Hello AT,
I'm buying a condo that's 514 sq. ft. and I want to maximize my living space by creating a "floating" loft bedroom. My ceiling is set at 10' high and I want a minimum of 6' to stand below my loft bedroom and atleast 5.5' for the sleeping area. Should I take out the finished ceiling and expose the beams and perhaps gain some ceiling space? The building used to be an industrial building so I assume that each floor has high ceilings. What do you think? more below the jump.....
(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.
Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to:
editor(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)
Link To All Good Questions
....Also, I don't know how to create my loft bedroom. I was hoping that the platform could be a large stainless steel piece of metal or huge plank of wood (77 sq. ft.) that's about 2" thick. How would I fashion the platform so that it looks like it's floating? Should I have it sit on built-in bookshelves or is this unsafe? Do you know where I can buy ready-made stairs?
Thanks, ein
Dear EIN,
This is a big question, so we'll just you started here in the hopes that others have more for you.
1. A loft plan is a great idea and you will definitely get more space, but - depending on how much storage you need - consider building up the floor 3', padding it and creating storage underneath as well. This may allow you to bring the bed down to the floor and create a more restful sleeping environment (ie. sleeping in a loft bed is not the first choice for an ideally restful sleep).
2. We would definitely remove the ceiling, but only if you still have some insulation from your upstairs neighbors. Exposed beams are far more beautiful, but hearing them walk around is not worth it. Also, you want to make sure it is clean above your head. If the building is old, you might nave to do a lot of work to "clean up" the ceiling before you can sleep beneath it.
3. As for carrying the bed up high, we would use nice, old wood timbers on edge that mount on the wall to left and right. These are your joists, and you can then lay your platform on top of this. Avoid metal if you can and stay with natural materials. However, you will need some strong supports to carry all the weight, especially if you are a *wild sleeper*.
Also, you should check out this series of house tours - West 22nd Street - as Jeff did something similar and it looks great. This is a good post of that apt.
Anyone else??
Hi Ein,
Was there a typo somewhere? 6' = 5.5' = 11.5 ft, 18" short of your fixed height ceiling. I realize that removing the ceiling might expose some more head room, but your average ceiling joist is going to be beween 8-12 inches max (I too live in an industrial building), still not allowing you to reach your goals.
Looking at the picture, I'll assume you want a queen-size bed, which is 60" wide. Assuming you only need to access the bed on one side, 18" of space is bare minimum to actually walk. That said, what you decide to do with this area depends on what you are actually going to use it for. Do you want more living space, or more storage space? Depending on the decision, I have a suggestion for you.
Hi Ein,
Definitely be cautious if you decide to take out the ceiling. I love the exposed beams in my new apartment, they were the main selling point for us, but now that we are in here I am quite sure that half of our heat goes upstairs to our neighbors and if someone drops anything upstairs you can hear it down below. It's mostly faulty construction, they did a really bad job with insulation, just something to be cautious of.
Good luck with your loft!
Feng shui speaking, exposed beams are bad news. They can cause headaches. And literally, if you happen to hit your head on them in the middle of the night, that would also cause headaches.
oh no, my whole apartment has exposed beams! guess i'm doomed to many days of headaches. but don't all of my other purposeful feng shui pieces and actions counter it? oh well, they are so gosh darn beautiful that i will take my chances, and some advil. : )
You need to hire an architect or an interior designer.
thanks for the suggestions everybody. joey, sorry for not being clear about my intentions. in exposing the beams, i was hoping that another 1-2' of ceiling space would be gained, giving me atleast 11' or 12' of ceiling height. that way, i was hoping to have atleast 5.5" to stand on both the ground floor and the loft floor. this is very wishful thinking.
i want to gain living space by creating this loft bedroom. the whole building has been rehabbed and they placed soundproofing under the floors so i don't think noise will be a problem.
If you have high enough ceilings, why not buy one of those children playsets that is essentially a loft level by stairs with a slide exit.
Instead of one great honking slab, try a series of "planks" that get pined or bolted at the ends and together - for strength. Since you need thin-ness and strength think plywood or LVL "beams" laid on the side.
As an alternative, get a custom built "murphy" style bed that's not tied to the floor, but to the wall, a couple of feet off the floor. A "disappearing loft" as it were.
You'll need to check your engineering carefully though.
A few thoughts for you ...
- 6' is really low for living space. It will be cave-like.
- But, you can get by with less than standing height for the bed area. I'm 5'7", and my loft area is 62" to the ceiling, but only 49" to the bottom of the beams. Then, you should subtract out 10" of mattress. I find there to be 52" of usable space (62" - 10") and that works. (see pic at www.davinciglobal.com/house/loft.jpg)
- Don't forget to factor in access. We've been using a ladder, and that gets old. But stairs at a more casual angle take up space, and stairs are expensive.
I am about to move into a similar challenge and wonder if the decent-looking IKEA double beds are actually strong enough for a large mattress AND two adults???