Attic

Garage Apartment

Increase attic workspace functionality by using furniture than can be easily moved and/or serves multiple purposes.

Attic level view towards south wall of windows

This 1900s attic was converted into a reading room and workspace.

An attic bedroom.

Smith designed the custom cabinets, which were fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white lacquer finish. There are three drawer heights. "The faces are consistent but some, when you open them up, are triple-height," Smith says. "So that helps with things that are really large, like sleeping bags or camping stuff or whatever. They're three feet deep, so it goes into the knee wall, which is really handy. So you get lots and lots of storage."

Bamboo flooring and custom built-ins—fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white-lacquer finish—brightened Gavin and Sheila Smith’s 650-square-foot attic. Gavin Smith designed the blackened-steel balustrade, which has cable inserts and a walnut handrail.

An added benefit of installing the skylights was adding headroom over the day beds, Smith says.

Whether you’re battling noise or are short on space, these guides can turn your office into a distraction-free zone.

Heritage architecture can be found all throughout the abode, including the built-in bookshelves winding up the main staircase.