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Collection by Heather Corcoran

Pitched Perfect: 5 Renovations That Transform the Unremarkable Attic

These airy attic renovations prove a house's topmost floor can be so much more than a space for stashing boxes—sloped ceilings and all.

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In the tiny sleeping loft is a platform bed with two drawers beneath it. In place of wallpaper, Schönning enlarged a photograph he snapped in Rio de Janeiro. The inset spotlights and a small shelf at the end of the bed offer light and additional storage. Photo by Per Magnus Persson.
In the tiny sleeping loft is a platform bed with two drawers beneath it. In place of wallpaper, Schönning enlarged a photograph he snapped in Rio de Janeiro. The inset spotlights and a small shelf at the end of the bed offer light and additional storage. Photo by Per Magnus Persson.
Charrier transformed a cramped attic into a sunny dining room with Vitral windows and white-tinted pine floors by Dinesen. The Sara table is by Hay, the Shell chairs are by Charles and Ray Eames, and the artwork is a hand-printed textile she had framed.
Charrier transformed a cramped attic into a sunny dining room with Vitral windows and white-tinted pine floors by Dinesen. The Sara table is by Hay, the Shell chairs are by Charles and Ray Eames, and the artwork is a hand-printed textile she had framed.
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.
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.
The snug attic in this former fisherman’s cottage in Copenhagen contains the homeowner’s platform bed, custom-designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen to maximize storage and fit the unusual space.
The snug attic in this former fisherman’s cottage in Copenhagen contains the homeowner’s platform bed, custom-designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen to maximize storage and fit the unusual space.