apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow! That is really cool!
Regarding the door, what if you could install some kind of sliding barn style door on the outside of the room?
That's all I've got.

Wow! What a cool little nook! I'd be hesitant about installing any sort of solid door for privacy. That little space would probably get quite warm for someone sleeping up there and closed in.

Why don't you try putting an air bed or sleeping bag up there and sleep there for a night or two yourself? It would be like indoor camping, and you'd get a feel for what is/isn't comfortable.

Move your bed to the opposite side of the room.
After clearing out the boxes, put a mattress flat on the floor with a flokati rug and a low table with storage (as an end-table)
Get some groovy lighting and lots of colorful pillows and put some art/mirrors on the walls.
Put a ladder against the wall to the opening - This can be used as an extra clothes hanger too while you're dressing in the am...
Put a nice heavy hook into the studs in the wall on either side of the opening - then get a length of thick hemp rope and tie loops in the ends. This is your "safety barrier".

Where is that white/black duvet from? I know I've seen it before but I just can't place it! It's not 2 Modern, not CB2, not West Elm, not Design Public... this is going to drive me nuts!

I think that if I were to turn that space into a sleeping loft I would do something a bit more permanent with the opening above the bed. I love the idea of the sliding barn door, but your ceiling slants so nothing can really slide, also dare I say in the event of an earthquake. Living in California I don't like anything heavy hung above my head while I am sleeping. I think that I would do a railing at least half way up the opening. This might also prevent a sleepwalker or inebriated guest from plummeting into your bed. I think then I would also do a full size platform bed and a set of curtains hung from the inside of the opening so that they aren't an eyesore from in your room. This is a great space!!!

I also second the idea of camping out in there first to see what it is like.

is it hard/weird to put up glass block in that opening right above your bed? That would solve light and noise/privacy issues - but it would be permanent.

make it a really fun destination for your guests- I always love experiencing a different way of living when I'm away. Tuck a mattress to the side (on a low platform if you insist- we made a platform bed using doors and some 2x6's), hang a pharmacy style wall sconce/reading light, maybe mount a wall shelf very low to use as a night stand. As far as privacy goes, you could use revolution9's really cool idea for a sliding barn style. Otherwise, I'd just hang drapes to use for privacy. Find some way to make it really unique in that cozy little place. I'd be happy to be a guest there.

I would add white curtains to the opening as well. I don't think they should be thick or even completely opaque, but they'll serve to give a bit of privacy without completely cutting off air flow.

Maybe low shelves on the short sides of the loft, or rows of storage boxes?

Are all your guests really short? Sleeping in a place I can't stand up in has little appeal. Try a babygate to block off the opening and organize the storage. Maybe you'll be able to clear enough clutter to find space for taller guests downstairs.

The loft is over the bathroom, and the window where the ladder is goes into the bathroom, yes?

The access to the loft is via the door on the left side of the bed, as viewed in the top picture, yes?

And there is a louvered window (probably with fixed louvers) in that loft, that points to the outdoors, yes?

Is the only access to the loft area via the bedroom?

And is the loft accessed through the closet?

If those things are correct, it probably wouldn't make for a good sleeping loft for guests. In that you'll have people going up and down by the bathroom window (shower tub area) and the ladder looks REAL close to the windows. One false step and the foot is in the window.

It would get very hot up there with that sun wall to the outside. And you'd have people walking through your bedroom into your closet, climbing up by your bathroom, and looking down on you. That's kind of odd.

How wide is that opening? The one that looks into the bedroom?

I would want to put MY bed up there with some sheer white curtains over the opening, then put a pull out sofa in the bedroom which could be a reading area on a day to day basis and a sleeping place for when guests stay over.

JH4285, I think it is from CB2. They carried both grey on white and black on white.

Thank you so much for your ideas. They're very helpful. I think the sheets were from CB2 but they were a gift...

JH4285, it is from CB2. They're actually on sale right now too. :)

I'd be worried about it being warm up there in summer. Anyway, I'd paint that dark wood to make the space feel bigger, either in white or in a nice sky blue (maybe with stars painted on?).

For the opening over your bed: you could cut a sheet of styrofoam so that its about 1/4" smaller than the opening all the way around. Cover it with an envelope of bright, attractive fabric - machine-sew three sides together, then hand-sew the last side(s). For extra sound-proofing or "room" darkening either use a heavier fabric or wrap the styrofoam with a dense fabric, then the print on top. Once the fabric envelope is on the foam panel it should fit snugly inside the frame of the opening. To keep it out of the way when its not in use hand-sew little squares of velcro at the corners on one side, and tack corresponding pieces of velcro to the angled roof. Some clear plastic swivel clips might also work. The panel will be pretty light-weight so it can be stored stuck to the ceiling, and can double as art.

Ugh -- sorry, but as a guest I wouldn't want to go up and down that ladder.

If you're able to deal with physically then turn that into your own sleep quarters if you really need guest space, otherwise I'd keep it for storage.

Turning that into a permanent sleeping space would actually be kinda illegal. You know--building codes, fire egress...that sort of thing. You'd just be making it all the more of a deathtrap if you put any sort of barrier over the whole opening.

I suspect the building's owners remodeled without permits or inspections, or that the loft's been there for decades. I don't imagine any building & safety inspector would allow such a space to be constructed, just because people such as yourself would be tempted to use it as an additional sleeping space.

If you're hell-bent on using it for anything more than storage, put a desktop up there and use it for a cutesy widdle office.

I'd install a slide or diving board just outside that window. It would make hoping into bed really fun.

On the bedroom side opening, I would make a half-wall all the way to the side walls. In other words, lower the existing walls, and build up the opening. On top of that wall I would put opaque glass like: http://www.mpglass.com/glass-types.htm
waterglass or seedglass, from the half-wall to the ceiling. This would give the stability feel over the bed because of the horizontal continuity, and the privacy and quiet you desire and still enable light to flow.

I'm having a hard time figuring out the placement of the loft. In the bottom photo there are windows. I don't see them in the top photo so I'm confused. (It doesn't take much).

To use this only as a storage place would be depressing. At the very least I would turn it into a mini library with some shelves on one side and a low bed on the other for when guests come over. I would take a test sleep up there one night though to see how warm it is. A little desktop fan would probably be a good idea either wat. For a door you could try using industrial felt. Either one or two pieces that could slide out of the way. I think there is a post somewhere on here about it. Also I agree with some others about placing the bed along another wall and finding a ladder that looks nice and functions as well.

To all the people complaining about not wanting to sleep up there. Then just get a hotel.

either waY. Sorry.