Need a comprehensive list of design & decor ideas to elevate your loft apartment? Here are 15 ridiculously good loft apartment ideas that’ll help you easily transform each area of your home!
Styling (designing & decorating) a loft is kind of a hard task to do! Especially as a beginner. There aren’t many trusted resources out there, that could help tailor your interior design preferences to this very unique, but limiting home, so it’s natural to feel lost.
If you feel like you just can’t find the right inspiration for your beloved loft, you’re in the right place! Here are 15 tried & tested loft apartment ideas for each area coming from someone who’s experienced it all personally -so they are guaranteed to make a big, positive impact!
01. Create a gallery wall
Do your empty walls bother you? It’s totally understandable: in a loft apartment, you’re blessed -or cursed, if you will- with tall walls & a huge ceiling height. If you leave them unaccessorized, your walls can evoke a feeling of distress & can even make your home feel disproportional.
However, there are plenty of ways to solve this problem. The most aesthetic, yet affordable solution is to create a gallery wall! Whether you want minimal lines, abstract paintings or modern prints, Etsy has all the pieces you’ve been searching for!
02. Accents are super important
Another negative consequence of the tall open space a loft boasts is that there are no natural focal points that draw the eyes in: the eyes wander around searching for something to focus on. And this creates the illusion of an even larger & more open space & makes your unique home lose its aesthetical value. And you definitely don’t want that!
So here comes into play one of the most important loft apartment ideas you’ll ever come across: that is, to create accents! Accents are basically small details in your home that have an accentuated role & receive most of the attention. Whether in color, pattern or material, they differ from the rest of your design.
It can be a brick wall with a gallery wall set, a statement chandelier above a richly decorated coffee table, or an armchair with intriguing pattern in a corner. The choice is yours, really!
03. Stay neutral
Neutrals & loft apartments are big friends! If you’re not sure what interior design style to develop for your loft, or simply don’t want to go overboard with decorating, you’ll definitely want to go with a neutral color palette!
White, black, shades of brown & grey complement the simple structure & clean lines of a loft, so you basically cannot go wrong with it! Include your chosen neutrals into your paint color choices, as well as flooring & furniture choices!
For your decorative elements, try to introduce a new neutral tone, or a new shade of your chosen ones! This will bring excitement into your design, while still keeping everything together!
04. Or be vibrant
Want to lend your loft a little bit of personality? This is one of those loft apartment ideas that are considered controversial, but in reality, it does much more good than harm! And that is, to use colors bravely!
Some experts advise to keep colors as neutral & clean as possible to avoid clashing tones. But if you learn to work with colors properly, you’ll be able to bring a super joyful, exciting look to life! They amplify each other, creating a pop of color in your home – & we’ve just learnt that this is a great way to create focal points & accents!
Complementary colors look especially good in loft apartments! These are colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel. Olive & pink or blue & copper red are great examples.
05. Divide your areas
Lofts have an excessively open layout. That’s exactly why you’ll want to use room dividers -organic or not- as much as you can!
Room dividers contribute to both a positive perception of space & the overall beauty of your loft design. They help create closed down areas, preserving the function of each area & structuring your home. Which is of great importance in an otherwise pretty structureless loft!
Divide your rooms organically with an area rug, a U-shaped furniture layout in your living room, or a console table behind your sofa. A not so organic way of dividing your rooms would be installing a wood slat wall, a barn door or adding a glass partition or a floor-to-ceiling bookcase!
06. Tone down edges with rounder solutions
Just like any other apartment, a loft has a linear inner architecture with square-shaped solutions. However, because of the tall ceilings, the edges look even sharper, the lines longer & the square shapes even more accentuated.
But you can easily change that for the better! Toning down that sharpness with round items & architectural solutions is one of the few loft apartment ideas that help alter the inner architecture naturally -& affordably!
So if you’ve been thinking of getting an arch or a custom round kitchen island built in, ditch that though! Rather, buy a curved sofa & pair it with a round coffee table. Get a round dining table & a set of round back dining chairs. Arched shelves & asymmetrical round mirrors are also a great way to include some softer lines into you design. And also make sure that your decorative items are only rarely square-shaped!
07. Don’t forget about your kitchen
Many people forget to match the “vibes” of their kitchen to the rest of their design. Well, don’t be that person! There’s nothing more distressing than a kitchen that looks out of place -especially in a loft apartment!
See, once again, the openness of a loft has its downsides: inconsistency in design can easily be spotted due to the lack of walls or room dividers. So put great effort into including all materials, colors & textures that you’ve been working with into your loft apartment kitchen as well! Match that backsplash to your accent wall, go with a countertop that’s the same material as your coffee table & work with the same color palette as well!
08. Be consistent with materials
We’ve briefly mentioned the importance of consistency in design in the previous section, but there is so much more to it! However, being especially consistent with materials is one of the most crucial, yet underrated loft apartment ideas ever!
Materials hold the biggest power when it comes to a cohesive, harmonious design. Rattan & wood can be used to achieve an airy, natural design perfect for a contemporary look. Wood & metals create a strong atmosphere that’s so loved by industrial styles. Concrete & rattan bring that coastal feel into your design. But only if you introduce all used materials into each area of your space!
So be bold & use the materials of your choice, but keep this simple tip in mind when doing so!
09. Develop a cool color palette
If you want to emphasize the open layout of your loft, definitely consider developing a cool color palette -that is, shades of blue, green or purple!
Cool hues -as opposed to warmer tones- don’t try to narrow down your space. They embrace all that openness & large ceiling height, creating a spacious, airy design.
So if the inner architecture is the thing you love the most about your loft, you’ll be more than happy to use a cool color palette!
10. Or create a welcoming ambience with warm hues
Of course, not everyone fancies a rigid look in their home. And that’s understandable! If you’re more into creating a warm, welcoming ambience in your home that evokes feelings of relaxation & peace, here’s one of the most useful loft apartment ideas for you: use a warm color palette!
This one is the direct opposite of the previous section. But because of the simple structure of a loft, anything is possible! You can easily use shades of brown, orange or pink -paired with neutrals with warm undertones- to achieve a super cozy loft design!
11. Use vertical space to keep things proportional
Not only for storage purposes, but out of aesthetical considerations as well should all that vertical space be utilized!
Of course, since oftentimes the floor space is scarce or inconvenient for regular storage solutions, it seems rational to go vertical with storage: get a bookshelf, install a wall of floating shelves & use tiered shelves to store all your items. If you need more loft apartment storage ideas, check out this post where you’ll learn 14 of them!
But did you know, that going vertical also helps keep your space looking proportional? That’s thanks to -once again- the open layout & tall walls. If you leave them empty, they squeze your space together like crazy! That’s why going vertical with decor as well will help your scale & ratios looking right! So get a taller mirror, a vertical painting or design a nice gallery wall & watch your space become its most aesthetically pleasing version!
12. Glass solves everything
Glass will always be your best friend in a loft! Whether in the shape of a mirror, a room divider or a coffee table, incorporating as many glass items as you can is one of the greatest loft apartment ideas you’ll ever come across!
With their reflective properties, anything that’s made of glass amplifies your loft design. Not only can they brighten up whole areas, but they are also great accents! They accentuate certain parts of your home without you having to invest in statement pieces, & that’s a huge advantage!
Put it opposite of a focal point, where the roles of important statement items can be elevated even more! Most of the times, your living area will be a natural focal point if you add a statement chandelier & decorate your coffee table properly, so you’ll be good if you place your mirror above or behind your sofa!
13. Create a strong focal point
You already know everything you need to tailor your decor specifically for your loft! So it shouldn’t be a surprise, that you’ll need to develop a strong focal point somewhere! And which area would be more naturally suited for this purpose, than your loft living room?
So go ahead & get create your living area how you otherwise would: get a sofa that’s easy to style (can be a different material), a patterned or colorful area rug & an accent armchair or chaise lounge.
But this is where you’ll take it all to the next level: incorporate asymmetrical, both round & rectangular items, a statement chandelier or light fixture, as well as funky furniture & decor into your living area! The stress is on shape & texture and NOT color! Weirdly shaped items will add to your design & create an eventful composition, while new colors will just throw off the harmony!
14. Plants provide an energizing atmosphere
Ever felt like something’s missing? Getting a bunch of plants & flowers is one of the easiest, yet most impactful loft apartment ideas out there, that’ll help solve this problem!
Loft apartments generally have a very rigid atmosphere. It’s thanks to both the tall ceiling height, and the open layout. When you have such an extensive space to work with, your design becomes cold & uninviting. Here’s the greatest remedy for that: get a bunch of plants!
Not only are they some serious eye-candy, but they also provide a joyful, energizing atmosphere for your home! And you can easily incorporate them into your design with woven planter baskets, ceramic pots, stoneware or ceramic vases! Bye bye rigidness, hello warm ambience!
15. Exposed structural items add personality
If you’ve ever seen an authentic loft, you know that their exposed beams & pipes play a huge role in their design. Let’s be traditional & bring back that open structure into your own home!
Exposed beams & pipes lend your loft so much personality! Not to mention how they create such a unique, structured look that’s exciting to look at! So if you’re into industrial interiors, definitely act on this advice!
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