Here is how our attic has looked for 8 yrs

When my husband and I bought our home 9 yrs ago we saw the unfinished attic and thought it would be perfect as my craft/ sewing studio and office space.  We put some fiberglass bats on the floor and basically never went up there again.  Last year we were planning on finishing the space, but a combination of family crisis's and the project being much bigger than I anticipated pushed it back until this summer.

Our attic after I took all the fiberglass bats out spring/summer 2016

We started our journey spring of 2015 when we asked a local remodeling company Castle to give us a bid to finish off our attic.  They had a good reputation and I liked that they gave itemized bids.  I did not however like their price tag.  They wanted $65-$70,00 to simply put in new windows, HVAC, electrical, frame, add built in storage to knee walls, spray foam, sheet rock, mud and tape, prime and paint, add sub floor and hardwood floors, moldings, and a hand rail to code.  Well let's just say for what we were doing and what houses go for in our neighborhood that's kind of crazy.  We would never get our money back.   So I realized I would need to be our own general contractor/ designer if I wanted to keep the budget in check.  So it's taken a long time to realize what order things need to be done, research and find the best people for each job, learn how the trades work together, how to file for a permit, and coordinate inspections and the trades along with a few DIY projects I am doing.

Attic after first day of construction (framing) We had them frame horizontally where possible to break the thermal bridge

The Plan For Our Attic

Design Plan: 

• The space will be my sewing/ craft/ office space.    
• Over all design look:  Bright loft where scandanavian style meets glamour
• It will have a cathedral ceiling with exposed white sheet rock beams that have white led dimmable track lights at the top of the beam to create more head room
• Built in dressers in the knee walls on the side with HVAC to make the most of the space (since vents take up alot of space in the back)
• Access to the whole space of knee walls on the other side with rolling louved doors and a hanging rod
• Cat cave (yes our cat is spoiled)/ storage space in our big space that you ave to bend down to walk into (pictured below). 
•  It will house his litter box.  I can't wait to get it out of the kitchen which is the only place we can out it because we have carpeting everywhere. 
•  I think I will make a cat tunnel house out of big boxes I've kept for him along with a comfy cat bed.
  

Our cat's soon to be cat cave (yeah he's spoiled) It will have a louved bifold door

Construction Plan:
We ended up hiring a contractor to frame, create the built in storage, sheet rock, mud and tape, priming with vapor barrier paint, patch sub floor put in a thin sub floor above our existing to create a even surface for flooring install, build stair walls to code, railing to code, and trim and moldings.  I provided the plans for the city and obtained the permit and have been scheduling inspections.  I hired out Electrical, HVAC, and Spray Foam.  The DIY projects we plan to do is painting our existing windows that are bare wood white to match out trim and reglazing them (I am currently working on that), painting, and installing vinyl plank flooring.

So if you've been wondering why there have been no new posts, it's because I've been pretty busy planning this and working on my Etsy shop Ornute.  So hopefully this spring I can start to post more regularly.  :)

Next Posts in this Series:

Check out my Attic Remodel board on Pinterest to see my inspiration and my Dream Craft room board.