Kimberly and Todd felt that they could put their bungalow attic to much better use. Kimberly envisioned having her own creative space, a desk for paying bills and working at home occasionally, a guest bed, and a play area for her 3-year-old daughter, Quinn, plus more storage. A tall order for their 1,300 (livable) square-foot Del Ray bungalow, but they were able to pull it off with help from Jan Catton of J&J Designs, LLC.
Jan, Kimberly, and Todd collaborated on every aspect of the design even though Kimberly paid Jan for the detailed design plan. The service Jan provided is what she calls a Plan in a Can© in which she provides a scaled floor plan and lists the furnishings, paint colors, and fabric. She lets the client then execute the plan according to their budget and time constrains.
The result gave Kimberly “a sanctuary for me to work and for Quinn to play and read. I’m a morning person and I go up there early and have all of my big thoughts and quiet time before I go to work.”
When Jan first saw the room, Kimberly and Todd were mainly using the space to store boxes, toys, and Kimberly’s craft supplies. The walls were a milky sage green and the lighting was poor at best, but the space had beautiful hardwood floors.
Jan sketched out the functional areas and set out to make use of every nook and cranny. She found storage under the windows seats at each end of the room and Kimberly ordered custom shelves and drawers for those areas to hold bedding and craft supplies.
Kimberly told Jan that she loved purple, so Jan found a fabric at Calico Corners called Hip Berry. She made roman shades for the windows with the fabric and removable chair cushions for Quinn’s play area. The following photo shows this space before and after the remodel.
Paint
Jan, Kimberly, and Todd made the following paint selections:
- Main walls and ceiling: To keep the room feeling airy and bright they chose a light color, Benjamin Moore Natura in Hot Springs Stone, in matte finish (so it could be cleaned easily).
- Window seating walls and ceilings: Benjamin Moore Natura Simply White in matte finish. The lighter color in the windows (in the after photo at right below) highlights the inverted gables and architectural detail.
- Trim and stair railing: Benjamin Moore Simply White in semi-gloss finish. Jan brought in hand-carved newel post finials to adorn the stair railing and painted those in the same color.
Furniture and Accessories
Jan chose all white furniture to maximize the reflection of light and keep the space looking crisp and clean.
Kimberly didn’t want permanent shelving on the long wall of the attic, so Todd installed Ikea Expedit and Perfekt shelving.
To spice up the the drawers, Jan bought new knobs at Anthropologie.
They chose white furnishings and a rug from Crate & Barrel’s Land of Nod for Quinn’s play area.
Jan used suspending tempered glass over two white Ballard Designs filing cabinets to create a custom-size work desk for Kimberly. The desk chair is a Neuvo Living Churchill Office Chair and the task lighting comes from West Elm. Below is the before shot of this space and the remarkable transformation.
Todd and Kimberly completed the entire project in about 3 months. The hired a painter and an electrician, and Todd did all the furniture assembly.
Kimberly says she’s absolutely elated with the results. “It turned what was basically a junk room into a craft area for me, a play area for Quinn, a guest room, plus a space for Todd to pay bills.” Now, she can tell Quinn to read in the window nook while “Mommy does her thing,” and if Quinn has a project, she tells her she can “work” in her own play area. Well, as anyone with a three-year-old knows, it doesn’t always go quite like that.
Posted by Leslie
