An attic isn’t like a regular room and nearly all of them are small A-frame spaces that have awkward angles and corners that are hard to utilize, so clever attic closet ideas have to be cleverly planned as standard storage closets won’t necessarily work in the attic.
You’re lucky if your home has an attic because it’s a room that can be converted into a trendy home office, a living room, or a bedroom. Before you get involved with clever attic closet ideas, a good idea is to have a building expert check your attic out and see whether it can in fact carry the new modifications you intend to bring about.
Attic closets are a cool project as the home never seems to have enough storage space. You just want to make sure that your attic floor can support the weight of what you have in store. You want to be sure that it complies with building codes in terms of height and width before you splash out on altering it to make it liveable.
Attic configurations vary, but most attics have a pitched roof and it is the way the roof tapers down that may well dictate where you decide to put in your closets. With clever closet design, you can transform awkward, unused space into usable storage closets.
Shelves are great for awkward attic space
There are different ways to add a closet to a room and you can either purchase a freestanding cupboard, choose an open closet or choose a built-in closet. With multiple built-ins, you want to plan so as to use space with maximum efficiency. Most attics have steep walls, and a way to take advantage of this is to put in open shelving and turn an unlikely wall into a convenient lot of storage.
Drawer systems are excellent for storing objects that require quick access. You can easily get what you need by pulling out a drawer.
Building experts know how to use awkward angles and corners
It doesn’t really matter what awkward niches your attic has, because, for building experts, it’s just an excuse for them to install interesting closets or even open shelving. Even with a sloping ceiling, why waste the space under the roofline? You can build open shelves or cabinets under a sloped ceiling and not waste any available space. You can leave them as open shelves or cubbies or you can have doors added to some of them to keep out the dust.
A walk-in closet is possible
With the right building experts, they may suggest to you a walk-in closet that can accommodate everything with ease. When designing your walk-in closet, add a combination of storage options from one or two rods to shelves and drawers.
Many times walk-in closets don’t work for people because they have too much of one kind of storage. If your attic isn’t going to be used as a bedroom you certainly won’t need lots of hanging rods. If however, you want a wardrobe for clothes, you will want the space to have enough compartments and shelves. If your attic is large, you can even have a private dressing room with mirrors.
Knee Wall closet
An attic closet just about always has a sloped ceiling. The attic’s walls are hardly ever a standard 8 feet high and in fact the part where the sloped ceiling meets a wall may be close to the floor. These short walls are called knee walls. And yet there are attic closet solutions that can maximize storage in these tricky areas.
The trick with knee wall closets is knowing where to place the knee wall. You don’t want to knock your head on the wall. Putting a closet in the knee wall usually requires adding two knee walls – for the back and for the face of the closet.
Choose good attic closet lighting
Whatever closet arrangements you have, make sure to choose attractive and adequate lighting that illuminates everything in your walk-in closet. There’s absolutely no sense in bringing in attic storage and you can’t see what is where when you’re in your attic.
Then again, if you have an attic in your home, you may have decided that its awkward shape just doesn’t permit it to be used for anything but storage. There are several storage options for an attic and you can use these attic storage ideas to make use of an area of your home that up until now has been out of bounds.