Loft style originated in America at the beginning of the 20th century during the economic crisis. Enterprises were closed, production facilities, attics and warehouses were vacated, which creative youth began to inhabit, because they could not afford to rent normal housing.
Loft Style Features
However, unexpectedly this peculiar aesthetics found many adherents. The loft descended from attics to ordinary apartments. It has become civilized and has grown in value. If half-impoverished artists and musicians used to live in such an entourage, now it is quite expensive to create a loft interior. Let’s see what characterizes this style and why it is so attractive. Let’s make a reservation right away that this emphatically industrial entourage will not suit everyone.
What is characteristic of the style?
- The presence of an open space. This is literally a thing, the loft does not tolerate partitions, so try to keep them to a minimum in the apartment. A studio apartment is just what you need!
- High ceilings with exposed beams.
- Pipes, communications are not hidden, but on the contrary are deliberately exposed.
- Walls without any decoration, brickwork or concrete.
- Good lighting, both natural and artificial.
- The presence of a fireplace is welcome, although not necessarily.
Who would suit such an environment? First of all, open creative people, extroverts, who value free space more than anything else in the world and despise conventions. They are, of course, very impressed by the unpretentiousness of the loft environment.
But for closed people who appreciate comfort, peace and solitude, a loft, of course, will not work. I must say that uncompromising industrialism is not very suitable for a home where, first of all, you want to relax. Therefore, it is almost impossible to meet a loft in its pure form. People let him into their apartments, but made him more homely. So the loft has gained different variations, for example:
Bohemian loft – the overall aesthetics of the style is preserved, but the furniture can be refined and unexpected. Against the background of rough walls, for example, a luxurious sofa stands out. He will become a cozy dominant. Bohemian loft allows decor – figurines, posters, art objects and so on.
Glamorous. Here, it would seem, where is the loft with its rough walls and where is the glamour? However, the designers managed to cross these two concepts. The glamorous loft consists of pastel shades, original lamps, bright accents, fresh flowers, antique mirrors and carpets. The latter can be replaced by an animal skin or its imitation
Industrial loft is a classic. Lots of metal, practical multifunctional furniture.
Which loft do you prefer? Let’s pick up furniture for it.
Loft-style furniture for the kitchen
And let’s start with the kitchen – the main room in the house. We immediately note that the alleged negligence of the design is ostentatious. In fact, the whole situation is carefully thought out.
In the kitchen it is:
- worn floors;
- brick or plastered walls;
- wooden beams on the ceiling;
- open pipes and communications.
Only furniture can give this room a residential look:
- Loft style is very democratic in terms of furniture. Both modern and vintage furniture will look equally harmonious here. A white kitchen set will be very useful here. The upper cabinets can be replaced with shelves.
- If the size of the kitchen allows, and the loft, as you remember, loves large spaces and it can only be fully realized in a spacious room, then add a comfortable vintage sofa to the kitchen set – add a touch of bohemia.
- Isn’t that enough for you? For more comfort, throw a bright plaid or a few bright pillows on the sofa – that’s the elements of glamour.
In general, the loft tends to minimalist, no wonder the interior is called masculine. So let’s not clutter up the kitchen with furniture and move into the living room.
Loft-style living room furniture
In this interior, the kitchen is usually combined with the living room, so down with the partitions. You can share these rooms with the same sofa or bar counter. If we combined the kitchen with the living room, then most likely the dining table moved here. And let it be a large table with wooden or forged legs. Loft tends to natural materials – wood, glass, metal. That’s why it’s expensive.
Put a glass table if you want to give the atmosphere more lightness. Chairs can also be made of glass or metal. In the industrial style, the more metal, the better.
And what is the most important thing in the living room? That’s right, the sofa.
- The sofa should be large and comfortable.
- Only made of natural materials – wood and high-quality upholstery.
- Loft style loves unusual original shapes.
- The sofa should be multifunctional, it is not put here for decoration, but to perform completely practical tasks.
In a living room, a sofa may well be the only piece of furniture. The frame and armrests of the sofa are made of metal or wood. The only liberty is the legs, they can be made of plastic, but only of high quality. Unusual brutal elements are welcome in the design of the sofa, for example, wheels from factory trolleys or armrests made of untreated wood.
The sofa upholstery is only made of natural fabrics. Suitable here: cotton, matting, denim, velour, suede, linen, chenille. A leather sofa is also an option. It will look defiantly aristocratic against the background of raw walls.
The chairs may or may not match the sofa. Loft easily digests the discrepancy. The most important thing is that the design should be very convenient. Both traditional models and suspended rocking chairs will go here.
Each loft-style model has its own characteristics:
- Traditional chairs are low, but wide, adapted to make it as comfortable as possible to relax in them.
- Suspended – made from natural raw materials. They can be attached either to the ceiling or mounted on a floor stand.
- A rocking chair is ideal for relaxing. In the loft style, models made of wood, upholstered in leather look very organic, armrests with soft filler will add comfort.
- Braided – very light, airy, do not clutter up spaces. They can be floor-mounted or suspended. They will bring a little tropical exoticism to the atmosphere.
- Plastic. Well, yes, the loft likes natural materials, but you can make an exception for armchairs. A beautiful plastic hemisphere chair will fit perfectly into the loft interior.
It is the armchair that can take on the role of a bright accent in the restrained color scheme of an industrial interior. The material of the chairs is wood, metal, plastic of high quality. The upholstery material is leather or imitation leather, coarse textiles, the same fabrics as for the sofa. The main requirement for upholstery fabrics is environmental safety, unpretentiousness in care, strength and durability, as well as hygiene and attractiveness. Armchairs, as well as sofas in the loft style do not have an abundant decor. You can diversify their appearance with bedspreads or pillows. But they are very practical and convenient.
In addition to the sofa and armchairs, there may be a wardrobe in the living room. What features can he be endowed with?
For a loft-style living room, any kind of closet is suitable, that is:
- wardrobe with sliding doors;
- wardrobe with swing doors;
- built-in wardrobe.
The loft wardrobe can be of any shape: radius, linear, angular, trapezoidal. The main thing in it is the facades, mirrored or wooden. Designers sometimes make an imitation of brickwork on such a facade.
A wardrobe with swing doors in the loft style will be more organic, because he loves vintage and retro. Facades can be wooden, upholstered with metal, have glass inserts. To add more color to this interior, you can put a safe metal cabinet. Built-in models can have a very original design.
Since these cabinets do not have back and side walls, the doors, hinged or sliding, are made at the request of the owner. And, as they say, any whim. The material of the cabinets is still the same: wood, metal, tempered glass. Only it shouldn’t look too modern.
A closet in a loft interior can serve not only for storing clothes, books, shoes, and so on. It quite successfully plays the role of a partition, dividing the room into functional zones. Choose not very high models for this. Oversized cabinets in the entire wall can destroy the visual unity of the loft space. If you use a closet to separate the kitchen and the bedroom, then use wide and deep models. On the border of the living room and bedroom, you can put a closet with open shelves so that it can be accessed from all sides.
Where to put a loft-style wardrobe?
The wardrobe, even if it is small, is quite large furniture, so the question of where it is better to put it is not idle.
- In the loft-style kitchen, we will put a closet along a short wall. Opposite it, a bar counter will be appropriate.
- In the living room, it is most convenient to put it opposite the sofa.
- Put a small closet in the bathroom near the sink.
- In the nursery, the best place for a closet is opposite the window.
- Do not put the cabinet too close to the wall – there is a feeling of a large empty space in front of it.
- A wardrobe in the hallway is absolutely necessary. So that it does not dissonate with the situation, it can be hidden in a niche, and the facades can be decorated with imitation bricks.
- In the bedroom, a wardrobe with a large mirror surface will help visually expand the room.
The bedroom is the most intimate area, and therefore it should be fenced off from other rooms.
Loft-style bedroom furniture
The main furniture in the bedroom is a bed. The loft-style bed is simple and concise, often has an original headboard and quite a monumental look. The bed itself has a simple geometric shape and is somewhat angular.
Loft style beds can have the following varieties:
- Classic – on wooden or metal legs. The most familiar model and therefore the most homely.
- A bunk bed is good for a nursery. The sleeping place is located at the top, and at the bottom there are either storage systems or a work area.
- Sofa bed – if you have little space or you combine a kitchen, living room with a bedroom.
- A bed on a platform is quite in the spirit of style, when the mattress is installed on a frame that is not draped in any way
- Suspended bed – attached to the ceiling with special ropes.
Lifting or pull-out beds are very popular in the loft style.