See How This Dark Attic Becomes The Most Joyful Room For THREE Kids – Thanks To Velux Skylights And Some Clever Storage Solutions

Today we have a room makeover reveal, for three kids, in one sweet attic space who are part of the most lovely and grateful family in Seattle. We did this in partnership with Velux Skylights, one of my favorite partners who continues to put so much thought into their makeovers and truly change the lives of families. If you need a boost of happiness, want to understand the power of a skylight, or simply want to see some excellent space planning and styling then this is a post for you. I enjoyed every single second of this makeover (besides Covid pushing it off constantly for almost three years) and can’t wait to show you how my team, led by Julie Rose, nailed this design.

If you have a second check out this beautiful video the Velux team made, with quite possibly the best kid’s reaction ever (and that is usually so hard because there are cameras in their face and they are typically in shock). I will forever watch it and feel so grateful for this job 🙂

The Family:

You might not remember but right before Covid/lockdown, we did a call out for another Brighten Up Any Room surprise makeover for a deserving family. We received a lot of submissions and while I tried to stay local in L.A., Dina’s family in Seattle felt like the right fit in every way and I really connected to her story. After a very traumatic third birth of her lovely daughter, she was left with little time, energy, and resources to figure out how to turn the kids shared room, to now house three kids – 4, 2, and, a newborn. It was such a good challenge for us to solve and this room was perfectly in need of some Velux skylights. As you can see it was very dark and like most busy moms, overwhelmed with how to design spaces, Dina needed advice on how to even start to tackle this room. Listen, my kids both slept on mattresses on the floor for over a year because I didn’t know how to lay out their shared bedroom and I’m literally a professional with a team of help, so I had a lot of empathy for Dina. It is hard!!!

look how little these kids were when we started!

At the time Julie was full-time on my team and had already begun the design. Then life moved us to Portland (she is in LA) so now she works for Velinda Hellen Design (also former EHD! so fun) and we blog about their projects. I begged her to stay on this project as a freelancer. She of course agreed and did such an incredible job, as you’ll see. 🙂

The Design And Functional Needs And Wants

Dina and her kids were lovely and realistic in their needs and wants:

Beds for three kids – 1 twin, 1 toddler, 1 crib. Over the three years that this got pushed it changed to three twin beds :). And remember the ceilings were too low for bunk beds.
Additional bed for when mom crashes up there or guests – So yes, FOUR BEDS 🙂 Good luck, Julie!
Storage – Again three kids in one room, so we really had to maximize storage for clothes, books, toys, etc.
Room to play, read, do art, and live – While that seemed impossible, we really didn’t want it to just be a room of beds…thus the challenge.

Stylistically they wanted:

To brighten it a lot – The Velux Skylights obviously did this immediately. More on that below.
Playful and colorful – The words “treehouse” and “room of clouds” were thrown around.
Gender-neutral – With two girls and a boy, we wanted to make sure it felt flexible.

First up – The Velux Skylights!

During Covid, we arranged to have the skylights put in since it only involved 1-2 people over 1 day (whereas our crew was large, would be there for a week, and necessitated traveling). I was happy that at least Dina and her kids had a brighter room while they waited for the world to be safe enough for us to come up. As you can see it totally changed the space already.

It was such a sweet space, with so much potential. The angled ceilings now with two windows and two skylights made it ripe for decorating. We just had to figure out how to make it work for the changing needs and wants of three growing kids.

Julie created a few mood boards, I narrowed it down to the one I loved the most, and we showed Dina some peeks just to make sure that she loved the furniture layout and wallpaper. As a mom, I wanted her to be able to see any red flags for how her specific kids lived. She was a complete and utter JOY to work with – just so grateful, trusted us so much, making it a really really fun creative process. And those kids…their reaction literally couldn’t have made us feel any better.

THE REVEAL!!!!!

Storage Bed | Corner Unit | Twin Bed with Trundle | Cloud Comforter | Wallpaper

It’s quite possibly the cutest and best-shared bedroom for three young kids that I’ve ever seen. I can say that because Julie Rose and my team are responsible for nailing it so well. Between the wallpaper, the Velux skylights, the rug, the incredible layout, and the styling – these kids got a dream bedroom and the EHD family feels so proud to be a part of it. Julie Rose was the lead designer, Emily Bowser styled it, and it was shot by Sara Tramp – it was a real reunion of the best kind and they did such a good job I could cry (and have).

The Velux Skylights – Room Darkening Shades In The Bedroom

This whole makeover was in partnership with Velux, as I’m a massive believer in how much natural light can change/improve a room – and the more the better in the Pacific Northwest. Now, let’s break down how these Skylights work:

Ideally, your ceiling would be vaulted, and if not then more construction is required to install them (but doable). So second-floor bedrooms are great, or first-floor if there isn’t a second story.
These skylights are solar-powered (you don’t need to change any batteries). I’ve never had one issue with them and we use ours at the mountain house A LOT.
They can open and close like a window – which is incredible for airflow in a second-floor bedroom.
They have room darkening shades that block 99% of the light. I’m very sensitive to “light leak” and have zero problems with these in our bedroom. As you can see below it really blocks the light.
They can be controlled via a remote or an app. So easy, I promise.

Below you can see the different functions of the Velux skylights. We shot them fully open to allow airflow, closed with the shades 1/2 down, and fully closed with the shades all the way down. Again, I have used Velux skylights in 4 projects now, have zero complaints, and will use them forever. They absolutely change the room for the better and are such a good product. Obviously, they come with the Velux No Leak warranty and while they can get dusty, the specialized glass is super slick, so rain washes most of it away. You honestly don’t really notice it. It’s not something that bothers us at all.

open | closed with the shades 1/2 down | fully closed with the shades all the way down (no light leak!)

Sleeping 4 In A Room Without Bunk Beds – The Layout And Creating “Zones”

So as you can see there are two twin beds as an “L” in the corner for the girls, then a twin bed with a trundle on the right for their son and if/when any parents crash up there. The design totally maximized the space, opened up the middle floor area, and created areas of play space.

I also want to point out that beautiful roman shade from Everhem. It’s the perfect complement to the space, where it helps to frame the window, adding coziness, but doesn’t overwhelm the room at all. I love their quality. Then I, of course, also love how Bowser added the flower light garland to make this room even more whimsical.

That corner piece is made for this configuration – it gives the book storage and surface area for a “nightstand”. Julie even added those cute sconces so they can control their own light. These two beds had drawers for storage – utilizing every square inch of storage space for these three kids.

The Sweetest, Most Perfect Mural Wallpaper

This wallpaper from Rebel Walls is so incredible in a million ways – the color palette, the movement, how it climbs up the wall and engages the vault so it looks like it’s growing organically. It truly felt like a treehouse and brought the room so much magic. Not just any wallpaper would work in here. It’s a small space so we couldn’t choose anything too busy or anything too “linear” or graphic. This wallpaper has a lot of power (obviously) but it has organic movement and actually doesn’t have a lot of contrast.

Emily Bowser really thought through all the styling details (the heart mirror, the necklace hooks) and those pillows add so much playfulness and coziness.

We created this cute little reading zone under the canopy and added vertical bookshelves (that my kids loved when they were little) so they could see the books easily and again maximize the wall space.

That Incredible Rug

Basket | Whale Pillow | Daybed And Trundle

I’ve wanted this rug from Lulu and Georgia since the second it came out last year. It’s incredible. That pattern, those colors, and it’s super soft and cozy. This side of the room houses the dresser and an art space in the corner. We ordered a beautiful hutch from Anthropologie that didn’t get there till the day after the shoot to go where the dresser is. The dresser that’s there was supposed to go under the AC until so Emily B., Sara and Lauren improvised and put hooks and shoe storage for the shoot 🙂

Stacking Bins | Painted Wood Hooks | Quilted Backpack | Umbrella

I love that mirror so much – all the details were nailed and every corner was addressed for function and style.

Serving Tray | Linen Plain Towel

While this is a perfect and adorably styled shot, the floor pillows and my all-time favorite sheepskin rug from Article, add the perfect amount of coziness for the kids to play on.

Ottoman | Table Lamp | Tufted Floor Cushion

I also love that there are plenty of pieces that don’t look “little kid” and will age with them – like that awesome boucle ottoman from Article. Trend-forward but in a quiet way that just adds more texture to the room.

The Family’s Reaction!!

Just ridiculously cute and happy. And Sara did such an incredible job capturing the space and their energy.

Dina and her husband now have this incredibly bright room that really meets the needs and wants of her kids. As a mom, I know how life-changing that can be.

The transformation was so good that we added a ton of before and after side by sides:)

Thanks to Velux for giving the EHD team an opportunity to design such a fun space for such a lovely family. Truly a dream partnership.

*This post was in partnership with Velux Skylights, but all designs and words are our own. Lead design by Julie Rose | Styled by Emily Bowser and Assisted by Lauren Day | Photography and Production by Sara Ligorria-Tramp.

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