I’m finally getting around to share before and after photos from our home renovations. I think me taking photos and posting might be taking longer than the actual renovation… but that’s life! First up is the new 3rd floor space and my favorite part: our built in beds for an angled wall.

Last summer we did a lot of work on our house. After Teddy was born and we lived through a quarantine, virtual schooling and working from home… our house was feeling a little tight. We thought about moving but each time we looked at another house and we drove home I said “there’s no way I can leave this house”. We love our neighborhood and specifically our block too much to consider leaving for more “space”. So we decided to stay and do work on the house to make more space. One place I thought we could turn into livable space was our walk up attic. 

For the first 5 years we lived here the attic served as storage and a dumping ground for outgrown clothes, old toys, etc. Even though it was technically our attic, I felt like it was a big space with a lot of potential that we could be using. Our contractor totally understood my vision for the space and created the coolest room. If you’re in our area and need a fantastic contractor, we used Dylan Patrick Construction. 

Built in beds for an angled wall

I had seen a similar built in bed idea for an angled wall on Pinterest and our contractor was up for the task. I wanted 2 bed and plenty of drawer space. I also needed the closet in between because there really wasn’t a great spot in the room for a closet. He built everything custom and it came out even better than I expected. 

We needed to keep some storage up there, so behind the shiplap wall is a storage space that runs the length of the house. I had originally thought we’d close off the front of the house and make that storage but thankfully our contractor pointed out that we’d be closing off one of the prettiest parts of the space. We took his advice and this little nook with the exposed brick wall is one of my favorite spots in the room! 

For the flooring we went with a light Life Proof floor. It brightens up the space and it’s so easy to maintain. Our contractor also installed a lot of great recessed lighting which makes it a really bright room and it never feels like an attic at all. 

There was always a regular staircase up the the attic but it was dark and gross. The contractor painted the stairs white and we added a runner. The runner is the Barbados Strip from Annie Selke. Now the staircase up to the 3rd floor is now one of my favorite spots in the house. 

The room is officially Maggie’s (although Alex resides up there most of the time too!). They’ve been sharing a room forever so as much as they were excited for their own rooms, they still spend most of their time together. It seems like a lifetime ago I shared their first shared room.

Maggie and I had a lot of fun decorating once the space was done. She helped me pick the light blue for the walls and wanted a “flowery” rug. I loved the new Dew Pond rug from Annie Selke and so did Maggie. I love a bold pattern for a rug and this rug really pulled the whole room together. 

For bedding: It’s Maggie so she still wanted dog sheets, which we have an abundance of at this point. But for the bedding I thought something with white and something simple would look best. We went with the Trio Coral Collection from Annie Selke. Of course I had to add monograms to the shams! 

Maggie got this little white desk for her birthday. It’s not easy to place furniture with all of the angled walls but this one fit. We are still on the hunt for a fun chair for it. We’re also still adding more art to the walls and window treatments, but it’s all coming together! 

Now some details on the reading/hang out nook! I still can’t believe we almost closed this little space up! Maggie got one of these super soft eco lounger’s for Christmas. It’s big, comfy and even I like sitting in it. Her M pillow she’s had a while – these hold up really well for an Amazon find.

I wanted a neutral rug for the nook since we went so bold in the room. The round rug is this Bowline Natural from Annie Selke. I was so glad our book shelf fit in the nook. It was one thing Maggie really wanted to keep from her old room. It’s the Crate & Kids book caddy but looks like they now only make it in this shape. 

The space is now bright, fun and fresh. Our house is over 100 years old so this was no easy task. It’s a space all 5 kids hang out in, a space to sleep and a great spot for when friends come over. Stay tuned for some more home update posts!