Increasingly, we hear borrowed words that do not have suitable analogues in Russian speech, because they denote concepts new to the post-Soviet space. To understand the meaning of such words as "loft" or "high flat", you need not only to translate them into Russian, but also to get acquainted with the history of their origin.
The meaning of the word "loft"
Loft is translated from English as “attic”, but in fact this concept is used in three different meanings, the meaning of which is closely intertwined.
- In real estate, a loft is a format of an apartment, most often located on the upper floors of a residential building, which is characterized by very high ceilings (3.6–7 m) and huge panoramic windows.
- In a design environment, this interior style, which appeared naturally in New York in the 40s due to the growth in the number of empty industrial buildings, previously owned by bankrupt enterprises and factories, which were then converted into residential premises.
- For creative people, a loft is a style without strict frames and borders, but at the same time without unnecessary frills.
Everything is much simpler with the concept of "high-flat": it is nothing more than an apartment with non-standard high ceilings (3.2 m), fully consistent with its English name.
Loft style design: key features
The basis of the loft direction is the remnants of the factory past: brick or concrete walls, primitive stone masonry, provocatively exposed pipes, wires and beams - a kind of industrial romance. If you like factory charm - welcome to the loft, the abode of the muse of artists, musicians and designers, the territory of the bold and free.
Style principles:
- Large spaces. The room, generously spread over a couple of hundred square meters, is a typical phenomenon for a loft.
- No obvious barriers. You cannot find standard rooms in the interior in this style, and zoning occurs with the help of screens, movable partitions, furniture, and color play.
- Maximum light and air. Open spaces, high ceilings, higher than in high-flat apartments, large windows do not block the view.
- Minimum furniture, lack of decor as decoration. The presence of some kind of interior item means its mandatory use for its intended purpose. Such laconic design accents on the walls as posters, photographs, abstractions are allowed.
- Industrial attributes of style: technical communications and "native", in the truest sense of the word, walls of an industrial building put a logical emphasis on the interior.
Color
The main tones of the room are gray, brown, black and any of their variations: the colors of stone, concrete, brick, metal. You can dilute the restraint of style with the help of bright accessories - sofa cushions, bedspreads, small rugs. It can be a steel-colored sofa with orange and green pillows, a red bedspread on a metal bed, a colorful abstraction on the wall.
Floors, walls and ceilings
Loft implies the original appearance of the floor - concrete or brick. Raw materials, rough texture or careless painting emphasize the urban mood of the interior style.
On the ceilings - beams, ceilings and technical boxes.
In cases of reproducing the factory entourage, it would be appropriate to invest in a suspended structure made of metal and drywall that imitates the original ceilings.
The floors are most often plank or self-leveling under concrete. A laminate imitating an old tree is allowed.
Furniture
Furniture in the loft must meet several basic requirements:
- functionality;
- minimalism;
- space zoning;
- simplicity and comfort.
What does this mean in practice? Furniture is easily transformed, moved and ungrouped.The style requires that it does not stand along the walls, but forms functional islands throughout the area: a resting place, a kitchen area, a working workshop or a creative corner, a bedroom. Perfectly fit into the interior in the loft style:
- open shelves and racks;
- sofas that change their design depending on the requirements for them;
- armchairs and folding chairs;
- roll-out tables and bedside tables;
- mobile screens;
- wardrobe racks.
The win-win trump card of the loft is its eclecticism. A mixture of styles, a mix of old items and modern technology, modernism and conservative elements only enhance the rebellious spirit of this trend.
Lighting
A large space requires a lot of light. Artificial lighting in the interior, made in the loft style, should be sufficient and carefully thought out. Get along well:
- industrial lamps on tires;
- lamps at different levels;
- desktop and floor structures;
- lamps without shades;
- built-in LED lighting.
The audacity of style is not limited to bare pipes alone. Who said that a crystal chandelier with pendants is an uninvited guest in a loft? Crap, the information is outdated. For people who have exchanged standard housing for “factory-style” comfort, everything is possible and much is acceptable, even bath in the center, not like a chandelier.
What the loft does not tolerate
Such a design can do a lot: connect the impossible, forget that it is the style of large spaces and settle for a modest area, endure violent eclecticism, come to terms with partial “ennoblement”. But there are things that the loft cannot forgive, otherwise it will cease to be itself.
Standard layout
Moving into a loft-style apartment is a challenge to conventional wisdom about home and life in general. It's bold and unexpected. Therefore, you should not exchange such a desperate impulse for a return to standards in the form of cutting space into familiar standard rooms. The open areas have the resources to create an atmosphere of privacy and seclusion: the bedroom can be located on the mezzanine of the second floor, as in a high-flat, and the bathroom will be surrounded by a high partition.
Plastic windows
Windows are the eyes of the loft, an integral part of it. And the old metal frames are a completely unique thing that needs to be cultivated. Of course, it is not worth changing them to standard plastic structures.
Curtains on the windows
The pronounced industrialism of this style of interior deprives windows of the right to decoration. They should be "naked" and generously give light and sun. Maximum - strict blinds.
White heating radiators
The faithful companion of the "European renovation" - white batteries - is another way to spoil the urban style. Cast-iron tubular heaters in black, red or even purple colors will organically fit into the interior.
Substitution of the original
Untouched concrete or brick walls are the height of urban triumph. Natural or skillfully reproduced, they still look worthy of any attempt to “ennoble” them by sewing them up with drywall.
Loft is not only a trendy interior style dictated by life itself, but also a way of thinking. To exist in the loft format means to break stereotypes, to be ready to reject public opinion and live it in your own way, including decorating your house to your own taste.
