Beautiful houses with an attic
If we take into account the construction of a private house, then, of course, the leading place is occupied by a house with an attic, which is constantly gaining popularity and attracting more and more attention. The reason for this is its design and hidden opportunities to increase usable living space. The peculiarity is that the construction costs become much lower than with the usual construction of a house with the same area.
Space organization
Attic is an attic that is used and equipped as a living room or several rooms. The tradition of using the attic as a living room appeared hundreds of years ago, when people from poor families were forced to live in the attic. Today, everything has become a little different, and the modern attic has a large supply of functionality, almost replacing the entire floor of the house.
In such an attic, you can equip a bedroom, make panoramic windows, or build a sports hall for active leisure activities. In addition, the attic is often very spacious and launches large streams of natural light, here you can make a personal office, a large playground for children. Designers advise you to think about the option to equip a bathroom here, which will save space on the ground floor of the house, making the kitchen and living room more spacious for receiving guests or noisy companies. In general, it all depends on the imagination of the owner and his financial capabilities.
Pros and cons of a house with an attic
Building a house with an attic has a number of advantages in comparison with other types of houses, because it is not for nothing that this type of construction is becoming more and more popular. Among the advantages should be noted:
- Economic benefit. Construction work is not very expensive, and the use of the attic as a living room will save significant cash.
- The increase in area. Using the attic, the usable area can be significantly increased, the main thing here is to use the attic correctly.
- Easy to install. It is not difficult to build an attic, it is simple to carry out communication systems here, it is enough just to stretch them from the first floor of the house.
- Reduced heat loss. Due to the good arrangement and warming of the attic, less heat loss can be achieved, which will entail significant savings in money.
- Gradual injection of funds. If there is not enough money to equip the attic, then this does not matter, because there is a ground floor for living, and the attic space can be equipped gradually.
- Variability. How exactly to use the attic and what to build here is a matter of everyone's choice, depending on his preferences. In the attic, you can make a bedroom, and a nursery, and even a billiard room, it all depends on what will be more profitable and interesting for the residents of the house.
We considered the advantages of such a house, now we can talk about the existing shortcomings:
- Compliance with standards. A house with an attic must comply with the established norms and requirements, otherwise the house will freeze, and its useful life may be significantly reduced.
- Installation of skylights. The use of such windows is expensive because they have a specific profile and are not so easy to install, so they can be twice as expensive as regular windows.
- Deterioration of natural light. In winter, snow is a common thing, but if there is too much rain, they will simply blind the windows, which means that natural light will be spoiled.
Features
If a big stake is made on the attic and it is given an important role, then you need to think about the features and take them into account so that the attic is not just a cold room.
Features:
- Thermal insulation. You need to make sure that it is not cold, otherwise in the winter it will be impossible to be here.
- Waterproofing. You need to carefully approach this issue, otherwise there is a risk that water during rain or snow will start to get inside the house, and this is in principle unacceptable.
- Proper use of materials. During construction, you need to use light finishing materials and furniture, since a large load will entail cracks in the foundation and walls.
- The integrity of the space. It is best to make the attic holistic, but if you need to divide it into rooms, then it is better to use drywall as a dividing wall, since it is light and quite durable.
Attic insulation
In order to use the attic as a living area, you need to take care of additional thermal insulation. Installation of heaters has its own difficulties, since it is necessary to insulate everything as efficiently as possible, we must not forget about the insulation of gables and valley. It is necessary to choose materials that have good vapor barrier performance, it is important to consider the environmental friendliness of the materials, their compatibility with the possibility of living in such a room. It is best to entrust this matter to specialists, since an error will lead to large financial losses and inevitable problems.
Attic interior
Now the most fashionable option will be the design of the attic in the style of country, eclecticism or chalet. Beams with these styles remain open, the furniture is installed wooden, handmade or carved. The windows are left open, the emphasis is on knitted blankets, and the floor is decorated with animal skins or expensive carpets.
Couples very often give their preference to romantic Provence with pink tones, light furniture and lots of decor. In this case, the walls are sheathed with plasterboard, after which they can be painted, the windows are decorated with curtains, and the shelves on the walls are made with souvenirs and other trinkets.
In general, the arrangement of furniture can be done, taking into account personal tastes and wishes, however, it is important to focus on the particular layout and roof.
Nuances to consider:
- With a gable roof, the installation of the cabinet is not possible, you will have to come up with something else (the cabinet can be replaced with shelves or a chest of drawers).
- Installation of stairs is one of the obligatory steps to which you need to pay close attention. It is necessary to think over the location of the stairs so that it is as useful as possible, but at the same time takes up a minimum of space, in addition, you need to take care of safety, eliminate the risks of injury.
- Lighting. It is necessary to do not only natural, but also artificial lighting. If you combine them correctly and achieve good lighting, you can add a touch of originality and light charm, which will make this room a favorite part of the house.