LOFT: Interior Features, Color Schemes, Accessories, Lighting
The creative loft style is an extraordinary bohemian format in design, inspired by attic living (from the English word “loft”). The emergence of this style is associated with the American crisis of the 1940s, which bankrupted numerous manufacturers and factory owners. As a result, there were a vast number of vacant industrial buildings characterized by open spaces and large windows.
Representatives of the creative intelligentsia were drawn to these low-rent spaces abundant in area and light, adapting them as studios and living spaces. They served as not only secluded places for artists to work but also exhibition spaces, galleries, studios, and film locations. The New York bohemian crowd found refuge in these lofts and hosted vibrant parties.
Loft design is well-suited for office interiors or design projects for shops.
INTERIOR IN LOFT STYLE
Creative individuals, with their inherent imagination and without significant expenses, created a unique urban charm within these spaces. It was a style without boundaries or limitations, where concrete walls, exposed brick factory pipes, and rough beams coexisted.
In the modern world, the term “loft” is used in different contexts. More often, it refers to the unconventional and creative conversion of apartments located on the upper floors, featuring high ceilings and panoramic windows (“hard loft”).
Contemporary loft design also involves the avant-garde stylization of a space to capture a distinctive industrial romance, in line with the trendy preferences of wealthy entrepreneurs and aristocratic elites (“soft loft”).
Loft style is also ideal for developing design projects for country houses, and it is frequently chosen when ordering apartment interior design.
STYLE FEATURES
The distinctive feature of loft style design is the industrial charm of factories and plants. The following elements are essential:
- Spacious areas, often divided into zones by furniture.
- High ceilings, large windows without curtains or drapes.
- Exposed beams, structural elements, and engineering networks, left uncovered as an expression of style.
- Open floor plans, with the exception of enclosed toilet and shower rooms.
- Bare brick walls without wallpaper or plastic coverings.
- Concrete, faux marble, or wooden floors.
- Minimalistic decor with geometric lines.
COLOR SCHEME, ACCESSORIES
Loft is a modern design trend, and its followers are bold and free-spirited. When styling spaces in a loft theme, incorporating old industrial equipment and tools can be a fascinating interior accent. Accessories such as road signs and signage are also suitable.
The color palette of the interior is kept in cool tones – silver, white, black, representing the colors of stone, concrete, brick, and metal. Similar to minimalism, contrasting combinations with a focus on a vibrant color can be applied, as well as monochromatic schemes.
FURNITURE
The main stylistic requirement for furniture in exclusive interior design is to keep it to a minimum. Only in such an interior can one feel free and independent. Furniture is not arranged against the walls. Besides its functional purpose, furniture also serves to zone the space. Vintage pieces can be used. Loft is a lived-in attic, a blend of the old and the new. Therefore, against the backdrop of walls with rough pipes from the past, ultra-modern designer furniture can stand.
LIGHTING
A large space requires ample lighting. Lighting fixtures are designed in a contemporary style and are arranged in large groups at different levels. These can be floor or table lamps with or without lampshades. Loft welcomes light fixtures in the form of hanging barrels, kerosene lamps, created with a sense of taste.
A space where loft reigns is a haven for muses, attracting creative individuals with a free spirit in the 21st century who worship this style.
