# Would you sleep in the attic?



## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

Would you move your bedroom and the only tv to a mostly unfinished attic to improve the usefulness of your home?

We have a walk up attic that is insulated and has some drywall up but is mostly unfinished.We do currently use the attic as an art space and storage.

If I moved my bedroom to the attic we could then have an office/school room.This could get the computer out of my small living room and the school books and constant projects out of my small dining room.It would also cut down on the back and forth with all my daughter's supplies since we keep most of her art supplies in the attic but do a lot of her projects in the dining room.Also I currently have a very small bedroom(about 9x8)with no closet.The attic would give me a lot more room although it sure wouldn't be pretty.

My bedroom also houses the only tv we have.We don't watch a whole lot of tv but sometimes.So that would also need to happen in the attic.

The attic is warm enough in the winter without any extra heating.In the summer though it is unbearably hot so I would have to run an air conditioner if not two.

So,ugly,HOT,dirty,attic bedroom in exchange for a more useful home?yay or nay?


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

I personally would not choose the partially finished attic as my bedroom.

We have a finished attic that we use but not for a bedroom. It is a large space and isn't ugly but it is also unheated and unairconditioned. It gets very hot in summer. Dh has a computer, books and all his game/hobby stuff spread out up there.

You can not really hear stuff from the lower levels like the phone ringing or someone knocking on the front door up there so it is good for dh studying. It would be a long way to haul things like full laundry baskets (3 flights of stairs to the basement laundry area) and the attic stairs are narrow. There is no bathroom up there.

Why don't you turn the attic into your computer/art/school room?


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## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onlyzombiecat*
> 
> I personally would not choose the partially finished attic as my bedroom.
> We have a finished attic that we use but not for a bedroom. It is a large space and isn't ugly but it is also unheated and unairconditioned. It gets very hot in summer. Dh has a computer, books and all his game/hobby stuff spread out up there.
> ...


Thanks for your reply.

I hadn't thought about the laundry.Although the staircase is a full wide staircase and the bulk of my laundry comes from my daughter and towels which would still be on the main floor.But still something to think about.

Fortunately I can hear stuff like the door from up there and already have a phone plugged in.

The original plan was to have the attic be the school room but really what happens is we end up bringing things downstairs to the dining room instead of going upstairs.Maybe I will try to get us in the habit of working upstairs more first and see how it goes.

But unfortunately my husband wouldn't want the computer upstairs.It's not the worst thing to have the computer in the living room but I just feel like we are cluttered with furniture that I can't get rid of.


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## dayiscoming2006 (Jun 12, 2007)

EDIT:

I just re-read it and saw that it IS insulated. So yeah, I would do it and I would have a goal of getting the rest of the drywall up as you could afford it.


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

Yep, Id do it. But I've also had my bedroom in the kitchen to improve functionality of my home


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## dayiscoming2006 (Jun 12, 2007)

My DH's family in Romania has beds in all rooms of the house except the bathroom. They have 4 rooms with beds and there used to be a total of 8 kids and only 3 rooms until they added on. I lived there for a few months and it made me realize that Americans set their standards too high now.


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dayiscoming2006*
> 
> My DH's family in Romania has beds in all rooms of the house except the bathroom. They have 4 rooms with beds and there used to be a total of 8 kids and only 3 rooms until they added on. I lived there for a few months and it made me realize that Americans set their standards too high now.


If I had 8 kids we would use the attic and any other areas for sleeping!

I grew up living as an American family of 5 in a 1 bedroom apartment. The only places people weren't sleeping was the kitchen or bathroom. I wouldn't live that cramped again if I didn't have to.


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## choli (Jun 20, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dayiscoming2006*
> 
> My DH's family in Romania has beds in all rooms of the house except the bathroom. They have 4 rooms with beds and there used to be a total of 8 kids and only 3 rooms until they added on. I lived there for a few months and it made me realize that Americans set their standards too high now.


 As a teen I lived in rural Ireland, and it was pretty much the norm for a family to have around 8 kids (sometimes 12 or more) in a three bedroom house. Every time I see threads on MDC wondering if it will scar a kid for life to share a bedroom I mentally roll my eyes.


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## Greenlea (Apr 21, 2010)

Growing up we had 4 kids in a one bedroom house. My parents took the bedroom downstairs and all 4 kids slept in the attic (it was finished though).

But it didn't have electricity up there, so we ran an extension cord up from the kitchen.

It didn't have air, but we would all sleep on the floor with a couple box fans by us. It was heated fine in the winter.

Would you be able to finish the attic? At least get the rest of the drywall up there? It just seems like alot of wasted space to not use as living space.


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## philomom (Sep 12, 2004)

Only if I could afford to "finish" the space properly. My hubby has dust issues and unfinished walls would be a huge burden on breathing well at night.


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## Novella (Nov 8, 2006)

yes. It doesn't sound like an unmanageable "burden" for the advantages it would get you.


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## akcowgirl (Sep 9, 2006)

Yes, I would if it would improve my living space. Without hesitation.


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## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

Half of our house is technically attic. It has been converted into 2 bedrooms. It's great in the winter -- stays warm without needing heat -- but does need A/C in the summer. I have no issues with it as long as it's accessible... in other words, I probably wouldn't choose to sleep in an attic with a pull-down ladder or something, but as long as it has a regular staircase, why not?

The one thing I would be concerned about is the exposed insulation... if it's fiberglass insulation, it can cause itchiness if you brush up against it. And usually when working with insulation you wear a mask so I'd be reluctant to sleep in a room with lots of exposed insulation that might get disturbed through daily use. I'd at least throw some drywall up, even if you can't plaster & paint it right away.


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## LilPenguinMama (Nov 24, 2009)

I would just be worried about having two ways to exit. The reason why is in case of fire, you want to make sure there are two ways to get out -- and for firefighters to know where to look for people. That's why when trying to sell a house, (at least in most places in the US) it only counts as a bedroom if there are two ways to get out of the room (ie, large window and door, two doors) No one ever "plans" for a fire to break out in a house, but you want to make sure you have a way to get out.


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