small opening side window. Whilst that definitely gave us uninterrupted views it would have been nice to have had the ability to open the window to enjoy more fresh air in the summer months.
The picture window in our old loft which created stunning uninterrupted views
This time around I am therefore hoping that we can stretch the budget enough to go for either folding or sliding doors in the dormer like this amazing loft conversion I have saved on my Pinterest boards (source unknown). Has anyone done this in their loft? I also love the idea of having the bath positioned in front of a big pane of glass like in this inspo picture .
I am hoping god (and the Halifax) willing that we be able to finalise the design, put it in for planning and get started in the first half of 2020. If you are planning a loft conversion and need more practical information on the timings and process then click here to read bags of useful information on just those topics complied by VELUX or contact VELUX for support. Using the VELUX Project support tools has really helped me so far and it is a great way to get to know more about the whole range of different types of windows that they offer. Did you know for example that you can open and close their INTEGRA windows with just one touch of a wall switch?
I look forward to sharing our final choices and our loft conversion journey with you over the coming months. I would love to hear from anyone else also embarking on a similar journey in 2020!
This blog post was sponsored by VELUX as part of my paid brand ambassador partnership with them