Attic Before-and-After: The Ultimate Kid's Bedroom Suite

Ask kids, and they'll tell you the ideal place to sleep is in a tree house or on a sailboat, like Max in Where the Wild Things Are. Architect Darren Helgesen incorporated that spirit in this attic redo at a century-old house in East Hampton, New York, where he used warm finishes and smart details to turn the dark, sloped-ceilinged space into a shipshape two-bedroom suite. The homeowners, Bill and Cory Laverack, had already renovated the rest of the house. "We used a lot of beadboard and liked it," says Cory, an interior designer, so Helgesen continued it here, calling on general contractor Ronald Gray and carpenter Paul Stisi to fit together beaded boards and built-ins as neatly as jigsaw pieces. The team also rejiggered an existing bath and put down a pine floor. "It was always their favorite place," says Cory, recalling how the couple's four kids would hide out upstairs with friends every chance they got. "And now it's the ultimate sleepover space." SEE THE ENTIRE GALLERY FOR THIS ATTIC REMODEL AT THISOLDHOUSE.COM


Before: Hodgepodge Hideaway. Freestanding furniture, little light, and shabby, not chic, finishes made the attic bedrooms feel smaller.

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Smart storage. Deep drawers with soft-close glides hold clothes and linens, and the built-in bedside table hides ductwork. A mirror-image bedroom occupies the space at the other end of the hall.

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Safety first. A sash stop prevents kids from opening the window more than 6 inches.

MORE: 5 Steps to Finishing an Attic (How-To Video)

See more attic remodels at thisoldhouse.com:

Attic Become a Suite Retreat (With Home Office) Upstairs
From Attic to Bedroom, With Help From the Web