Attic Bedroom Ideas
What could be cozier than curling up in bed nestled under the eaves of a romantic attic bedroom? Tucked away from the rest of the house, attics offer a quiet, private space with dramatic architecture ideal for a one-of-a-kind hideaway. Plus, reclaiming an underutilized attic for usable square footage can make your space feel larger and increase the value of your home.
Before you can decorate a magical clubhouse, enviable tween bedroom or memorable tower guest suite, consider this space’s unique decorating challenges. The layout and shape of your home can determine your attic bedroom design. By working with angles, choosing sufficient lighting with a great color scheme and adding decor, you can fully unlock your attic’s potential.
Planning Your Attic Room Layout
From slanted roofs to angular dormers, the wall and ceiling shapes that make attic bedrooms interesting also make arranging furniture a challenge. The two main elements that impact where you can place your furniture are the pitch of your ceiling and the size and location of the windows.
Keeping these factors in mind during the planning stages will help you design an attic setup that works with your room’s quirks. An awkward nook or hard-to-dress window can turn into your bedroom’s greatest asset with a little creativity. Your best bet is to take advantage of these unique angles to create a stunning and comfy space.
Working with Odd Angles and Sloped Ceilings
When you convert an attic into a bedroom, angled ceilings and unusual wall shapes often require creative furniture placement. However, crafting a harmonious design might be easier than you think. To pick the right furniture for attic bedrooms and arrange it for maximum space and impact, use these guiding principles:
- Accept what’s there: Disguising a slanted ceiling with tapestries or curtains is possible, but it eats up space and makes your tiny attic room feel even smaller. Instead, try to embrace the dramatic look of angular architecture by accentuating it with color, texture or decor.
- Make architectural features a focal point: There are several ways to turn sloped ceilings, eaves and dormer windows into fun design features. With paint in a bold accent color and a plush arm chair, an odd bump-out becomes an eye-catching reading nook. Add a bench under a small dormer window for a cute window seat, or slot in a small desk for a private study spot.
- Let function follow form: Kids love small spaces that feel like their own little world, while teens appreciate a little privacy. Why not lean into these special qualities for attic bedroom ideas? A cozy nook might be the perfect fit for a narrow kid’s bed. Likewise, a private, loft-style room with space to study and hang out is the ideal teen bedroom setup.
- Position the bed for maximum headspace: As you arrange your furniture, think about overhead clearance. A small twin might fit comfortably at the base of a dormer wall, but larger frames may present a bigger challenge. To avoid bumping their heads, adults and teens with queen or king beds will likely prefer sleeping under the highest part of the room with more space to sit up.
- Use low walls for storage: Dormers tend to create squat walls that are hard to use. If the space isn’t tall enough for other attic bedroom furniture, try using it for storage. Since attics typically lack closet space, a chest of drawers or a small bookcase works well to keep clothes tucked away or to organize books and decor.
Light Up Your Attic Bedroom
Notorious for small windows in unusual shapes and places, attic bedrooms can seem a bit dark and cave-like. If you want to make a small room look bigger, brighter and more open, the simple solution is to enhance your light sources. Light makes a room seem larger than its square footage, so take advantage of a few of these tricks for attic bedroom lighting to make the most of your space:
- Use uplighting: To provide the illusion of more daylight, lamps that point upwards are perfect for attic rooms. Try using stylish and space-saving options like wall sconces and torchieres that illuminate the ceiling for a natural ambiance that emulates the sun’s glow.
- Find the right window treatments: Attic bedrooms with slanted walls create awkward window angles, and mini skylights or tiny casements can be hard to cover. Stick-on window film is a great option for these tough customers. For more traditional attic windows, flowy drapes give your room an open, airy feel.
- Add accent lamps: If you have space, pendants and chandeliers are a great option for overhead lighting. However, you may have to get creative for a low-ceiling attic bedroom. Ideas include using table lamps to create unique bedside lighting or using a couple of floor lamps throughout the room for targeted reading or work lights.
- Bounce light around the room: To get far away from the stereotype of the cramped, stuffy attic, consider decorating with white. This color reflects natural light, which tends to make small spaces appear larger. To heighten this effect, try adding some mirrors for the illusion of a bigger, brighter room.
Choosing Attic Bedroom Decor
Once you’ve taken features like shape and lighting into account, the next step in designing a cozy attic bedroom is choosing the decorations. When picking furniture for small spaces such as attics, the goal is to make the room feel bigger than it is. These attic bedroom ideas will help you pick small room decor like a pro.
Making Your Space Look Bigger with Small Scale Design
When you’re working with low or angled ceilings, try experimenting with some simple tricks to create the illusion of extra height and volume with minimal effort. A few easy ways to add the appearance of higher ceilings to a vertically challenged attic room include:
- Choose low-profile furniture: Small beds and platform beds that sit close to the ground are the best option for attic rooms. The more space between the ceiling and your furniture, the more open and airy your bedroom will feel.
- Opt for versatility: Attic beds with built-in features are a smart choice for compact spaces. Storage beds offer plenty of drawers and cubbies where you can stow clothing and bedding. Alternatively, a trundle bed can transform your cozy attic bedroom into a guest suite for two.
- Scale down: From short nightstands to compact dressers, small bedroom furniture will look perfectly proportioned in an attic bedroom. To save room while providing seats for guests, a sleeper sofa or a loveseat can double as a bed and entertaining space.
- Draw attention from floor to ceiling: Bold hues, textures and patterns that draw your gaze tend to read as heavy. By keeping most of your eye-catching elements near the ground, you avoid visually pulling the ceiling lower. Vibrant, fluffy and printed area rugs are a good way to introduce color into your decor without overwhelming the space.
Cozy Attic Bedroom Color Palettes
When decorating an attic bedroom and trying to keep a compact space from appearing too small, a strategic palette can help. Using subdued, complementary hues creates a simple look that evokes a relaxed vibe. Consider these color scheme ideas for your own attic bedroom design:
- Earth tones: Decorating with earth tones like rugs and toss pillows in warm shades of brown, green and red creates a cozy atmosphere great for snuggling up in a comfy attic bedroom. This palette works well for rooms with wood paneling or rustic decor.
- Pastels: Whimsical colors like periwinkle, pink and soft yellow are perfect for dreamy attic bedrooms. Decorate a princess-themed room with a lavender canopy bed or paint the ceiling a cool baby blue for a soothing nursery.
- Neutral grays: Easy to blend with any look, gray is the perfect color for a comfortable attic guest suite. Used in many modern bedroom designs and color schemes, gray bedding, rugs, wall art and furniture can help you create a unified look.
- Brilliant whites: Often used in Scandinavian decorating, an all-white palette makes a small space look more open and bright. By choosing comfortable decor like throw pillows and upholstered accent chairs in shades of cream, ivory and alabaster, you can have a clean and cozy aesthetic for your small attic bedroom.
Less is More
The key to decorating an attic bedroom that feels spacious and well-curated is to avoid overfilling your room. To make up for smaller proportions, sharp angles and low ceilings, take a minimalist decorating approach with furniture and decor. A few well-chosen accents show your sense of style while letting the room’s innate charm take center stage. Some examples include:
- A touch of greenery: Silk florals and plants are a low-effort way to refresh your attic bedroom. Requiring just the occasional dusting and zero watering, these decorative plants look natural next to a window or beside your desk.
- Simple metals: From glam gold statues to industrial bronze bookends, metal decorative accents are simple, stylish additions. A sculpture on your nightstand or set of baskets on an accent table adds just a hint of pizzazz to elevate your decor.
- Contemporary creativity: Keep it cool and fashion-forward with contemporary decor. Drape colorful throws on a decorative ladder for storage that doubles as decoration. For a cutting-edge effect, try hanging a geometric wall sculpture above the bed.
