“We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.”
Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon
Decades ago, as a small girl, I would walk one block down the street and make the first left to get to my friend Emily’s house. In through the front door and up the wooden stair case led to the second floor. Down the hallway and into the first bedroom was where we opened the five panel door with a brass knob, leading to the secret stairway. A steep pitched roof with exposed beams, small nooks and crannies along the perimeter, and an awesome dollhouse in the center. Here was our secret hideaway in our own neighborhood! High up on the third floor, we were up in the trees of our small suburban New Jersey town. Peaking though the front dormer window we knew what every neighborhood kid was up to, and even more importantly when it was turning dusk and time for me to run home for dinner. A large 3 story, two family, American Foursquare home with a grand front porch, it still resides in my hometown today.
Needless to say there was a lot of inspiration for this attic project! Being in the attic of this three story American Foursquare home brought back so many memories. Lost of nostalgia pushed this project along from completely rough and unfinished to a cozy bonus room. The classic hipped roof gave us some serious angles to consider, but there was such great square footage and of course that front dormer window that gave us a bird’s eye view of our town!
With that said, the plans then started to develop for finishing the attic as a cozy bonus room that was both light and bright. Somewhere guests could stay or one could just curl up with a good book or sketch pad and pencil. Clean up of this one hundred plus year old attic commenced. The windows were replaced but kept in the original 4 over 1 style, typical in American Foursquare Architecture. Formal walls and insulation were installed to ensure this room could be utilized throughout the four seasons here in the Northeast. The back of the attic was divided by a partition wall so that the house could still ventilate itself via a side vent and roof fan. A salvaged door was mounted on barn door hardware so that it can slide open when too warm. Angles framing the dormers were left exposed to bring in a rustic look and break up some of the white. Additional lumber was added at the center of the ceiling pitches to give the look of beams and provide a flat surface for mounting light fixtures and an industrial caged fan. To keep with the rustic wood look Weaber Lumber wood paneling was used to carve out the daybed nook at the front of the attic and cover the chimney stack that was no longer functioning, but still running through the middle of the room. The wooden stair case was sanded down and refinished to match. Custom carpentry bookcases were constructed, framing the staircase. Attics with hipped roofs often have lots of wasted space around the perimeter due to the steep pitch, so cabinet storage was framed out around the room and finished with custom doors and salvaged antique pull handles. Further antique elements included reclaimed barn-wood shelves mounted on old cast iron brackets collected from trips to architectural salvage trips.
Although it is now thirty plus years later, I still feel like that same little girl looking out the front dormer window in the attic. I feel a sense of calmness and peace being in this quiet space, (I think the fur babies do too!). It’s a place for reflection, reading, and having fun with my watercolors. Old books, mementos, and memorabilia no longer need to be packed away in boxes, but instead are on display. It is both our personal history that we bring and that of the house, that contributes to the space being oh so charming and warm. Wait, did I mention the old pink dress, antique matchbox cars, and old paperback books found randomly in the walls? You know we kept those too! So, what better a space to spend time in, then one that reminds us of where we came from and who we are?
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