Best in class: Lofty ambitions

Clever designs for attics

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London-based architects Stiff and Trevillion has turned a dark space in Chelsea into a light-filled workroom. The only window is in the gable wall, and it is blocked by a black blind in this picture. By installing LED strip lights on top of the beams to wash light into the pitch above, more strip lights behind the built-in desks, and standalone desk lights, they have created a sense of space. The beams were painted a deep primary red to contrast with white light, floors and work surfaces. Photograph: Killian O’Sullivan stiffandtrevillion.com

When Toronto-based Tact Design was commissioned to refurbish this this house on Galley Avenue in the city it was divided into three apartments. They added a basement and put one of the bedrooms into the loft, where there is also a home office and an en suite. It is dual aspect, with a large window in the gable and a roof light to create an uncluttered den for teens to call their own without interfering with the living room as there is a floor of bedrooms between the attic and the main reception floor. tactdesign.ca

Set within the eaves of this Surrey Hills house, the client wanted Penelope Allen Design to create a main bedroom with a bathroom. Originally dark and imposing, the oak beams were painted in Little Greene’s Rolling Fog to match walls and ceiling and clad in a matching hide with antique brass studs. To use as much space as possible, the bespoke wardrobes were colour-matched to the rest of the room, with the sliding door to the en suite tucked into a recess at the back of the wardrobe. penelopeallendesign.co.uk

When designer Stephen Nash of London-based All & Nxthing first bought this two-storey flat the upper floor, under the eaves, consisted of two rooms with a poky kitchen walled off at the rear of the room. By turning the layout upside down and putting the bedrooms downstairs, and opening up the top floor to become one large open-plan living/dining kitchen, he can enjoy rooftop views and a far greater sense of space. Photograph: Dowling Jones Design allandnxthing.com

This double-fronted Edwardian semi had an enormous roof space but as it is set in a London Conservation Area, rear dormers were not an option. T-Space Architects exposed the rafters by putting insulation between and on top of them. Exposing the brickwork on the party and gable end walls further exaggerated the masculine aesthetic of this games room. A large stained-glass window was added to the gable end to amplify the vaulted feeling of the loft and provide views along two aspects. A pool table, beer fridge and lounge chairs complete the look. t-spacearchitects.com

Together with his wife, interior designer Catherine Allan, Roci Allan of Allan Curran Architects, which has offices in Donegal town, Ramelton and in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, has turned their traditional Irish long house into a light-filled space to rent on Airbnb. Situated in the village of Ballintra, 12 km from Donegal town, the property has been smartly restored. Setting one of the bathrooms under the eaves and painting the ceiling and walls rich mocha would make anyone want to spend time soaking. allanarc.com; airbnb.ie

Sat Feb 04 2017 - 06:00

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