Using Your Attic as a Living Space

Moving into, and living in a small upper apartment can prove to be a very difficult adjustment, but if you are one of the lucky people to have an attic, then count your blessings. We recently moved into a small two bedroom upper, with a completely unfurnished attic that had been used only for storage purposes. At first it seemed that the space was unusable, but with a little elbow grease, and a pretty substantial amount of time, we were using it as a party space and lounging area for everything from video games to live music.

The first thing we had to take care of was the bare rafters, from which many nails and screws were protruding from. This was a basic hammer and drill job, just removing anything that might cause harm or injury to others, and also so that if you want to put up drywall for a more finished look, you need the flat surfaces to attach the drywall to.

After that we cleaned up the area as much as possible, vacuuming (there was lots of dust) wiping up everywhere, and putting everything that had been in storage to one small corner of the attic. It took several days of repeated cleaning to get it up to our desired live-ability. It also helps if there are windows to keep open and air it out for a few days.

We were on a very limited budget, so instead of drywall, we bought decently priced fabric and went thru with a stapling gun and covered all the slanted walls with a nice and durable cloth (available at any local home and craft mega store). Make sure to buy something that won't stain easily, and has enough toughness to handle people putting their hands on it and stretching it accidentally.

We also were fortunate to find some inexpensive, on sale, discontinued carpeting to cover a large section of the floor with. After the we went to the local Good will and found some chairs that were in very good shape (that happened to match the colors we were looking for) for a mere $25 for the pair. We also snagged a coffee table that i sanded down and re-stained, another larger more comfortable chair and we had the beginnings of a usable upstairs. We also already had a spare, older television set that we hooked up some of our older video game systems to (an Original Nintendo, and PlayStation 1) and it was a lounge area.

After that, we purchased small things here and there, or acquire them from relatives who were throwing them out or just storing them in the basement. and it became a fully usable area of our house, almost the entire length of the apartment, with just a small corner still used as storage. Overall everything cost less than $250, and we almost doubled the size of our apartment. Not a bad deal at all, and anyone can do it with a little time, effort and a girlfriend (or boyfriend) with good taste!