What to do with 80s attic bedrooms?
We have just bought a lovely new house. By lovely, I mean that it will be when we are finished renovating! It has good bones, but has a mish mash of styles. The front is gorgeous 1920s architecture and the back is pure 80s extension, with three massive attic bedrooms decorated in 80s country pine and potato painted walls. The question - what to do? I like the window seats, and the beam architecture, but hate pretty much everything else! There are three bedrooms just like this. This is the sales picture (not our furniture). Suggestions?
Comments (14)
Lorna Mackie
6 years agoRelated Discussions
'She Shed'? 'Mummy Cave'? What are they called, and how do I design me
Comments (5)I personally don't do the feminist thing of She shed, etc, I just call it MY ROOM AND IF YOU DISTURB ME YOUR CHOICE OF PUNISHMENT! Hee hee, no, I call mine my Workroom. Like you I have a ton of things to do in there! I craft, I bead, I have storage, and I occasionally just go down there with a glass of wine, turn on a CD and chill on the chair looking out at the scenery. My room is a work in progress, too. What I do is have designated spots for different work areas. So one wall has beading supplies, another wall has craft and knitting supplies and the other has storage and in the middle is a big rug where I can lay down and veg or actually do yoga if I so desire. For you, I suggest you do a mix, since your walls are limited, put a chair and a table (can be longer like a bench if you have the room) along that hip height window. You need natural light for any painting, etc you like to do. The cupboard you mention can become your storage area for the painting equipment. You mention you wish to study too, so having a half side of the table for painting and the other half for studying should do the trick. The fact you want to exercise, run nuddies, relax etc can be done in the middle of the room. Without dimensions I can't really offer much else. Is it possible to get a few pics of the area with something in perspective, (kitchen chair is easiest) if there is no furniture already in there? Sounds like a hodgepodge in the Heaven Haven. ;)...See More80s double brick Help!
Comments (18)We also bought an 80's (decade that style forgot!) 2nd house & have been renovating over the last couple of years. Lots of red feature brick, dark wood, slate floors (ugh), dark. In most of the brick areas we rendered then painted Dulux Lexicon 1/2, where there was brick adjoining built in wardrobes we painted the brick. Also beadboarded over red brick walls dividing the main spaces. Painted all of the dark woodwork - beams, skirts, archs & doors Dulux White on White. The slate however was a major undertaking to remove. Did this in the dining & kitchen areas as there is clear delineation between these spaces & the main living area. Jackhammer, lots of noise & dust. Slate remains in the main living area as it's too big an expanse to contemplate going through the removal process & mess again. Have used light coloured rugs on those floors. Believe you can get slate ground down to flatten out bumps then cover it with tile or a floating floor. However if there's any drumminess in the slate it won't provide a reliable subfloor for another covering. In the laundry & bathroom we tiled over the slate, as these were smaller areas. Looks fine & you would never know it was there. Lighting is critical, but you'll find as soon as you eliminate some of the dark brick colour light will reflect rather than being sucked into the space. Here are some before & after images showing comparison, out of the dark & into the light......See Morestill living in the 80’s
Comments (14)Hi guys. For all these years I have despised that coloured feature wall but your ideas breath new life. Thank you. Also yes it is a motel. Very very eighties but catering for mostly seniors so we don’t have many complaints. I virtually get banned from the rooms since I spend hours re grouting tiles or scrubbing my heart out. We ha ve spent a lot of time cleaning it up as it was bankrupt and unloved when we bought it so a lot of money has gone into just fixing up what we have and regaining customers. We have won several awards for customer service and would love dearly to do all the rooms up just very limited to time and budget. One other question I have is in regards to the wardrobe and bedsides re updating knobs. Any ideas would be much appreciated. I am very handy but don’t have a fashionable or Color sense bone in my body!!...See MoreWhat should I look for when buying a small 2 bedroom 1980s Apartment?
Comments (7)how exciting for you....most important is location first including views, local climate, sunny or cold and noisy side of the building then access to public transport, local shopping, direct easy commute to work, ongoing fees what will you be responsible for outside your own apartment including ceiling leaks? security front door, windows, balcony and access to lock up garage with storage, private laundry (or space for a washing machine in the bath or kitchen), secure public entry and external lighting ..inside look for the most spacious rooms, open plan kitchen rather than small separate space, preferable two bedrooms and a generous bathroom...old kitchen and bathrooms, floorcoverings and decor can be improved but you can't improve the location.. best of luck with your first home...See More
LesleyH
6 years ago
PROCipriano Italian Home Design
6 years agoHi,
Keep it light for sure, but if it is a cold climate where you live you could consider some warm colours like below.
If you go light, take inspo from the scandy style, timber features and subtle, practical furnishings and finishes.Will you go carpet on the floor? I think some engineered white/wash floorboards would look incredible, like an escape in the clouds!
Lorna Mackie thanked Cipriano Italian Home Design
Khanh Nguyen
6 years ago
PROCelery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoLorna Mackie thanked Celery. Visualization, Rendering images- PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years agoOr paint all in one light color. You can make storage too.
Dalcross Castle · More Info - PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years agoCarpet (new one) on the floor is not bad idea, good insulation and pleasant for feet.
St. Pancras Penthouse Apartment · More Info 
bigreader
6 years agoLorna Mackie
6 years ago
PROClever Closet Company
6 years agoHi Lorna,
it is a lovely space.
A big challenge in these rooms is getting comfortable storage because the only walls offering height is the wall you need for the bed. The other walls are too low for you to be able to access storage on them even if you position it there(like under the window seat). So if you need storage/closet space, you might want to consider putting the wardrobe/closeton the far left side next to the bed so that it doesn't close in the room too much and then have a chest of drawers on the right side(1st image), or if that won't give you enough storage you might need to go either side of the bed, in which case, putting shelves behind the bed will project your bed forward out of the recess between the closets(2nd image).
Also worth considering a bed without an and so that is one less thing to dodge around(and kick you toe on) in the tighter space.
Happy renovating:)
Teenage Boy's Bedroom · More Info
Wardrobe and Shelving Behind Bed Leichhardt Bedroom · More Info
Leichhardt Bedroom Storage · More Info
annb1997
6 years ago
PROArcke Pty Ltd
6 years ago
Kim Westwood
6 years ago
Tilly