The story below is from our November/December 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Photos By Bob Sowder
UP! Sometimes, it’s the only way to go.
The second level of Matthew and Becca Mullers’ Garrison style home included a door anyone would think opened into a linen closet. But it didn’t. Behind the door rose a narrow staircase with a treacherous turn at the top leading to a spacious attic. The space begged to be used.
The Mullers started with a design by Stephen Feather of Interactive Design Group. By raising the roof and adding a wide dormer, they were able to increase headspace. The result provided enough room for a central sitting area, flanked on each side by another room.
Originally, the Mullers thought they’d turn those rooms into bedrooms for their daughters, seven-year-old Molly, and four-year-old Cora. But after looking at the plans, complete with closets, they decided the rooms would be too small.
Change of plans. The addition now includes a playroom and an office for Matthew, a computer programmer.
From the Stairway
To make the space more accessible, the experts from TBS Construction, LLC in Moneta, opened up the stairway, rebuilt it to take out the turn at the top and created all-new, matching woodwork for both staircases.
The stairs end with a sitting room at the top. Four large, casement windows allow plenty of light with a window seat underneath. The plush rug, seat cushion and large, comfy pillows make this an inviting place to sit and read.
Becca envisions the girls enjoying this space a lot when they get older. Making use of otherwise overlooked space, they created a closet in the wall for linens. A photograph covers the electric panel.
A Place to Work
To the right of the sitting room is Matthew’s home office. They replaced two tiny windows in the gable with larger ones to brighten up the space and meet building code for bedroom window size, according to TBS Construction president Jay Gauldin. The ceiling holds can lighting and a mini-split A/C unit provides heating and cooling.
“Since Matt looks at a computer screen all day,” says Becca, “I thought the dark grey walls would be easier on the eyes.”
The builders included storage space for a filing cabinet and other office supplies under the eaves, as well as built-in bookshelves. Magnetic spring closures on the storage compartment doors eliminate the need for hardware, keeping the look of the room clean and streamlined.
Prominently displayed between the windows is Matt’s Virginia Small Business Association’s Persons of the Year award for his part as a co-founder of Interactive Achievement, an education software.
A bright blue rug adds a pop of color and even the family’s beloved French bulldog, Otto, has a place to lay his head while Matt works.
And a Place to Play
On the other side of the sitting area is the girls’ playroom. The crew from TBS installed another new window here which provides plenty of light and ventilation in good weather. Another mini-split A/C unit and another window seat complete this room, which is slightly larger than the office.
Becca used a neutral wall color in the playroom.
“I wanted to decorate it with the girls’ own artwork,” she says. “The neutral color makes the perfect backdrop for that.”
She displays their handiwork on the gable wall with the window. Molly calls her splatter painting “Feelings” and Cora’s is “Sunshine in the Morning.” Becca painted the pink heart.
Collecting decor from all over was half the fun for Becca. The room-sized polka-dotted rug came from Overstock, the hanging chair from Amazon and the neon rainbow light from Target. Cubby storage provides a place for the girls’ special things.
The Nitty-Gritty Details
Overall, the finished attic adds 550 square feet to their 2,600-square-foot home, according to Gauldin. Throughout, they laid pre-finished red oak flooring and hung matching doors.
Gauldin says the biggest challenge to the attic renovation was opening up the roof.
“Exposing the house to the elements, we had to work as fast as we could to beat the weather.”
They also re-routed the plumbing vent and, to achieve the necessary R-value, used foam insulation under the roof deck because the rafters were too thin for fiberglass batts. He also says the window seats were designed to hide existing HVAC ductwork for the lower levels.
Wouldn’t a standard, ground-level home addition have been more feasible? Not according to Gauldin.
“They already have one addition that was done a few decades ago,” he says. “Finishing the attic was the least expensive way to get the additional square footage they needed in the place they needed.”
Inside…and outside
Since the home was built in the 1940s, TBS had to special order siding to match what was already on the house. They re-roofed the entire home with shingles and applied a metal roof on the dormer.
The previous room addition, added out the back of the house, includes a flat roof that is under the attic dormer.
In the future, the Mullers hope to construct a deck accessible from the attic to this rooftop, creating yet another space for this family to grow into and enjoy.
… for the rest of this story and more from our November/December 2019 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
