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Loft. Industrial chic

A striking example, when the forced necessity becomes an element of luxury living - loft- style is the current trend in our country and has celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in the United States. But poor artist do not live here anymore. Loft is a housing status; it can be afforded only by very wealthy people of metropolis. Today loft is housing status, which for various reasons can be afforded by very wealthy residents of the metropolisonly. Owner of the loft is a successful man of extravagant taste, keeping up with the times. For him the house is a castle and a haven of peace and space for self-expression, and the best place for large receptions and noisy parties. It all started quite prosaically. In the factory district of Manhattan in the forties of the last century, land prices began to rise - the historic core of New York. Industrial enterprises began to withdraw to the outskirts - a familiar situation." What to do with abandoned manufactories?", thought the practical Americans. Walls, doors, ceiling and even windows. Why not living there?

This offer seemed tempting to artists. They willingly took the vacated shop attracted by both functional housing characteristics (high ceilings, good lighting) and low compared to conventional apartments, rental rates. So now poor artists became the first inhabitants of lofts, rebellious souls with the wish not to obey well-established standards and norms of the society, who lived in ordinary apartments or houses with a garbage disposal. Loft word means "attic" in the United States and so is also called the upper floor, intended for industrial purposes. The artists lived, worked and demonstrated their creations in the "attic". By the fifties lofts became the height of fashion, here became artistic life in New York. Some "lofts" have become popular, now it became the height of fashion.

The most glaring example - "factory" of the founder of pop art Andy Warhol on East 47th Street in Manhattan. Bohemian life has always attracted successful businessmen. No sooner had the poor artists blinked, as business people of the regulars fashion exhibitions and parties in the “attic” turned into lofts owners.

Soon, the original housing finally got the elite status, and soon successful lawyers and financiers occupiedthe place of artists. Loft spread across the cities of Europe, and finally came to Russia. Eyes on the factory Heating, lighting and cleaning of such a space requires significant financial costs. Interesting, first simple laborers worked here, then the poor artists worked, and now this factories became an expensive living for the elite. Loft is a spacious living room, not hiding their industrial past. "Spacious" is a loose concept, but an average of about two hundred square meters, with a six-meter ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. It is clear that the heating, lighting and cleaning of such a space requires significant financial cost, besides not many shops in Moscow can be populated. But the bizarre and difficult is always attractive. The problem was solved very simply, ordinary interiors of houses and apartments are styled under the loft today.

The last thing is to understand the basic features of the fashionable style. It is worth to remember that alignment is always going to the factory or the factory floor. This means that room must be as spacious as possible, that is the maximum. And no partition walls, isolated rooms except bathrooms are available. The panorama of the whole apartment can be seen from the entrance. Only a small part of a bedroom is separated by partitions of glass blocks. In many of these lofts bedroom suites are not fenced but situated on a level above of the rest of the room. Loft also differs in the fact that it allows a person to move along the walls. Everything in the house fills the space, and is not "glued" to the walls and "shoved" to the corners. You can make a small exception for one wall and close it safely with bookcases and comfortable overhead shelves for decorative items. Shelves must be always open. Number of cabinets and other furniture is minimized. Large windows and urban landscape behind them are also desirable. And in any case, no frilly curtains, only blinds or horizontal rolls. If you really want to hang curtains, you should choose a model with large graphic and photographic prints. Since loft does not hide its industrial past, but is rather proud of it, the interior must present specific and factory signs: old (often artificial) brickwork, pipes, exposed metal beams, large glazed surfaces, untreated wood or cracked concrete floor. If the space allows, construction lightings or special event spotlights lights that move across the ceiling on the tires are typically used. To heighten the effect, instead of everyday clothes hangers, you can use the frame on wheels - as in the store. Iron stairs instead of the towel holder is quite a good option in the kitchen. The main thing is not to overload the interior with details. By the way there is no the kitchen as such in the loft. There is a small kitchen area, separated by a breakfast bar with coffee cups and glasses of wine, which is usually located near the entrance. Owner of a loft rarely eats at home, so the whole set of kitchen appliances consists of a compact area with a super modern technologies, chrome sink, several cabinets, hinged open shelves, which contains a few metal plates. The main thing in the loft kitchen is a refrigerator painted in an unexpected color. Generally loft-style is the mix of rarities from different eras on a background of modern interior design and technical innovations. Boarder between old and new - another sign of loft-style. Original things from the past and the most complex of the present brutally enliven the interior, and at the same time give an advantageous look of the brick wall on the background. Party-Zone of Loft Apartments is primarily designed for large and permanent guests. You can add liveliness to the interior using color. Juicy color (i.e., red or indigo) drew attention to the large and open spaces. It is important not to overdo, just one shade and not more than 25% of the surface of the walls in the same room. You can add a few accessories of the same color, say, a pillow or a vase, which will give a slight sense of integrity. "Lost" need glaring effects so it won’t seem empty and dull.

Austere interior is often compensated by expressive and expensive things, mostly natural materials. For example, the furniture can be made of pretty rare tulip tree with a beautiful texture. The floor in the kitchen and dining area is layed with "antique" tiles of natural stone. Large space of ascetic walls is well suited for the collection of paintings – even first loft owners noticed it. And today lofts are often styled as a gallery, it is clear that pieces of modern art will especially look well here.

Do not forget that loft is also a place for parties, even more loft-style apartments are primarily designed for large and regular guests, and then to the owner himself. Therefore distinguishing feature of the loft-style interior is a huge number of "landing" sites. Armchairs-sized sofa, sofas of gigantic proportions, plus all sorts of chairs and ottomans, placed throughout the room, covered with worn leather, suede or cashmere. You need something to entertain the guests, an exorbitant sized flat screen TVs and powerful music center doesn’t means less than the rest of the interior accessories.