what is the height at the highest point of the ceiling, what is the height at the lowest part of the raked ceiling (2400 or more?) and what is the length and width of the room...a plan including adjoining rooms (with dimensions) showing location of doors and windows ...but what do you think you would use the mezzanine for and would you prefer a proper stairs or a ladder

Layout of the room

oklouise, just uploading a basic layout now. We would use the mezzanine for a spare bed and build in custom storage underneath. Maybe narrow stairs or a funky ladder for access.

Dr Retro House Calls.... does the height have to be 2400mm for the lower level? perhaps I've used the term 'mezzanine' incorrectly, could we build a 'high' bedroom space into this room?

this rough image gives a basic idea of the possible space available....assuming that the room is at least 4 m wide, adding a dropped lower ceiling to 2100mm (about the same as an average doorway) if the highest point of the original ceiling is about 4.4m there would only be a narrow space in the centre of the upstairs room that would be tall enough to stand in..might be useful for sleeping or storage but the new floor would make the lower space very uncomfortable and anything but a ladder would take up floor space upstairs and down

rereading your plans if the height of the highest part of the ceiling is only 3.9m an upstairs sleeping area could not be tall enough to stand although a built in wall of door height storage downstairs with a deeper overhanging storage loft upstairs might work but the bigger the upstairs floor area the smaller the access between new floor and sloping ceiling

Lesley - the building regulations state that the minimum ceiling height for a habitable room should be 2400mm. There are ways to work around this with a cathedral ceiling where there is some ceiling that is higher and some that is lower than 2400 but you will need to refer to the building regulations and know your existing heights. However many people consider that 2400 feels like a low ceiling, and any lower is going to feel claustrophobic. You may be able to build it, but it seems that you are taking a mid-sized room with a high ceiling into two pokey, claustrophobic spaces that will feel cramped and dark.

Do a search on Houzz photos using "mezzanine" if you are not sure you have the right term. They are great spaces if you start off with a really large room (such as a church) to start with.

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Scale, proportion, light, functionality and the building regulations are very important - consider getting professional design advice.

Best of luck

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi Dr Retro House Calls,
Thanks for the extra info. I understand what you mean and yes it is quite a dark room.

Sounds like we should consider whether we need a spare bed in here and if not just go for some great storage and a sofa bed, or perhaps something silimar to these designs, but with some clear storage options in mind, not just wasted space.

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option...

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You can buy ready made beds which are raised with desk or storage under.

consider a door height biw against the entry door with the roof of the biw making a floor for a narrow loft above.....if the highest part of the ceiling is 3900 then the highest part of the loft could be up to 1800 (less framing) and possibly big enough for a single bed space and/or storage for suitcases and boxes of Christmas deco etc but depends on the height of the gap between the outside edge of the floor of the loft and the sloping ceiling but there is not enough space for a staircase and a freestanding ladder that can be relocated along the full width of the loft would be the most efficient access and that leaves enough space for a bed (or sofa bed) to use the room as a guest room and/or study

I should have made it clearer in the layout, the door opening is on the internal entrance/hallway side...

like this?

oklouise, yep like that ☺

Are you thinking like a loft bedroom as this picture, or maybe a captain bed with the bed elevated on a platform and storage underneath.

Hi Kate,
yes we were thinking of something like this, but with storage (i.e. wardrobes) underneath.

I’d be putting a full height storage on the tall wall with a library sliding ladder for access to top. You have some room so the ladder can be on an incline and have treads not rungs

that'd look nice, but from some of the previous comments, we may not have the height for it?

only way to find out is to measure the room...use chalk or pencil to draw a line on the wall across the top of the bedroom door and around the sides of the room...make sure the line is level...now measure from the line to the sloping ceiling where you think the loft could come out to... what is the height at the outside edge of the loft?...is there enough height for the framimg and to climb into the loft...keeping in mind about 75cm height is similar to sitting under a table or desk ..much less becomes too short for more than storage??..is it wide enough for a bed ie at least 1m x teh width of the room? the biw can be about 60cm deep but the floor of the loft could overhang the biw but too much will encroach on the space "downstairs"...this rough sketch shows how the ceiling slopes lower but the exact amount can only be shown by on site measurements...a wall of built in storage would be useful, narrow sleeping platform could be fun but anything that takes up more floor space spoils the use of the room

I think you'd be spending good money on something which would mean that (a) you wouldn't be able to change the room layout at a later date and (b) wouldn't really gain you that much in usable storage space.
Want do you really want to be able to use this room for? There may be other ways to play with the height without creating a very fixed narrowly defined use.

At this stage we really need to sort out some storage in this room, for our outdoor gear (sleeping mats, tents, climbing gear etc).

It would be nice to have a spare bed for the occasional guest/s, but don't want the room to be then be mostly unusable...

What about a 1 metre x 2.2 storeroom at tall end

It's a shame the room isn't a bit bigger, do you have somewhere else you could build a "platform", that could take a single mattress on the floor and a Library ladder

Kates ideas shows the storage room at floor level

and storage or sleeping loft above the bedroom door to ceiling height ...optional sliding doors for high storage will avoid hinged doors banging into the sloped ceiling

As Retro mentioned it will spoil the room by reducing the size for any oversized storage, A good shed for skis etc is a better solution and maintain the bedroom which can always have a blow up mattress for any occasional visitors. Love your plan Ok but I think adding anything else into this small bedroom is a mistake

Personally , I wouldn't spoil the roof line -- it adds real character and roomyness to the room .

But if you really want/need the space , maybe get imaginative , and do a narrow ( around 1.5metre ) wide solid mezzanine , but add a 1.2 wide hinged 'wall' and a couple of ropes or wire ropes and maybe pulleys ( and a couple of solid wooden blocks on the walls ) -- basically , a flip down bed that flips up to form a fake wall !

That way you get a bit of storage space , most of the sloping roof , and the option of folding that single bed flat for occassional guests . You would need a 'temporary' ladder , as I can't see it working with a fixed ladder .

Not ideal , and I suspect a builder would be $15-20k , and has good and bad points , but personally I feel it better than a wider 'permanently flat' floor .

pottsy99, that's a really cool idea! I love the sound of it but, it does seem our money might be better spent on a shed... we certainly don't want to ruin the feel of 'treehouse'