Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995                   TAG: 9509220116
SECTION: FALL HOME                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IS IT LONELY AT THE TOP? NOT FOR THIS TEEN

The unfinished walk-up attic was supposed to have been a combination office and playroom, Christy Nichols said, but when her daughter, Lauren, now 13, saw it, she decided she wanted it for herself. It's a good thing, too, because now, in addition to Lauren and 9-year-old Merritt, the couple has a third child, Mary Kellen, 2. Each child still has his or her own room.

Lauren's room "is like her own little roost," Christy Nichols said.

The attic stairs are carpeted as is the room itself. The stairway opens into the center of the room, but unfortunately, because of the steep eaves, it takes up space where there is the most headroom. Visitors have to duck at the top of the stairs, but once inside there is plenty of room for a bed, a desk and a dresser, as well as a large open area that is perfect for slumber parties.

The lack of headroom is slightly inconvenient, Nichols said, but "it's part of the trade-off" for the pleasure of having an attic room.

Originally, Nichols said, she had planned to enclose the stairway with railings to create a more open feeling, but she was worried about the children getting their heads stuck between them or climbing over them.

In the end, putting kneewalls around the stairs was a good idea. Not only are they too tall for a small child to climb over, they also are wired with electrical outlets and a telephone jack, eliminating the need to run the utilities along the outside walls.

The house, which was built in the 1950s, didn't have central air when they bought it, so the Nichols had it installed at the same time they remodeled the attic.

Because they put in two units - one upstairs and one downstairs - the attic room stays cool on all but the hottest days.

The ductwork was boxed in with drywall along the floor at one of the gable ends of the room, where two small fan-shaped windows provide natural light. Nichols had bench pads made to fix the boxes, and they serve as cozy window seats. In between them is a built-in bookshelf that covers the rest of the wall.

At the other gable end is a large window and a walk-in closet. Because the eaves are so steep, there is not much room for hanging longer clothing, such as dresses, but the Nichols took advantage of the space by calling Closet Storage Organizers, a company that helps homeowners maximize their storage space. All of Lauren's clothes fit neatly inside. There also is an access panel for the upstairs air-conditioning at this end of the room.

Heat is provided by electric space heaters long the wall, but, the room is so warm in the winter that "we rarely use it," Nichols said.

The walls are pink, and the paint has been texturized. The room also has speakers that are wired into the downstairs stereo. Lauren doesn't use them very often, Nichols said, because "she doesn't always like our music."

There are three low-profile panel lights in the ceiling. The one over the bed is wired separately into a dimmer switch so that it can be used as a night light. The cost of the project was around $5,000, Nichols said.

The family is planning to move, and the house is up for sale. They like the new house, Nichols said, but Lauren "is really going to miss this room."