Space Saving Advice for your new Loft Conversion

After the planning, design and implementation of your new loft conversion, you may find yourself faced with an unconventionally shaped room.

This is a typical feature of any loft conversion, but the key to this is carefully chosen furniture and fittings which maximise space and storage options alike. Read on for some useful and inspiring ideas.

Choosing Furniture

Floating shelves are minimalist, functional and attractive. Unlike traditional shelves, they don’t have any perceivable brackets to the naked eye, thereby keeping a clean line above and below the shelf. When installed correctly they are just as supportive as normal shelving.

If your loft conversion is a study and guest bedroom combined, you might want to consider the addition of a day bed as opposed to a full sized immovable double bed.

A day bed can be extended to the size of a double bed, but presented in a similar way to a sofa when not in use – as well as shrinking back to the size of a single. They also offer under-bed storage so you will really maximise on space as well as having a functional and stylish bed in your loft.

Under-bed storage, particularly for double beds, provides ample space for linens, towels and clothing, so you may even be able to dispense with an additional set of draws to save space.

Under-bed storage can be built in, as pictured in the extendable day bed, or you can find purpose-built storage boxes designed to slide underneath the bed. You can spend as much or as little as you like on additional under-bed boxes, from inexpensive transparent plastic, to wooden boxes which match your other furniture.

The great thing is that furniture is now more affordable than ever before thanks to large retailers such as IKEA, so space saving designs need not cost the earth – as long as you’re prepared to put them together yourselves.

Maximise Perceived Space

In addition to any or all of these space saving ideas, choosing your freestanding furniture carefully can help to maximise the perceived amount of space in a room. For example if you’d like to add a small desk or bedside table, choose a piece which allows light underneath it.

Floor space and light are key elements in maximising perceived space, and with all the other space saving implementations you’ll have made, you don’t need a 3 draw bedside table or hefty desk for documents.

Colours and Finishes

Choose your colour scheme carefully – deep reds and blues can be a statement on a singular wall, but they can also make a room feel overcrowded, whereas a statement wall in a duck egg blue or hessian brown will still give the room warmth and personality whilst reflecting as much light as possible.

Maximising light is a common problem in loft conversions, but tactically placing light reflecting colours on walls that perhaps spend much of the time in shadow can make a big difference.

In terms of paint finishes, certain finishes are better at reflecting light than others. Your statement wall could be a matt finish to give it a warm and cosy feeling, whereas the other walls might be a light emulsion which is both resistant to grubby hands (a particular saving grace if your children are likely to frequent your new loft conversion), and reflects light softly, unlike the harsher reflection of a gloss.

Thanks to modern advancements in paint manufacturing, if you are deciding on a colour scheme for your bathroom, many steam-resistant specially purposed bathroom paints also come in a range of finishes.