Fashionable style loft today has a huge number of fans. True, far from any home can be fully equipped in this style, but with a great desire, you can always arrange a small balcony in the spirit of a modern loft.
Characteristic features of the direction
Distinctive features of this style are the apparent coldness of the decor and the lack of comfort familiar to the modern average man. Catchy urban chic, grunge features, almost punk style, subtle elements of modernity - this is what a balcony will look like if you still decide to equip it in such a fashionable direction as a loft.
The term “loft” can be translated as “attic”. The beginning of this style was laid during the years of the American Great Depression, when many large enterprises were closed due to bankruptcy, and their owners began to lease out industrial premises in parts for a long lease to equip a place to live.
Particularly popular apartments of this kind have become wealthy, but very creative people, such as artists, students, writers. An unusually designed interior quickly became popular, and the loft as an architectural idea was very popular among novice designers.
The design of the balcony when decorating it in the loft style has special typical characteristics:
- blurry style - here you can notice a mixture of different architectural directions, which combine well with each other;
- there are no piles of furniture, the space looks voluminous;
- the materials used are not polished, not processed, not painted, furniture and decoration are present in their most simplified form;
- this style gives new life to things from the grandmother's chest, and better from the grandfather's workbench;
- all communications pass outside, since a historical loft simply needs a large number of pipes and wires, which are demonstratively visible indoors;
- there is a lot of metal, rough, rough stone, natural wood or concrete;
- a distinctive feature is a lot of light, this effect is obtained due to the height of the ceiling and the presence of panoramic windows;
- clear, strict lines in the existing finish are welcome;
- complete order in space due to the minimum number of details in the interior;
- almost complete imitation of a small attic space - lack of retouching, the presence of severe negligence;
- often there is a combination of two spaces - the union of the loggia with the room adjacent to it into a single area;
- the absence of elements of additional decor on the walls, on the floor and the ceiling, there is immediately noticeable lack of curtains and sophistication in the design of the home.
If you have long dreamed of equipping your loggia or balcony in an industrial loft style, but you are afraid that the new interior will turn out to be too rude or gloomy, you can always apply modern ideas, with the help of which the appearance of the room is quickly smoothed out and you can get a compromise in the perception of the new style.
General design guidelines
The loft allows for certain liberties - the walls now should not only be dark or gloomy, these days when designing this interior, a stylish imitation of a brick with very light colors is chosen or 2-color plaster can be used.
It is no longer necessary to use old inverted barrels instead of tables, instead of elegant decor - thick iron chains or reinforcement visible from all angles.
Today, the loft style can be defined as a universally recognized symbol of creative freedom and volumetric space, but this does not mean at all that it should be chosen when decorating only huge balconies or loggias. And the not very large space of the balcony can be turned into a small but cozy area for family or individual relaxation.
Finish options
To determine how to correctly apply this style on your balcony, you will have to learn more about how all its surfaces should actually look and what kind of accessories should be selected for its decoration. As materials for the full use of the loft style, it is best to choose antique brick or strong concrete, panels of various metals or raw wood, clear glass or leather, various types of plastic.
Walls
The walls are often painted in cool colors, for this they use white or gray colors with a matte effect and with high-quality imitation of concrete. Another solution is to use a real brickwork of red or white brick colors, you can also plausibly imitate it. Part of the wall can even be made of opaque glass blocks, because they are also considered typical decoration elements in a modern industrial style.
When arranging lodges and balconies in the loft style, you can stop the choice in rich bright colors, which will help to create a nice combination with the furniture used. You can paint one of the walls of the balcony or part of it in a catchy unusual color. This kind of effect will help to dilute the boring design.
The windows on such a balcony need to be made large enough. Often panoramic windows are inserted here. The aesthetics of style makes the townsfolk opt for stylish frames made of brown, dark cherry or even black wood. You can replace the frames with modern double-glazed windows with an imitation of a wooden pattern.Panoramic windows are perfectly complemented by spros - these are strips of a decorative look that are fixed directly on the glass and divide it into parts of various shapes.
Floor
Floors are done from ordinary dense concrete or rough gray sheets of plywood. Instead of plywood sheets, you can use old, but unpainted and roughly trimmed boards or other materials with subtle imitation of wood. On the floor will also look great a small bright colored rug with a pile of any length. You can also apply here. ceramic tiles that have the effect of scuffing.
Ceiling
Most often, loft-style ceilings are made of roughly processed boards or may look like a gray concrete slab. Modern balcony rooms are often trimmed with plastic panels.
Choice of furniture and accessories
Furniture for a balcony room you do not need very much. And the parameters of modern balconies will obviously not allow you to install anything other than a small table and 1-2 places for relaxation - for example, a sofa and high chair.
The selected furniture should attract all its attention with its catchy color or creative appearance in order to distract the eye from the flaunting rough decoration of the balcony surfaces.
The furniture must be kept in strict forms, no more than 2-3 contrasting colors are allowed during its design. It may be modern or outdated. Antiques and forged furniture, as well as natural wood furniture with real dark scuffs, will look great here.
In large rooms of suburban mansions, to highlight the loft style, huge brick fireplaces or open stoves are often arranged, which were previously used to heat industrial premises. The usual color that is used for the loft style is a combination of white paint with gray, black or even chocolate with beige to emphasize the accent, using bright red and blue paint.
The main materials for the loft industrial style: concrete, wood, neat masonry made of silicate brick, large glass in the windows, different sized pipes and chains to enhance the decor.
It is worth knowing that designers distinguish 3 areas in the loft: bohemian (boho-loft), glamor loft and industrial loft. The first 2 are quite difficult to do it yourself without the help of experienced designers, independent arrangement in the industrial style is available to almost any layman, subject to a number of fundamental principles.
The loggia is often decorated with a completely unexpected decor: plywood boxes, old water pipes that no longer work. Of these, you can make completely working items - the original shelf for books or a bulky stand for the lamp. Some of the characteristic details can be arranged under the ceiling, thereby saving a lot of space.
Of particular importance in the loft style is textile products. Here it should not be too much, as it serves as a kind of connecting part between the rude elements that are inherent in industrial decor and those things that are needed to equip living rooms.
Textiles should have bright colors, thereby strikingly standing out in the general interior. It is used for bedspreads and pillows.
For design, colors such as catchy blue, juicy purple, joyful orange, cheerful green, sunny yellow. Striped fabrics can be used, bedspreads and sofa cushions can be made using the popular patchwork technique. If the fabric has a pattern or pattern, then it should be very large and clear to dilute the boring interior.
Instead of the usual curtains, you can choose the Roman version, the most suitable fabric in this case is linen or cotton with a snow-white, beige or delicate cream tone. When choosing a loft style, you can not use heavy curtains or light tulle. Instead, it is better to purchase blinds so that the new interior acquires a more simplified and concise look.
Also, an integral part of this style will be diverse accessories, which can rarely be found in other styles - these are different signs, posters and posters, all kinds of road signs, flags of different countries and other details that are more familiar to the eyes of residents of megacities. If paintings are used in the design, then abstraction or modern graffiti will be their quality.
Modern lights used in the loft style should ideally combine with coarse lamps that are made of metal and placed on the walls or ceiling.
Metal ceiling fixtures are often mounted roughly on the ceiling or special tires are laid in which the plinths move and can change the direction of light - this will help create an acceptable mood. This factor is extremely important in cases where the balcony is in demand at different times of the day, no matter what quality it is - for work or for relaxation.
Good examples
Very popular options for decoration under the loft, in which the interior adapts to today's reality. There may be wall decoration for multi-colored brickwork, an interesting lamp that resembles an old lamp and other disparate elements.
The traditional loft style on the balcony is also in demand, while the existing brick walls are not subject to change. Glazing is carried out in a panoramic view, the floor and the bar counter are covered with modern materials that imitate natural wood.
The balcony, which is furnished in the loft style, is a real sip of freedom, in many cases it allows you to emphasize the lifestyle of a truly creative person. Volumetric space, minuscule furniture, creative decor elements - this atmosphere will suit both a young family and a bachelor with a creative type of thinking.
Look at the beauty of the design of balconies and loggias in the loft style in the next video.