In the forties of the last century in the USA, which at that time were experiencing the 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 great 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 nascent 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 a person lives, it is typical for him 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. The following features should be attributed to its characteristic features:
- The simplicity of the setting.
- High ceilings.
- Minimum partitions (only a bathroom is allocated separately).
- Lack of luxury goods.
- For zoning the premises, furniture or mobile partitions are used, which should be opaque from below.
- Lack of drapery.
- Loft style wallpapers are not used.
- Maximum use of 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, having read its characteristics, will be upset. It is obvious that in a small modern apartment, which is located in a multi-storey building, these requirements cannot be fulfilled. But do not despair, for modern designers there is nothing impossible.
A one-room apartment in the loft style today can be decorated, although, in fairness, it must be said that it will be more a stylization than a pure style. 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 consider two of the most common options - a studio apartment with high ceilings, but a very small area, and the legendary Khrushchev with ceilings 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 arranging a sleeping place on the newly created second floor. To do this, you will need to equip the site, which should be put to the mark of at least 1.8 meters. Such reconstruction is possible if the ceilings in the room are not lower than three and a half meters.
An office, library, or simply organize a relaxation area with an armchair and a coffee table is usually arranged under the platform. This ceiling height allows finishing with white color (standard for a loft) or darker. You can use stylized wooden beams to decorate the ceilings in such a room. The small metal lamps installed on them will look organic.
And if the ceilings are low?
Undoubtedly, this option is more complicated for execution, since the free space, which is characteristic of this style, is limited by the size of tiny rooms and the low height of the ceilings. Therefore, redevelopment in this situation can not do.
The first step is to get rid of partitions and walls (not bearing). This creates a studio in the loft style. But you need to know that such work must necessarily be coordinated and documented in the city departments of architecture.
If you do not plan such a large-scale reconstruction, then you can limit yourself to the demolition of light partitions - built-in closets, pantries, mezzanines, which can often be seen in the hallways or tiny corridors between them and the kitchens. Such designs make the rooms even tighter and lower. Now let's look at how this or that room in the loft style might look.
Hallway
If you live in a brick house, it is better to leave the walls in their original form, but the masonry joints should be lightened a bit, thereby emphasizing the structure of the wall. In an old house, it is extremely difficult to restore the brickwork, which was plastered for many years, painted, pasted over with wallpaper. Therefore, you can use loft-style wallpapers that mimic brick or masonry.
If the walls in the hallway are concrete, then you can use rough plastering (without finishing grinding). As a rule, the entrance hall is a dark room, so you can prepare a plaster mortar from ordinary (gray) and white cements. Such a composition will slightly lighten the room.
In small-sized apartments, designers recommend painting all ceilings white, this visually raises them. First of all, it concerns a 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, a polished surface, etc., and a mirror mounted on the floor.
For lighting, the simplest pendant lights 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 include any objects hanging on the walls. An exception can only be an open shelf of a simple form.
Living room
A brick wall in the loft style is an indispensable element of this style. In the living room, at least one of them should be decorated like this. To design other walls, you can use textured plaster.
It is advisable that the floor in the small living room be wooden. You can use flooring that simulates concrete or stone. Porcelain tiles and one-color tiles fit into this style.
Window decoration
It is known that windows in industrial buildings differ from residential ones in their large sizes. In the old Khrushchev they are standard, and they can not be increased. But to increase them visually, perhaps by ordering frames with vertical imposts. It is better if the windows in the loft style are wooden, since there should not be plastic in such an interior.
Curtains are not recommended. 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 folded over the window.
We select furniture
The loft style in the interior of a small apartment is attractive to many young people in that you can use a variety of furniture in the room: both in color and in size. If you liked the large sofa "under the skin", then add one armchair, a floor lamp and a TV to it - and the room is furnished.
It is very important that the furniture does not adjoin the walls. In the loft style, this is a must. The distance to the walls should be at least thirty centimeters.
A room in the loft style should not have more than two companion colors in its interior. For example, they can be black and white, sand and brown, which are later played out in various shades. A few bright accents can only be textiles - a small mat by the sofa, decorative pillows on it.
Bedroom
To decorate the interior in the loft style, cold natural tones are used in the bedroom, and light shades prevail. The small bedroom will look more spacious due to the contrast of shades. Most commonly used:
- Gray;
- white;
- red (individual elements);
- dark brown;
- blue (accessories).
Furniture in the loft style for the bedroom is selected in accordance with some rules. Interior items should be as versatile as possible and at the same time embody the most original and daring design ideas.
The bed must certainly be made of metal. Upholstery is allowed. You can choose a completely wooden model. But in this case, the wood should not be varnished. In such a bedroom, the minimum amount of furniture is allowed:
- spacious wardrobe;
- a large bed;
- stand.
The bed is set against the wall, with elements of unfinished decoration. The rest of the furniture is placed randomly. As a rule, interior items become bright accents on the background of light walls.
Textile
Even such an ascetic style, like a loft, is not complete without textiles. True, it is limited to its minimum amount. We already said that curtains are not welcome in this case, so the textiles are presented only with a bedspread and bed linen. A carpet on the floor can also be used, but a small, saturated bright shade.
Kitchen
The main task when decorating a small kitchen in the loft style is to create the most functional room in a limited space. When the shape of the kitchen and its area are not your pride, it is necessary 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 due to the correctly selected color of the walls. For a loft-style kitchen, its maximum lighting and furniture layout is very important.
Many people think that the loft-style kitchen is dark and gloomy. But this is a fallacy. Today, designers are proving the opposite by creating kitchens in warm and bright colors. Often in the interior next to a brick wall you can see glossy white tiles and textiles in soothing colors.
But most specialists in the field of design are sure that in a small apartment the kitchen should be combined with the living room. In this case, they recommend to equip the kitchen in the most inconspicuous place and beat it unusual. So you can visually expand the space. For example, in the living room, make a wooden floor, and for the kitchen area - from tiles. Practice proves that the kitchen-living room in the loft style is the most profitable 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 modern models and rare samples. For example, an old stove can be adjacent to the latest model of a refrigerator with a built-in computer.
Bathroom, bathroom
And these rooms should be designed as simple as possible. But given their size in small apartments, it becomes clear that the owners simply can not afford any excesses.
In these rooms it is undesirable to use bright tiles with a pattern. A plain or white-black mosaic that does not have a clear pattern is more suitable for the loft style. A lot of glass and metal are welcome. The sink can be made of stainless steel. The chrome large heated towel rail perfectly complements the interior.
Plumbing, even modern, should be of simple forms. Bath - always on the 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 you to experiment, show your imagination, perhaps more than some 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 your style.