{a cottage addition}

i realize it's unusual for me to post more than once a day but i'm afraid i'll lose these photos of this incredible cottage remodel in charlottesville, va (and tintsy addition) if i don't post them now.  this cottage is pretty close to the bungalow b & i have been admiring at its whopping 800 & change square feet.  this first picture is the before picture but i think the best part of this remodel is how the owners have really utilized the inside space.

below is the after photo of the outside.  the leveling of the yard was the biggest change but you can also see the small addition on the right side of another bathroom.

while there are not any before photos of the inside, you can imagine how cramped the house might have been at its original layout from 1940.

the exposed beams are gorgeous and notice how the owners have really carved out three separate spaces out of this one open area.  i'm thinking a sizeable party is possible with this set up.

the owners decided to take the ceiling up to the roofline and take advantage of the unused attic/crawl space.  instead they carved out a small loft space for a home office.  genious.

{see these images & more at designpublic}

{sky parlour}

in perusing design blogs today, i came across the blog pattern of life and these dramatic before and after photos of the author's attic space transformed. grant it her husband is a contractor, so he certainly has a step-up on the rest of us, but what an amazing space he and his wife carved out of an area of the house most of us see only for storage. if i am ever lucky enough to have a room like this, i'm thinking i'd make it into 1/3 art studio (maybe pop in a few skylight windows for more natural light), 1/3 library & reading nook (hooray for window seats), and 1/3 exercise room. perfect. now b & i just have to add "attic space with lots of potential" to our dreamhouse priority list.


final result - gleaming black floors & generous built-in shelving. the tallest shelf section even has built-in ladder rungs to allow easy access to the loftiest shelf. simply brilliant.

before - closed in walls and low ceilings make the before space your everyday attic.

in process - it's remarkable how much extra space is found just in removing the old ceiling and wall boards. and take a look at those exposed beams.

continued process - adding insulation & soon to be new ceiling panels.

another view of the final project. the attic essentially became two separate rooms. and though you can't see it in the photos, the author mentioned something about a bathroom being installed. so the space could easily double (or triple, or quadruple?) into a guest room. i am also curious about their creative solution for access to the area. still a standard pull-down ladder? or maybe spiral stairs.

yet another view. these photos are making me want to paint my future dreamhouse floors a glossy black. and the exposed beams really tie the space together. all in all, beautiful work.

{you can see all of these images & the designer's note at pattern of life}