Before and After: An Unfinished Attic Becomes an Airy Office & Play Space

Written by

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published May 1, 2017
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If you’ve ever had an unfinished area in your home you might have dreamed of the space it could be. Imagine adding more usable square feet to your home without building on an addition! But it can be intimidating looking at one of these raw spaces — with bare studs and exposed insulation — and feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that would be needed. This stunning attic transformation will not only banish any intimidation, it’ll motivate you to tackle your own makeover.

Molly and William starting renovating their small Cleveland house in 2011. Under 1000 square feet, it just made sense to turn as much of the home as possible into usable living space for their family.

Because Molly is a textile designer and the owner of a successful home textile business — as well as the mom of two young boys — they decided to dedicate the entire 370 square foot attic to her studio. But in such a small home, they couldn’t afford to waste space, so the unusable areas (for grown-ups) under the sloped ceilings became dedicated play spaces for the kids.

Molly writes:

“My favorite space in our home is my studio office/playroom. My husband knew he needed to create a home office that was toddler-friendly; but over the course of the year-long construction, the project evolved significantly. Unusable areas under sloped ceilings became dedicated play spaces, and as my textile design business grew it became clear that the entire 370 square foot second floor need to be be devoted to the business.”

The result is a clean, inspiring, modern space that many members of the family can enjoy! To see this creative couple’s entire home, check out their entire house tour.