Realty Must-Have

Like everyone else, we had a list of must-haves when we were looking for our first home together. We knew the town we wanted to be in and the general style of the house we desired. The compromises would be smaller square footage, a detached garage and lots that are closer together, but there are so  many things we love about our 1920s home. The gumwood trim, leaded glass doors and windows, arched doorways and in-lay hardwood floors are among my favorites. But Ryan targeted this style of home for another unique feature- a walk-up attic. This was not only an essential element during our house hunt, but the kind of walk-up attic had to be right- a good layout and something that had project potential.

This has been our longest and most intense house project to date. It has really spanned the whole time we've been here, almost two years. That was our intention all along, though. The fact that it is a floor of its own made the eyesore of renovating less disturbing.

The goal of the attic was to be a workspace for both of us. Its design was meant to lead to more creativity while we work. Another important element was to try to do almost everything out of recycled or reused materials. It was a super cheap way of doing a renovation and conscious of the environment. This is precisely why it took so long to complete- we waited and waited and waited for the right things to come our way that would meet our needs, not just fill an empty space. Ryan is very intentional in this way. He takes things for free and turns them into something priceless.

In general, this attic reflects our personalities and philosophies on so many levels. Almost every piece has a story, and that is exactly how we wanted it. As an architect, Ryan has an intimate connection with how our house looks and functions.  It is so exciting to reveal different aspects of our attic and share the story, process and reasons behind the elements we've selected to go in there. The transformation has been very personal and invigorating!

Here is how the attic looked when we first toured the house: 

We loved the skylight and that the attic already had drywall and wiring. And the bar/game room had a fun vibe, we just had a different purpose in mind.