In the 40s of the last century in the United States, which at that time was experiencing a period of the Great Depression, economic and industrial recession, people began to occupy empty buildings of factories and factories for housing. They had neither the ability nor the strong desire to change something in these production facilities.
For this reason, many elements characteristic of industrial buildings remained unchanged and became the basis of the emerging style. Water and ventilation pipes and unplastered brick walls, ceiling beams with coarse lamps hanging from them imperceptibly "flowed" into a new style, which was called the loft. But no matter how hard life is for a person, he tends to decorate and equip his home, and over time, people began to create original, stylish and unusual interiors in such apartments.
Style Features
Often this style is called "attic". That is how it is translated from English. Its characteristic features include the following features:
- Simplicity of furnishings.
- High ceilings.
- Minimum partitions (only the bathroom is allocated separately).
- Lack of luxury items.
- For room zoning, furniture or movable partitions are used, which should be opaque from below.
- No drapes.
- Loft-style wallpapers are not used.
- Maximize natural light.
- Engineering communications are open - these are elements of the loft style.
- An abundance of metal is welcome.
Many fans of the loft style, after reading its characteristics, will be upset. It is quite obvious that in a small modern apartment, which is located in a multi-storey building, these requirements cannot be met. But don't despair, nothing is impossible for today's designers.
A one-room loft-style apartment can be decorated today, although, in fairness, it must be said that it will be more a stylization than a style in its purest form. But this does not upset the owners of tiny apartments who dreamed of such an interior.
Loft style in the interior of a small apartment
Today we will look at the two most common options - a studio apartment with high ceilings, but a very small area, and the legendary Khrushchev with ceilings of about two and a half meters.
In the first case, modern loft-style interiors are quite suitable, and you can even increase the area by organizing a sleeping place on the newly created second floor. To do this, you need to equip the site, which should be placed ona mark of at least 1.8 meters. Such a reconstruction is possible if the ceilings in the room are not lower than three and a half meters.
Under the platform, they usually equip an office, a library, or simply organize a relaxation area with an armchair and a coffee table. This ceiling height allows finishing in white (standard for a loft) or darker. You can use stylized wooden beams to decorate the ceilings in such a room. Installed on them, small metal lamps will look organic.
And if the ceilings are low?
Undoubtedly, this option is more difficult to execute, since the free space that is typical for this style is limited by the size of tiny rooms and low ceiling heights. Therefore, redevelopment in this situation is indispensable.
First of all, you need to get rid of partitions and walls (not load-bearing). This is how a loft-style studio is created. But you need to know that such work must be agreed and documented in the city departments of architecture.
If you are not planning such a large-scale reconstruction, then you can limit yourself to the demolition of light partitions - built-in wardrobes, pantries, mezzanines, which can often be seen in hallways or tiny corridors between them and kitchens. Such designs make the premises even more cramped and low. And now let's look at how this or that loft-style room might look like.
Hallway
If you live in a brickhouse, it is better to leave the walls in their original form, but the masonry seams should be slightly lightened, thereby emphasizing the structure of the wall. In an old house, it is extremely difficult to restore the brickwork, which has been plastered, painted, pasted over with wallpaper for many years. Therefore, you can use loft-style wallpaper that imitates brick or stonework.
If the walls in the hallway are concrete, then you can use rough plastering (without finishing grinding). As a rule, the hallway is a dark room, so you can prepare a plaster mortar from ordinary (gray) and white cements. This composition will lighten the room somewhat.
In small apartments, designers recommend painting all ceilings white, this visually raises them. First of all, this applies to the dark and small hallway.
What should be the furniture?
In such a hallway, the furniture should be "Spartan", simple. It can be a wooden bedside table without any frills in the form of twisted handles, polished surface, etc. and a mirror set on the floor.
For lighting, the simplest hanging lampshades and sconces are suitable. It is desirable that they be made of metal. It should be noted that the loft style in the interior of a small apartment, and the hallway in particular, does not provide for any items hung on the walls. An exception can only be an open shelf of a simple form.
Living room
A loft-style brick wall is an indispensable element of this style. The living room should be so framed thoughwould be one of them. Textured plaster can be used to decorate other walls.
It is desirable that the floor in a small living room be wooden. You can use a floor covering that imitates concrete or stone. Both porcelain stoneware and monochrome tiles fit into this style.
Window decoration
It is known that windows in industrial buildings differ from residential ones in their large size. In old Khrushchevs, they are standard, and they cannot be increased. But to increase them visually, perhaps by ordering frames with vertical mullions. It is better if the loft-style windows are wooden, since there should be no plastic in such an interior.
Curtains are not recommended. The windows remain free of any textiles. You can only use horizontal blinds, lowering them only in the evening and at night, and during the day they are turned over the window.
Choose furniture
The loft style in the interior of a small apartment is attractive to many young people because you can use a variety of furniture in the room: both in color and in size. If you like a large sofa "under the skin", then add one chair, a floor lamp and a TV to it - and the room is furnished.
It is very important that furniture does not adjoin the walls. In loft style, this is a must. The distance to the walls must be at least thirty centimeters.
A loft-style room should not have more than two companion colors in its interior. For example, they can be black and white, sand and brown,which are further played up in various shades. A few bright accents can only be textiles - a small rug by the sofa, decorative pillows on it.
Bedroom
For interior design in the loft style in the bedroom, cold natural tones are used, and light shades predominate. A small bedroom will look more spacious thanks to the contrast of shades. Most commonly used:
- gray;
- white;
- red (individual items);
- dark brown;
- blue (accessories).
Loft-style furniture for the bedroom is selected in accordance with some rules. Interior items should be as multifunctional as possible and at the same time embody the most original and bold design ideas.
The bed must certainly be made of metal. Fabric upholstery is allowed. You can choose a completely wooden model. But in this case, the wood should not be varnished. A minimum amount of furniture is allowed in this bedroom:
- capacious closet;
- big bed;
- cabinet.
The bed is set against the wall, with elements of unfinished decoration. The rest of the furniture is arranged randomly. As a rule, interior items become bright accents against light walls.
Textiles
Even such an ascetic style as a loft is not complete without textiles. True, it is limited to its minimumquantity. We have already said that curtains are not welcome in this case, so textiles are represented only by a bedspread on the bed and bed linen. A carpet on the floor can also be used, but a small, rich bright shade.
Kitchen
The main task when designing a small loft-style kitchen is to create the most functional room in a limited space. When the shape of the kitchen and its area are not your pride, you need to use some design tricks that will help visually and functionally, at least a little, change the space.
It is important to pay attention to the correct zoning, which is achieved not only with the help of furniture, but also thanks to the well-chosen color of the walls. For a loft-style kitchen, its maximum lighting and arrangement of furniture is very important.
Many people think that the loft-style kitchen is dark and gloomy. But this is a delusion. Today, designers are proving the opposite by creating kitchens in warm and light colors. Often in the interior next to the brick wall you can see glossy white tiles and textiles in soothing colors.
But most design experts believe that in a small apartment, the kitchen should be combined with the living room. In this case, they recommend equipping the kitchen in the most inconspicuous place and beating it unusually. So you can visually expand the space. For example, in the living room to make a wooden floor, and for the kitchen area - from tiles. Practice proves that a loft-style kitchen-living room is the most profitablea solution for owners of modest-sized apartments.
In a small loft kitchen there should be a lot of household appliances, and among them there should be both modern models and rare samples. For example, a vintage stove might sit next to the latest refrigerator with a built-in computer.
Bathroom, bathroom
And these rooms should be decorated as simply as possible. But given their size in small apartments, it becomes clear that the owners simply cannot afford any frills.
It is undesirable to use bright patterned tiles in these rooms. A monochromatic or white-and-black mosaic that does not have a clear pattern is more suitable for the loft style. A lot of glass and metal is welcome. The sink can be made of stainless steel. A chrome-plated large heated towel rail will perfectly complement the interior.
Plumbing, even modern, should be simple forms. Bath - necessarily on legs.
Style Benefits
As you can see, the loft style in the interior of a small apartment, being, in fact, minimalist, allows you to rationally organize the available space. However, it does not become lifeless and cold. For those who like to bring bright accents and original solutions to the interior of their home, the loft allows experimenting, showing imagination, perhaps more than any other interior direction. Therefore, if you like strange, and sometimes ambiguous accessories, surreal paintings, sculptures from scrap metal, then go for it: the loft is yours.style.
