Most loft conversions are turned into 1 or 2 bedrooms with an en-suite bathroom. They allow the space within a home to be redefined, often giving growing families extra room and taking pressure off lower floors.
If you’re about to convert a loft of your own, it’s important to consider how you plan to make the most of the space available to you while understanding how to keep it light, bright and spacious. There’s no point in spending time and money on the work only to find the space dark and unusable.
Having converted our own loft several years ago, we’ve run into a few pitfalls when it comes to decorating and dressing the space so I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the ideas that have worked for us to help you before you embark on this journey.
Today’s post is in collaboration with VELUX, a brand partner this year, who has a commitment to improving emotional wellbeing in our homes through maximising daylight, ventilation and space.
The following ideas can all be used in bedrooms with VELUX roof windows to allow you to make the most of the available space and daylight while keeping your room well ventilated.
You can find more loft conversion ideas on their website.
How to Decorate a Loft Bedroom and En-Suite Bathroom
Loft Bedroom Colours:
Our main aim in decorating our loft bedroom was to make it as light and bright as possible, so we chose walls in a pale, neutral shade to bounce the light from our roof window across the room and keep it from feeling oppressive.
You can see this in our loft bedroom conversion, below.
I used a Dulux paint on the walls and the ceiling to bring uniformity to the room, and because the ceiling is slightly lower than the rest of the house, the continued use of the same colour doesn’t break up the walls allowing it to feel a little more spacious.
Having said that, I’m a strong believer in decorating your home to suit you and your personality. If you love colour and want to introduce it into your loft bedroom, then go for it.
Use the colour wisely, allowing it to make the most of the features a loft conversion brings, like sloping ceilings and odd wall arrangements. Ultimately, you want to feel comfortable in your space and if colour make you happy, use it.
I love the myriad of colours and pattern clashes in this bedroom and as long as you balance the space with calmer, more serene elements it will work really well.
How to Use Wallpaper in a Loft Bedroom
It is possible to use wallpaper successfully in a loft bedroom and the trick is to follow the lines of the sloping ceiling. Accentuate the angular lines for a more interesting look. And if you use paper with a vertical stripe, as above, you’ll also help to elongate the walls, making the ceiling feel higher and the room more spacious.
A neat trick, right?
Choosing Furniture for a Loft Bedroom
Choosing furniture for your loft bedroom can become tricky. It’s the one space in the home where you want good storage and plenty of it. However the often unusual shape of the room can hinder and limit your choices. Generally it’s a good investment to buy into bespoke storage, particularly cupboards and wardrobes. They can take the sloping ceilings into account and really use the available space to best advantage.
If you don’t want to buy from a specialist seller, then do hunt out a great carpenter who can build something to your exact requirements. You’ll probably get something so much more beautiful too.
Dressing Windows in a Loft Bedroom
My main advice when dressing loft bedroom windows is to keep it simple. If you have VELUX roof windows like me, their simple, stylish design complements any decorating scheme so there’s no need to hide them.
VELUX offer a full range of beautiful fitted blinds that both complement your interiors while giving you more control of your indoor environment. To help you create total darkness for sleep, VELUX blackout blinds block out sunlight completely helping you achieve an uninterrupted sleep. They also come available in an energy efficient range that uses a double pleated cloth to keep in the heat while blocking out the light.
If style is what you are looking for, Roman blinds create a soft and warm atmosphere to a room and are available in a range of decorative designs and unique fabrics. Alternatively, the new Colour by You collection from VELUX offers blinds in an eclectic mix of colours to help your interiors pop.
VELUX also have a range of solar blinds and shutters that allow you to control them with a pre-paired wall switch connected to the blind. These can be set on a timer to automatically open in the morning meaning your blinds can be your alarm clock which is fantastic!
Designing a Loft Bedroom En-Suite
If you can design an en-suite bathroom into your loft bedroom then I would recommend doing it. It’s the perfect touch of luxury to your attic space and gives your home a completely different feel.
Adding a dormer to the roof is often the way to fit in an en-suite but even if you still have sloping ceilings to deal with, you can make it work.
Use every nook and cranny. Bring in pieces of furniture which fit the space – do your research. Add showers into the sloped area or even a loo.
Go for more than one VELUX window if you can, VELUX recommend your roof windows take up 15-20% of the floor space of your room to bring in maximum daylight – you’ll be pleased with the extra ventilation and daylight they bring in as VELUX roof windows bring in up to twice as much daylight as regular windows of the same size.
Add storage, natural materials and make the most of the view.
More Ideas via Pinterest:
To give you some more ideas and inspiration, I’ve pulled together some Pinterest boards with further imagery:
- Loft Conversion Master Bedrooms
- Open Plan Kitchens (how to decorate this space and keep it light and bright.)
You can also see my previous Pinterest board on creating a clutter free home including loft bedroom storage ideas.
Do let me know if you use, or have used any of these tips when you design your own loft bedroom and en-suite.
PIN FOR LATER:
Jen x
Collaborative Post.
Jen is an interiors writer and blogger and has an insatiable love of home style and decor
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I agree that the additional light from a roof window makes all the difference, and the cost is really worth spending.
In fact, we went so far as to have our Velux windows fitted with motors and rain-sensors. They work just great in showery weather and shut automatically.
Any number of times we have gone out forgetting to close them, but no problem. They have always shut themselves when it rains, and there has not been any rain let-in.
I’d say, this is a must in showery weather when you may be downstairs and not notice the rain!