What is an attic? 20+ beautiful, modern and convenient attic models 2026

The attic is an architectural part built on the roof of the highest floor of the house, has a smaller area than the floors below and does not occupy the entire floor. According to Vietnamese construction regulations, the attic is only allowed to be a maximum of 3m high and the area does not exceed 30% of the roof floor so as not to be counted as a complete floor.

The attic design brings 5 significant advantages: Flexibility in usage, increasing effective usable area by up to 30% of the roof floor area, improving the microclimate inside the house thanks to the role of a "cushion" layer between the roof and the floors below, enhancing the overall aesthetic value by up to 20% and saving costs compared to building a new floor.

In modern architectural trends, the attic is applied in a variety of ways with 5 main design ideas: Combining a rooftop garden to create a "green oasis", integrating it into an outdoor relaxation space, arranging it as a solemn worship room, using it as a warehouse to optimize space, and converting it into a comfortable bedroom. The cost of constructing an attic usually ranges from 1,5-2,5 million VND/m² depending on the scale, materials, and required level of completion.

“A properly designed attic can enhance the overall aesthetic of a modern home, helping to balance the architectural form, especially when incorporating materials such as glass, wood slats or raw concrete.” – World Architecture Community (2020).

What is the attic?

The attic is an architectural part built on the roof of the highest floor of a house, usually smaller in area than the floors below and does not occupy the entire floor. This is a popular design in townhouses, modern villas or tube houses in urban areas, where construction land is limited.

The term “tum” is widely used in Vietnamese to refer to the top area of the house, which is often built to cover the staircase system, integrated with the terrace or drying yard. However, with the development of modern architecture, the attic has been exploited for many more diverse functions such as a worship room, small bedroom, home office, warehouse or relaxing landscape area.

What are the advantages of attic design?

From a professional perspective in urban architectural design, the attic is not only an extension on top of the house but also a smart solution in construction thanks to 5 advantages:

1. Flexible in use: The attic floor can be flexibly planned into an entertainment room, small gym, reading room, or terrace combined with an outdoor BBQ area.
2. Increase effective use of area: By utilizing the roof, the attic floor can occupy up to 30% of the roof floor area according to construction regulations, thereby expanding the living space without increasing the number of floors.
3. Improve indoor microclimate: Thanks to its role as a "cushion" layer between the roof and the living floors below, the attic helps reduce direct heat absorption, increase ventilation, thereby contributing to stabilizing the temperature in the house during the hot season.
4. Enhance overall aesthetic value: When designed in harmony with the main architectural style, the attic can contribute up to 20% to increasing the aesthetic value of the building.
5. Cost savings compared to building new floors: Compared to adding a complete floor, the cost of an attic is significantly lower due to space and structural limitations, while still meeting the requirement for additional space.

What are the disadvantages of a house with an attic?

Although the attic floor brings many outstanding benefits, during the design and construction process, homeowners also need to pay attention to the following 3 limitations to ensure the project is sustainable and complies with legal standards:

1. High technical construction requirements: If the attic floor is not designed in harmony and according to technical standards, it can cause load imbalance, affecting the load-bearing structure of the entire building. Attics with height exceeding the prescribed level (over 3m) can easily cause the center of gravity to shift, leading to the risk of wall cracks and foundation subsidence if not properly reinforced.
2. Risk of violating construction regulations: According to current construction standards in Vietnam, the attic floor is only allowed to be a maximum of 3m high and is not considered a complete floor. If this limit is exceeded, the construction may be considered illegal, leading to the risk of administrative penalties.
3. Construction costs increased significantly: Adding an attic means increasing the construction area, requiring more complex materials and structures. The cost can increase by about 15-20% compared to a conventional flat-roofed house.

20+ beautiful, unique and modern attic floor designs

In modern architectural trends, the attic floor is increasingly transformed flexibly to optimize functionality with 5 main design ideas: Combining a rooftop garden, integrating as a relaxation area, making a worship room, applying as a storage room and combining as a bedroom.

Attic floor combined with roof garden

The rooftop garden design is a popular design trend in modern urban architecture. With an area of 5 to 10m², homeowners can completely create a miniature "green oasis" with a small table and chairs under the shade of cool trees. This is not only a place to relax, but also contributes to building a sustainable lifestyle, connecting with nature right in the customer's home.

Attic with integrated relaxation space

Instead of leaving it empty or using it only for technical purposes, you can completely redefine the attic as an outdoor relaxation space. With just a minimalist outdoor table and chairs, a few delicately decorated bookshelves and some reasonably arranged green potted plants, the homeowner can create a private relaxation corner on the upper floor, where you can catch the morning sun, listen to the wind and enjoy the fresh air.

“A penthouse designed as a living or entertainment space can increase property value by 7% to 15%, especially in densely populated urban areas.” – Urban Land Institute (ULI, 2021).

Attic floor as worship room

The attic is a quiet space, less affected by daily activities, very suitable for the solemn and quiet nature of the worship area. In addition, for worship rooms that do not require a large area, the attic can completely meet the requirements in terms of function and aesthetics.

In many modern home designs, many families choose to arrange the worship room in the living room for convenience. However, for houses with modest areas or those wishing to separate the worship space from the common living area, placing the worship room on the attic is a reasonable solution that also ensures feng shui factors.

Attic space for storage

Utilizing the attic as storage space is a smart solution, especially suitable for houses with limited usable area. This area can be planned as a warehouse for rarely used items, seasonal items or old furniture, helping to optimize the area on the main floors and keep the house neat and tidy.

Attic used as bedroom

Although the attic is not usually as large as the main floor, if designed properly, this space can be completely transformed into a comfortable bedroom for adults. To increase privacy, homeowners can install plasterboard partitions or use soft curtains to separate the staircase and other living areas.

Arranging the bedroom on the attic floor is not only a solution to optimize the available space, but also creates a separate resting space, ideal for those who love quiet, privacy and spaciousness. In the trend of modern urban design, the use of the attic floor as an independent functional space is increasingly popular and highly appreciated in terms of both function and aesthetics.

What to note when building a ceiling?

To ensure the project is both aesthetic, convenient and in compliance with legal standards, customers need to note the following 6 points when constructing the attic floor:

1. Choose the right material for exterior cladding: Due to frequent direct exposure to heat, rain and wind, the attic floor needs to be constructed with materials that are waterproof, heat-insulating and soundproof such as wood plastic, solid bricks, tempered glass or Heat-resistant roofing panels.
2. Take advantage of natural light and ventilation: Designing windows, skylights or ventilation holes not only helps brighten the space and save electricity, but also brings positive energy flow.
3. Prioritize minimalist and versatile design: Unless there is a special decorative purpose, avoid elaborate details or confusing layouts. The simpler and more open the space, the more efficient it is and the lower the construction cost.
4. Strictly comply with building regulations: The height of the attic floor should not exceed 3m and the area should not exceed 30% of the roof floor, to avoid violating construction limits or being considered an independent floor, affecting the licensing application.
5. Focus on construction supervision: For attics with an area larger than 30m², closely monitoring the construction process of each item is a mandatory condition to ensure quality, safety and long-term durability of the project.
6. Overall load-bearing structure assessment: If the attic area exceeds 20m², it is necessary to carefully check the bearing capacity of the foundation, beams, columns and floors. This is especially important for renovation projects, construction in between or on weak ground.

How much does it cost to build a roof?

The cost of building a penthouse is usually divided into two main categories: the rough construction and the finishing part. There are 4 main groups of factors that determine the total cost of building a penthouse:

1. Materials and design complexity: The materials used can make a significant difference in cost. At the same time, simple, functional roof designs are easier to control the budget than designs with many elaborate architectural details such as sunshades, skylights or domes.
2. Construction area of the attic: Area is the most important variable that directly affects the overall cost. Typically, the attic in a townhouse or villa has an area ranging from 15m² to 30m². With this area, the common construction unit price is around 1,5 - 2,5 million VND/m², depending on the scale, materials and required level of completion.
3. Geographic location and labor costs: Construction costs are also significantly affected by the location of the project. If the project is located in an area that is difficult to access, transporting materials will also incur additional costs.
4. Auxiliary technical items: Besides the architectural part, technical systems such as lighting, water supply and drainage, ventilation and air conditioning are also factors that cannot be ignored when calculating the cost of completing the attic floor.

Frequently asked questions about attic architecture

Is the attic considered a floor?

According to Circular 07/2019/TT-BXD, the attic floor is not counted in the total number of floors of the building if it is built solely for the purpose of covering the entrance to stairs, elevators or arranging technical areas. To ensure that it is not counted as a separate floor, the floor area of the attic must not exceed 30% of the roof floor area, and the height of the attic floor must not exceed 3 meters.

This regulation officially takes effect from January 1, 1, replacing related contents in previous Circular 2020/03/TT-BXD.

What is the difference between an attic and a penthouse?

Attic and penthouse are two concepts that are often confused in civil architectural design, but in fact there are clear differences in both structure and function.

• The attic is a space built above the main roof of the house, has an independent structure and often serves additional technical or living purposes. The ceiling height of the attic is less than 3 meters and the area is less than 30% of the roof floor area.
• The attic is the space immediately below the sloping roof, which is directly affected by the slope of the roof. This is a floor located within the sloping roof space, in which all or part of the facade is formed by the sloping or folded roof surface. If there is a vertical wall, the height of this wall must not exceed 1,5m from the attic floor.

What is the difference between a terrace and an attic?

The main difference between a terrace and an attic lies in the level of cover and intended use:

• The attic is a roofed architectural part, built on the highest floor to optimize the usable area. Depending on the needs, the attic can be arranged into functional rooms such as a worship room, a secondary bedroom, a technical room or combined into a multi-purpose living space.
• A terrace is an open area on a roof, usually flat and airy, and can be covered or completely open. This space often serves purposes such as outdoor relaxation, growing ornamental plants, or as a drying area.

Which unit provides beautiful, durable attic roofing solutions?

With a warehouse system of more than 10.000m², Kosmos Warehouse is currently one of the distributors outdoor plastic wood materials The leading attic roofing layer in Vietnam. Kosmos is committed to providing a variety of materials, ensuring strict construction standards, suitable for modern attic projects.

Currently, Kosmos provides 2 lines of outdoor wood plastic used for roofing attics: Kosmos Wood-plastic (released in 2019) and Galawood plastic wood (launched in 2023). Kosmos's wood-plastic can also be flexibly applied in many outdoor spaces such as swimming pools, gardens, terraces, townhouse facades or luxury resorts, thanks to its good resistance to sun and rain, termite resistance, warping resistance and durable color retention.

Kosmos ensures to provide stable supply of wood plastic to Customers.

Application of Kosmos wood plastic panels for exterior ceilings in real projects

>>> See more about the process of installing composite wood plastic for outdoor ceiling panels:

The attic is not only a solution to increase the usable area but also contributes to enhancing the aesthetic value of the house. With the diversity in design and materials, the attic is now flexibly used for many purposes. Hopefully, more than 20 modern and convenient attic models in the article have inspired customers to create a living space that is both beautiful and optimal in function.