Nice photos on the Internet! What should the residents of a one-room apartment do? Do they also want to live in a luxurious, spacious loft? Despite the skeptics, we will prove that a small loft-style apartment is not absurd, but reality. We will also show that the loft style is ideal when the renovation budget is very small.
Because interior style is a way of life and the atmosphere of a home. Not the footage.
Many people believe that the loft style is only suitable for apartments, maximum for country house, they say, a loft is a huge industrial space, and to recreate it at 40 square meters unrealistic, which means there’s nothing to write about here.
But the designers disagree - and do an excellent job with small-sized loft-style projects. The trouble is that residents of small apartments often don’t have money for a designer. So, excuse me, dear designers, we will style our house as a loft with our own hands.
Loft style design - why is it like this?
The fact is that the loft style is not so much an architectural format as a mood, a way of life. It all started with the fact that in the 1940s, land prices in New York rose greatly, and industrialists had to move their plants and factories away from big city. But the buildings remained.
Wealthy people completely refused to move into the empty workshops, but for the simpler contingent, and especially creative people, the huge premises were quite suitable - both inexpensive, and an art studio-house in finished form. Because a little tidying up, arranging art objects and a few chairs - and here you have a bohemian salon for exhibitions and performances, and you can also live. So the loft style ceased to be an architectural indicator and turned into a way of thinking.
And this is the whole loft: it is asceticism, contentment with little, endless creative flight and refusal of luxury (although a chic velvet sofa in the background old plaster looks great).
Do you understand? For a true loft style, five-meter ceilings are not so important as the spirit of freedom. Is not Brick wall and pipes under the ceiling, and a creative eclectic interior, unthinkable without objects contemporary art in all its manifestations.
Even designers don’t fully understand this line, but now you know: you need a creative interior first, and an industrial one second.
What should the interior of a loft-style apartment look like?
So, what should be changed during renovation to make the apartment feel that same American loft mood?
1. Bring the spirit of the factory (crossed out) into the loft interior
But you will have to start by searching for those very elements of the “abandoned factory”. Because if initially industrial premises turned into residential, then you, the owner standard apartment, you will have to do the opposite, turn the apartment into an industrial facility.
Here you will need to think: what in your apartment is similar to the look of the factory? It turns out that a whole system was once hidden under the drywall water pipes, under the plaster load-bearing walls you can find old red brick, and cast iron batteries, it is worth removing the decorative flap and painting them brighter, it will be ideal for the situation. So we look under the laminate and wonder what we have there suspended ceiling... Bare concrete? Gorgeous - let's leave it! However, it would be better to fill the floors with a special dust-free mixture, but on concrete ceiling even metal hangers may not have to be removed.
Many such “finds” will be revealed during the renovation process. Write down all observations in a notebook so that you can later use them when drawing up your own project.
2. Work with surfaces. Top 3 textures for a loft according to Loggia
Materials and surfaces play a huge role in a loft interior. And if the walls of your Khrushchev building are made of shingles, it doesn’t matter, brick and concrete can be perfectly imitated with the same textured plasters.
Italian manufacturer decorative coatings Loggia recommends choosing textures that combine luxury and rough industrial processing. It is the loft style that allows you to use, say, a “concrete-like” coating on one wall, and on the other - Venetian plaster or a “velvet” texture - and all this in one room! We recommend the following materials.
- Kymera is a unique coating that not only has a rust effect, but a natural oxidized metal that even has magnetic properties.
- Marmo Romano - allows you to create a deep texture.
- Diamond - the effect of natural metal.
After all, the task of a loft is to give one room a variety of functions (as if the former workshop had become a kitchen, an office, and a living room at the same time), and to separate functional areas it is better, if possible, not with partitions, but just different designs walls and floor. In this sense decorative plasters, who became in last years more accessible, they allow the soul to unfold. Brickwork, concrete blocks, crumbling plaster, noble surfaces of silk or marble - plasters can do everything. Unless you should use natural wood in a loft, even if your craftsman knows how to perfectly imitate wood with plaster.
Of course, we are far from a classic loft with spacious rooms, but maybe even in your apartment the layout can be changed? Talk to an architect you know or show the apartment plan on a professional forum - it may very well be that, for example, the living room can be combined with a kitchen or the partitions between rooms can be made of glass. Here is the treasured space for you.
Even if it is impossible to move the walls in your case, just the feeling of a large space will be enough. Light color walls, not too high furniture - there is enough advice on the Internet, we even wrote an article about expanding the space. Having thought about the loft, it’s time to think about storage systems and choose the best hidden ones.
And also the windows: it is unlikely that you will be able to radically enlarge them, but removing traditional curtains does not cost anything - there will be an order of magnitude more “air”. If you have to hide from your neighbors, choose simple roller blinds or something similar. But don’t even think about replacing the windows with plastic ones, you’ll kill the style - you can quite reasonably restore and insulate old wooden ones, and after successful contrasting painting they can become an interior decoration.
4. Remove excess
The loft does not tolerate the accumulation of unnecessary things. You will have to take out many attributes of comfort from the house: give carpets to your student neighbors, give the blankets with which each chair was covered to your grandmother, and in order not to offend, ask her for an antique bookcase in return.
For comfort and homely atmosphere in the loft there are objects of art, unusual furniture and attributes of romance.
By the way, for renovating an apartment in a new building, the loft style is generally a salvation. At the same time, you can save a lot of money: the walls don’t have to be plastered, and the floors don’t have to be perfectly leveled. The ceilings can also be left rough, and you don’t even have to hide the wiring in the walls, saving on stripping them. But in order not to overdo it, choose only one or two surfaces that you leave untouched, the interior should remain residential and welcoming.
5. More style, more creativity!
To decorate an apartment in the loft style yourself, you need to be truly free. Here you can safely combine Buddha figurines and modern paintings with an ironic colorful chair, a magnificent crystal chandelier with a cheap plastic furniture- loft calls for mixing styles and eras.
The main thing is not to confuse freedom with bad taste: in order not to make a mistake, focus on a mixture of industrial style with minimalism, elements of high-tech style and old retro things, furniture from the past and, if possible, real antiques. And again, you can’t do without art objects.
Convert small apartment into a cozy loft, and even with your own hands - a very adventurous task. But look at the photo finished projects- even a tiny studio in Khimki can be transformed into a unique Manhattan home.
Jul 6, 2017 Sergey
Having purchased one-room studio apartment in a new building, a Minsk resident named Andrey could not resist the temptation to create an interior in the now fashionable loft style. The crisis made its own adjustments to his plans: he had to refuse the services of professionals, look for places where building materials are cheaper, and even make furniture and lamps with his own hands. The eyes were afraid, but the hands did. It turned out stylish and unusual, and we managed to save about $7.5 thousand in equivalent...
A couple of years ago I purchased a one-room apartment that was under construction. The deadline for putting the house into operation was delayed by as much as a year and a half, which, however, did not upset me much, since with the onset of the next crisis it became even more difficult to earn money to decorate the apartment. But, having a layout in hand and some experience in design, I began to design the interior and at the same time earn money for the budget of the upcoming event.
Divided the corridor - it turned out to be a bedroom
I can’t remember how, but I wanted to make an apartment in a loft style. I spent a long time studying photographs of interiors on design websites. I noticed for myself what I liked and what I didn’t. Loft involves a large space, high ceilings and windows from the floor. Unfortunately, high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows are not the case for my new building. And there’s not much space in the one-room apartment. To compensate for these shortcomings, we had to add elements Scandinavian style- for example, a lot white, expanding the space.
One interesting desire was the opportunity to have a separate bedroom in one-room apartment. Initially I thought of partitioning off the bed glass partitions, but this sleeping area it still took up a lot of space. The solution was found unexpectedly. The corridor in the apartment was comparable in size to a separate room. By dividing it wisely, we managed to get a separate small room for a bedroom and still a fairly spacious hallway. Since I am an engineer by training, I began to draw first 2D and then 3D interior design projects. Ultimately the project looked like this:
Of course, this project is in progress finishing works has undergone some changes. But I already roughly understood what I needed, and began to think about where to get it and what to save on.
Looking ahead, I will say that I bought all the materials, tools, etc. from importers or manufacturers and, as a rule, even at wholesale prices. When you compare this with prices on the market, your hair stands on end. The markup for some sellers reached up to 300%! Of course, I understand that everyone wants to eat, but this is arrogance. In some markets, it seemed to me, we have no competition at all. If there are 5-10 points selling, for example, Armatura faucets, then all these stores belong to the same owner. Accordingly, he sets the price he wants.
I was able to save about $2.5 thousand in equivalent just on materials alone, which were not purchased at the first place I came across. Of course, these savings were worth the time and effort. But the result pleased me.
When the apartment was completed, finishing could begin. Initially, I didn't plan to do anything myself. I think everyone should mind their own business. If you are a builder, you must build; if you are a travel agent, you must organize vacations for people. But the situation during the crisis is such that the builder begins to think: “I’ll buy the tickets myself and go on vacation as a savage.” As a result, the travel agent, having not received any income, wonders how he can make the repairs himself. It's such a vicious circle.
When you hire craftsmen, do you multiply all estimates by two?
Having drawn up an estimate of the work and estimating that the money earned during the completion of the house should be enough, I began the finishing work with the involvement of builders. I started, of course, with the installation of plumbing fixtures and the bathroom as a whole. Upon completion of these works, I realized that all estimates can be safely multiplied by at least two. In practice, builders will find something to do and what to take for more money. Moreover, in my case, this happened after the work was completed. From that moment I realized that no one can do better than myself (and in financially, and in terms of quality). Fortunately, I was able to afford to take a vacation for two months.
Electricians helped do the wiring from friends who are connected with electrical installation work. I wanted to think through everything thoroughly so that there would be enough sockets when various options I had a lot of ideas about the location of the furniture and the lighting at the design development stage. In the end, I got more than 60 points, which is a lot for a one-room project. What can be called a mistake is that I decided to partially leave the original wiring. It turned out to be unprofitable in terms of time and effort. The cables in the wall were cut several times, since the diagrams received from the developer indicated a completely different location.
The savings on the electrician's work amounted to approximately $500 at average market prices.
The next stage was finishing the walls. According to the project, all walls from floor to ceiling had to be lined decorative stone under natural brick. Analysis of prices in the services market determined average cost brick laying work at $20 per meter. A significant expense item, since the wall area is 90 “squares”.
All the craftsmen described this work as extremely difficult due to the stitching. As it turned out later, this is not true. I didn’t rush right off the bat: the stone was too expensive to ruin everything. I invited builders I knew, and they laid the first batch of stone. And I watched them and studied the technology. In appearance - nothing complicated. In the future, I decided to continue styling myself. I would like to note that previously construction work I didn’t do anything except make something out of wood. Having purchased the missing tools (a mixer attachment and a couple of spatulas), I set to work. At first, my eyes were afraid, but my hands did.
I paid $70 for all the components for this chandelier. Many friends looked at it and said that they would make one with ease. In response, I just smiled. Now I already have experience, but during the manufacturing process I didn’t know how to implement some points, I was looking for solutions. And I remember hanging it up until five in the morning. I secured it, it worked for 15 minutes and began to shorten. Then it took two days to figure out what was going on. Individually it didn’t short out, but as soon as I put three segments together, it started. Until I completely reassembled it, it still didn’t work.
In the dining area I made a chandelier in a more loft style: metal carcass, tree, metal grid, linen burlap. The chandelier was hung on a metal cable with the ability to adjust the height. I installed four regular LED bulbs in it. I haven’t even seen such chandeliers for sale, so it’s difficult to say how much it might cost. The components cost about $17.
WITH outside The walls of the house are lined with wood, and most of the main facade is made of glass. This vertical window illuminates the tall, double-height living room. The mezzanine, dividing the house into two floors, is hidden in the depths; above it there is a master bedroom, and below the ceiling there is another bedroom and a bathroom.
The entire space is organized around wooden columns - and a steel frame that serves as support for the attic floor. Black and white vertical lines fly up to wooden ceiling, which is also painted white. The purity of color only emphasizes the height of the living room and allows you to play with solemnity. For example, a chandelier with pendants descends from under the white arches and emphasizes the symmetry of the columns - just like in a castle.
The bedroom and dining room are also symmetrically arranged, and the feeling of antiquity is enhanced by the abundance of untreated wood: among the black and white surfaces, it does not look heavy, but only makes the interior warmer. However, the house also has plenty of “cold” polished steel - it is this that is responsible for the industrial aesthetics of the house; the facades are made of it kitchen appliances, dishes, lampshades in loft style.
Creative individuals always have something that could be learned if they had a little more free time. But there is one extremely important talent that you want to adopt without shelving, here and now: this is the ability to turn disadvantages into advantages. If there are shortcomings in the interior of a creative and constructive home - sloppy finishing of walls or ceilings, slight chaos in the arrangement of things, communications not properly hidden from the eyes of guests, lack of zoning, lack of proper repairs - they are not saved by camouflage, but, on the contrary, emphasize that , which the average person would consider a cause for embarrassment. Demonstrate as clearly as possible magical transformation minus interior decoration bold style is an undeniable plus loft in the interior.
Loft style in the interior: origin
The name of the loft style comes from the English loft - “attic”. Where did the idea come from to equip a home as a place that is traditionally suitable only for storing old things, but not for cozy living? The history of the avant-garde loft dates back to the 20s of the 20th century, when the current economic situation forced people to expand their “habitat.” It is believed that New Yorkers were the first to rush to use the buildings of abandoned warehouses, factories and factories for apartments. It should be noted that they managed this very successfully.
And the residents of secluded apartments who came to visit the “Carlsons” liked this innovation - and they decided to bring some of the details from what they saw to their nest. What successful trends can you borrow? to modern man from the loft style?
Harmony of antiquity and innovation
Loft allows you to expand your consciousness and combine diametrically opposed motives. He is no stranger to the variety of combinations of antiquity and innovation. A progressive telescope aimed at the sky from the window will fit very organically into the bone-deep classic finish with reflections of negligence characteristic of the “attic” style. Why not? In addition, the loft boldly draws ideas from golden antiquity: Roman columns in a decoration bordering on modernism look extremely successful.
Pristine walls
Aesthetic mosaic bit by bit
Beauty does not fall from the sky, but is created step by step. The loft also teaches this: every little thing is important. Having decided to decorate the interior in such a freedom-loving progressive style, pay attention Special attention for accessories. Mind-blowing chandeliers that look like gifts from aliens will become more relevant than ever. posters, lifebuoys as wall decoration.
...And also a favorite motorbike or bicycle that embodies complete freedom of spirit, which will certainly find a secluded corner within a non-standard loft. Leave the worries about formalities to strict classics.
Who said mirrors belong on the wall? In the loft you can relax and line up reflective surfaces in a long row right on the floor. Looks amazing! Good news for photographers and artists: an arsenal of professional accessories - a set of lenses, reflectors or an easel, forgotten by you at the scene of the muse's attack, in the atmosphere of a loft will look like decoration, and not evidence of forgetfulness or sloppiness of the creator of beauty.
Loft style in the interior: functionality above all
Everything must have and justify its purpose. Therefore, when choosing furniture in the “attic” spirit of modernity, first of all pay attention to its strength, durability and ease of care, and only then you can take a closer look at its compliance with high fashion trends.
A bathroom created from a MAERSK shipping company container at the entrance to a three-level penthouse in Kyiv, Ukraine. Design: studio 2B Group
The interior of a loft-style country house has some distinctive parameters, which should be discussed separately. This style is often called industrial by interior specialists, which is why it is characterized by simplicity of lines and a minimal amount of finishing.
The loft style in the interior of a country house presupposes the presence of unplastered walls, for example, in the room you can see concrete or brick in its original form. In addition, it is typical for a loft to leave parts of the plumbing and electrical wiring without additional decoration.
Attention! Taking into account the specifics of this interior style, it is recommended to first think through all the details of the future interior, and only after that proceed to active actions related to the implementation of the plans.
Don't know where to start creating the interior of a country house in the loft style? We invite you to carefully watch the video and read the recommendations of professional stylists specializing in this interior area.
Distinctive characteristics of the loft
The loft style in the interior of a country house is reminiscent of houses that existed during the Industrial Revolution in the USA. The most simple option creating a similar interior inside your home will use minimal decorative finishing V country cottage. Let us note the main features of this style direction:
Features of the design of a country house in the loft style
Photo finished interiors indicate that it is important to think through in advance the main details of the image created in the house. Professionals recommend immediately taking care of organizing open space, trying to use a minimum number of walls and partitions in the house, and maximizing the size of doorways.
In the free space, you can easily identify various functional areas for the kitchen, living room, relaxation and work areas.
At the planning stage of the future interior, special attention should be paid to the floor. Interesting solution In a loft, the selection of natural wood coverings is considered.
Advice! Interior designers do not recommend using natural concrete to decorate the floor, since this material is quite cold, so the inhabitants of the living space will feel very uncomfortable inside.
A great idea would be to decorate the floor surface ceramic tiles, which imitates natural concrete, as well as installation special system“warm floor” to increase comfort and coziness in the house.
Materials for finishing work
In order to make the inside of a country house, decorated as a loft, truly cozy and comfortable, professionals choose unplastered brick, glass, metal, concrete walls, natural wood.
Attention! Don't forget to follow safety precautions when choosing materials for your industrial interior.
An excellent decoration in a loft is the installation metal stairs, having strict straight forms. This interior direction does not involve the use forged elements, only straight forms are allowed. As an exception, models of stairs that have a spiral or twisted shape are considered for lofts.
Loft furniture and decor
The industrial style interior requires installation designer furniture, and industrial options decor, thanks to which a special atmosphere is created in the room. For example, steel plates with inscriptions and slogans, unusual steel objects would be appropriate here.
In this interior it is appropriate to use modern furniture having smooth surface. Among the materials that are most used in industrial style, the leading position belongs to natural wood.
Attention! Wooden items furniture should not contain a significant amount of various decorative elements.
Appliances that are installed in interior items purchased at a flea market or brought from grandma’s old attic also have a stylish look.
Professionals consider it an excellent choice for an American loft Wall lights, having unusual metal lids. They will definitely bring originality to the atmosphere created in the room.
Some unusual solution is a combination of natural and industrial materials, but at correct selection The result will definitely please you.
To complement the external image of the living room, the industrial interior design uses spacious armchairs and sofas that are upholstered in natural fabrics.
Advice! If you choose the right accessories and equipment, you can create a a real masterpiece design art.
To create an industrial style interior, furniture that has long history. A certain wear and tear emphasizes its unusualness and individuality, therefore it is welcome in the loft.
When selecting various elements furniture, you must remember that it must correspond to the size of the room being decorated in a country house.
Window decoration
Many loft interiors, photos of which are presented in magazines and on the websites of design studios, are offered without additional window decoration. This option is suitable for those country houses, which are located away from roads, therefore reliably protected from prying prying eyes.
If there is no such protection, then for decoration window openings, interior stylists suggest using Roman blinds or industrial blinds. They will not only become reliable protection from prying eyes, but will also let a sufficient amount of sunlight into the room.
For such an interior, you can select any shades of gray, or use a combination of white and black shades. For example, in the kitchen you can create harmonious image, if you purchase a black countertop and the walls are decorated with white bricks.
For the ceiling, stylists allow you to choose grey colour to get a unique atmosphere inside the room, ideally bringing the interior closer to a real American loft.
Conclusion
Currently, there are many interesting interior trends, so every owner of a country property can choose exactly the image for his property that will fully reflect his mood and emphasize his social status.
Fans of industrial design, which involves simple lines, preserving the original appearance of the ceiling and walls, try to create an industrial atmosphere in their country estates. In addition to selection color range, furniture elements, special attention during similar works you need to pay attention to a combination of rough textures with expensive and noble materials.
IN Lately There is a tendency to introduce lofts into city studio apartments. The absence of partitions allows interior stylists to create a harmonious and complete image in small studios, corresponding to a classic loft.