At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design

You are browsing the archives of Attic Bedroom – An Attractive Space Makes A Sound Investment – At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design.

An attic bedroom returns a higher value than almost any other remodeling investment. Here are some ideas for planning your new attic get-away.

The market is valuing home improvements that make the most of the existing house – adding space in attics and basements plus making mechanical and safety improvements – upgrading their front entry and replacing major systems like roofs and siding.

In 2005, during the height of the housing boom, you could recoup 90% to 100% of your cost for many home improvement activities. And in hot areas – such as Washington, DC where I practice – you could recoup more than 100% of your cost on kitchen and bath remodeling as well as many outdoor rooms. Today the picture is quite different; the national averages show few home improvements return more than 80% of their cost and most return between 60-70%.

My client owns a typical 1950’s post-war construction brick 3-bedroom ranch house — it’s ubiquitous throughout the east. Here are 3 options presented during the conceptual design phase for remodeling the home for indoor/outdoor, modern living.

Rooms feel more comfortable when natural light comes from 3 to 4 sides of a indoor space. We can accomplish this by borrowing light from other rooms or from hallways. In this article, I show 3 examples.