Lovely Loft

This Kentucky couple turned their attic into a spacious master suite.

What potential does your attic space hold? Plenty, as proven by these Lexington, Kentucky, homeowners. Here's how they took their conventional attic and turned it into a comfortable and sunlit master suite.

Limited Use

Even before the improvements, Brad and Hydee Hawkins used their attic as a home office, but with less than ideal conditions. "It was uninsulated, dark, and had minimal headroom," Brad remembers. Also, similar to many attics, the couple's under-rafter space was confined to a narrow corridor located directly under the roof ridge, where head height was the greatest. Adding to this cavelike appearance, the walls and ceiling were lined with thin wallboard and seamed with wood battens. All in all, it didn't make for a place where Brad and Hydee liked to stay for very long.

More Than Meets the Eye

Aiming to improve matters, the couple set certain goals. First, they wanted to keep any roof change or addition from affecting the appearance of their house as seen from the street. Therefore, any substantial renovation would have to occur from midattic to the back. Another concern dealt with filling the remodeled attic with ample natural light, primarily by creating a central stairwell hall that connected all the parts of the areathe bed, bath, relocated home office, and closet.

Turning to architect Graham Pohl for design help, Brad and Hydee set their plan into motion. "We kept the roofline over the bed location as is because it faces the front of the house," Brad explains. "At the back, we raised the roof to accommodate a closet and office on one side of the stairs and a bath on the other."

While an adequate stairway already connected the attic to the ground floor, Graham envisioned a unique combination of kneewalls and a wire cable railing to distinguish the upper hall. He covered the kneewall portions with beaded board and then ran horizontal cables set in cylindrical anchors between the wall sections. "The Hawkinses' railing is a hybrid of traditional and contemporary forms, which basically sums up the nature of their whole renovation," says Graham.

Pretty good for a once cramped and dimly lit attic. ROBERT MARTIN

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Oct 2004
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