Leanne Ford Transformed Her 1900 Pennsylvania Attic With a 360-Degree Paint Job

Instead, Leanne embraced the angled attic shape and added a sense of airiness by painting every surface the same creamy hue. “I used Behr Crisp Linen on the floors, ceiling, trim, walls, cabinets, steps—everything,” she details. “That’s why it feels so vast. Everybody has this misconception that the trim has to be a different color, and I actually love the opposite. It creates one beautiful light box.”

Though Leanne wouldn’t ordinarily paint historic timber, she felt its beaten-up state gave her permission to play. Plus, the material likely wasn’t high-quality to begin with. “In these older houses, they would save the fancy wood for the main levels that people would see and then, progressively, as you got to the third floor, they would use the cheap wood,” she explains.

For the furniture, Erik requested a minimal amount of vintage and lots of clean lines, so Leanne and her brother Steve crafted a simple, straightforward desk using a blueprint they developed with Hart Tools. The unsightly desktop computer is easily tucked away into the original cabinetry, which Leanne outfitted with an outlet and a pull-out drawer, while seating options include a midcentury Jeanneret armchair and the Jeannie cane accent chair from Leanne’s Crate & Barrel collaboration.