Despite the fact that every house I've ever lived in has had one, I've never actually been in an attic. I find this kind of odd. I mean, it's not like I refused to go into one, fearing I would encounter an unwelcoming family of bats or, worse, a rabid Christmas tree sick and tired of being locked up eleven months at a time. I just have had no reason to take that upward journey.
I'm sure I'm not alone: there are undoubtedly many people who have never looked to see what's beyond the attic door. Many of us simply grew up without a need to look; we grew up in a world where an attic meant one thing: storage.
However, in this day and age, attics aren't just for storage any longer. With home renovations, larger crawl spaces, and real estate prices soaring, attics are being looked at less as a room full of cobwebs, and more as a room full of opportunities.
Make an attic bedroom: The only attic bedroom I've ever known of was featured on The Brady Bunch. Though it was, in a term, far out, it was also fictional. Still, the idea is molded in reality; some houses, particularly older ones, have attics that can fairly easily be turned into a bedroom. They won't be made up of four walls of the same size - ultimately having corners and structures unlike any other bedroom - but attic bedrooms can provide a unique, private, and comfortable area. The originality of the space may even be particularly appealing for those who don't like conformity (i.e. teenagers).
Build a play loft: In my childhood house, the attic door was in my bedroom. This bothered me for two reasons: my room was always cold and I often lay awake at night in fear that from the other side of the attic door would come knocking. Though my imagination played a role in this discomfort, no one, kids especially, really wants the attic door in their room. However, if the attic door led to some place fun, instead of a feeding ground for ghosts, spiders, and - on occasion - a sinister squirrel, this wouldn't be a problem.
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