Loft style lighting

The one who says that a new style has appeared in modern design - Loft, is fundamentally wrong. One of the most interesting styles originated almost a century ago. But since then, interest in him has not been extinguished.

The reason is non-standard, informality, freedom of thoughts and feelings. Unusual space, furniture, lamps attract the eye. Today we will talk in detail about how to choose the lighting for this style.

The forties of the twentieth century. America is trying to get out of a protracted economic crisis. Many factories and plants are closed in the country. And this circumstance was used by those who could not afford to rent or buy housing.Huge factory premises, including attics, found new owners.

Tall ceilings, crossed by beams, the absence of partitions, brick walls without finishing - that's what got those who occupied these spaces. But if you belong to a creative bohemian, is there any point in looking at someone? The principle of "I live as I want" was preached by new masters of attics. This is the first feature of this style.

The second feature is a huge space that requires special lighting. And it was. Windows, sometimes in the whole wall. But in the evenings this square was required to be illuminated both from the ceiling and from the walls.

High, untreated ceilings, which no one was going to decorate, had concrete and wooden beams, pipes, air ducts. On such a ceiling you can not hang a chandelier with a diamond pendants and five horns. And so a third feature of the loft style appeared - deliberate rudeness, negligence.

But the use of atypical forms in furniture, lighting can be called the fourth feature. Well, what other style can afford to make a chandelier or a sconce of water pipes, without hiding it at all? A lot of wood, hard plastic, glass and a lot of metal.

And this is the fifth feature. In order to draw a conventional line between the kitchen and the bedroom often use different types of lighting. So, the sixth feature is zoning with the help of light.

Today there are a lot of styles in style. And at registration you can strongly depart from classical receptions. Loft Industry and the ultramodern “loft” are too different. In addition, small rooms are suitable for this style. Therefore, we delve into the topic.

Regardless of the style, lamps are:

• ceiling;
• wall mounted;

• desktop;
• floor standing;
• the street.

According to the principle of work:

• powered by mains;
• solar powered;
• battery operated;
• candles, kerosene lamps, etc.

By the area of ​​provision of light, the lighting is:

• general;
• local

By fastening method:

• on the ceiling hook (this is how chandeliers of various configurations are mounted, including attached, separately hanging wires with a light bulb, each of which is hung on a separate hook; a single suspension is also attached to the hook);
• rods for spot and track (tire) systems, as well as group suspensions or lamps with a pantograph are mounted on the mounting bar;
• Heavy structures are installed on the cross-shaped mounting plate (using solid wood, chains, spotlights).

According to the principle of the lamp:

• incandescent filament lamp (simple, cheap, but short-lived);
• halogen (well lit, inexpensive, but quickly overheat, have an individual base, emit ultraviolet radiation);

• luminescent (they serve for a long time, they economically consume electricity, they are expensive, they quickly burn out with voltage drops, they shine with a "dead" light);
• LED (great light, long serve, do not heat up, are expensive, requires a separate transformer to work).

Having decided on the type of lamp, you can buy it in a specialty store. But since the loft rooms are usually non-standard, the fixtures are often designer, in a single instance, made specifically to solve your interior design ideas.

When using the Loft Industry style, your lamps will have a lot of metal elements: pipes, chains, frame hoops, profile guides, a large number of connecting fittings.Copper, bronze, brass, aluminum parts are widely used. But where it is impossible to use metal because of its severity, use PVC pipes and fittings.

In addition, in the manufacture of fixtures used natural wood and hemp ropes. A chandelier from a wooden box in which wine or beer bottles of dark glass are inserted with light bulbs placed in them will look wonderful above the kitchen table.

It’s hard to imagine a floor lamp with a flower shade in a loft room. But, given that the style loves the brick color and the Scottish cell, then perhaps such textiles will be used for the lampshade.

Glass is permissible to use, but in straight or round geometry, without curls. Some trendy decorators suggest the use of classic chandeliers with a large number of pendants.

1. This is an atypical step for a loft, and maybe that's why it is the place to be.
2. This type of lamp needs a high ceiling.
3. We need flair: not every such chandelier can be applied to our style.

Modern art critics have 3 directions in the loft style: boho-loft (bohemian), glamorous, industrial. The color scheme used depends on the direction in which the room is designed:

• Boho loft - a combination of attic walls with furniture, lighting and accessories of the most unimaginable colors. The main thing is that they are directly related to various types of art. Therefore, no one can say what color any bohemian loft lamp will be made in.

• Glam loft easily recognizable by pastel tones. Instead of a large amount of metallic color, for example, gray-lilac can be used. It is here that chandeliers, floor lamps, ceiling lamps play a special role. They are unusual. No eclecticism. This is the main element of the decor.

• Industrial Loft Industry - the most popular and familiar. 2-3 primary colors are used. As an accent - an element of contrast color. And the lamp is very suitable for this role.

There are a lot of lighting fixtures with the name “black lamp for loft style”. This color really often have ceiling models or floor.Suspended chandelier with an artificially aged canopy often covered with white paint and patinated with bronze.

But if you need an emphasis on the lamp, then it can be red-brown, less often - green or blue. Perhaps this option will need a companion accessory: decorative pillow, picture, photo, carpet.

The most popular and unusual options:

• If the ceiling lamp is made using bus lights, they can be arranged in the form of a square, triangle, single or multiple straight line. Tires are easy to install. It is even easier to illuminate any hidden corner with the help of turning mechanisms.

• Spotlight, most likely, conditional partitions made of PVC, chipboard, drywall will be decorated. Perhaps they will be built on the contour of the picture above the bed. You can make a bookshelf with metal and wood by inserting an LED strip into the side wall.

• Often in loft apartments with high ceilings hang lighting spiders. This chandelier looks very simple, but interesting. There are several models:

1. From the central hook several wires diverge, at the end of each there is a cartridge with a light bulb. Each of the wires with slack hangs on a small separate hook. How many wires, so many hooks, located at different distances from the center. No ceiling lamps such a chandelier does not imply.
2. Imagine a metal table lamp on a long leg with a hinge in the middle. 8-15 of these lamps without a base are attached to the ceiling round plate. Lamps pointing down at different angles. Due to the hinge leg is also not straight.

• Interesting chandelier in the form of a hoophanging on hemp rope. Hoops may be several. The number of light bulbs depends on the height of the ceiling.
• Very interesting looking rhombuses, squares, rectangles, trapeziums from metal tubes. The chandelier has no glass or any other ceiling. Only the edges of the figure and the light bulb. This, of course, is not a glamorous loft.
• Floor lamps can be easy huge in height. With a professional searchlight, such a floor lamp will resemble a lighthouse or a television tower.

• Non-standard looking lamp from pipes. It can be combined with a bookshelf or hanger. There are many options, but all are made using various plumbing pipes and fittings (connecting elements).
• Floor lamp can have form of some creature. It will not be a kitty or a dog with rounded lines. But the floor lamp in the form of a robot with burning eyes can meet you in such a house.

The choice of lighting depends on the method and place of fixing the lamp, as well as on the functionality of the room. When carrying out electrical work, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• The light should cover the whole room.
• If the area is too large, zone it with different groups of lamps.
• Consider using one type of light bulb. Otherwise, when moving from one zone to another, your eyes will get tired of a sudden change of light.

• To create diffused light, the lamp should be directed to the ceiling or walls, for point lighting - to the floor, mirror or table.
• Bulbs should not blind.If you use powerful spotlights, they should be with metal curtains or directed away from the eyes.
• In the loft is allowed sagging wires, they do not seek to hide. But take care of safety: the wires should not be underfoot. Bulbs should not be too close to water.

For concrete ceilings, including sloping, use tires (track systems). It is reliable, easy, in harmony with the chosen style.

Before choosing a lamp, decide on a model:

• Loft Industry luminaires. Industrial or industrial lamps appeared first in this style. But they apply now. Often used over the kitchen and dining area, as well as in the bathroom. In the bedroom and living room require additional combination with bright elements.

• "Retro" or "vintage." You can visit the attic of older relatives and look for old lamps there that fit our style. To paint them or just wash them depends on the state of the masterpiece and on your idea. And the loft is very fond of Edison incandescent bulbs.

• On a long cord. On one option, we described above. But to make such a lamp is easy. Especially if the cord is not just black, but color. Wrap a decorative base with them or place them on the wall, ceiling on special hooks. If you want, make the original ceiling of your chandelier from glass bottles or cans.

• Designer lamps. Do not want a lamp like everyone else? Contact the designer or his store. Or make a lamp yourself. After all, for this all is!

So, it remains to find out what kind of lamps are suitable for specific rooms: kitchen, bedroom, hallway and living room. If up to this point we focused on the large room - the studio, now we are specifying the information for an ordinary apartment or house divided by partitions.

What can be used in lighting loft for the kitchen:

• Chandeliers with metal shades hanging above the table on a tubular rod. It can be one or several lamps on the same or different levels. The form may also be different.And it will look very original.
• Instead of chandeliers, you can install tires with 2-3 lights, pointing in different directions.
• Instead of ceiling lighting, use the wall in any version. And the lamps do not have to be large. The “picture” of metal elements can be intertwined with LED lights over the entire area of ​​the wall next to the table.

What is not suitable for the kitchen:

• Floor lamps.
• Table lamps with flower shade.
• Wall lamps - candelabra.

Bedroom lighting:

• Use hanging ceiling lamps on long multi-level cords. Since the bedroom is a room for relaxation, take care of the ceiling lamps. The light should not be bright.
• Wall sconces make from raw wood. So you dim the lights and emphasize your style.
• Instead of a sconce, hang a large horizontal photograph or picture, print. Along the contour, skip the LED strip.

• As a tabletop, use the Edison lamp. It will be appropriate.
• It is possible to use glass shades, but dark monochromatic glass.
• The use of floor lamps with subdued light is appropriate and permitted.

Luminaires for the hallway can hang from the ceiling, fasten to the walls, be outdoor:

• If the hallway is small, increase it visually with spots around the perimeter of the ceiling. Send some of them to the floor, another to the walls.
• Attach wall lamps with ribbed shades above the mirror, but not higher than 2 meters. Otherwise, your reflection will not please you.
• In the large hallway, place the appropriate lamp next to the loft chair. Pull the LED strips into metal mesh tubes about 2 m long. Place the tubes in a large floor vase that matches the style (no bottom). Through the base of the vase lead wire to the outlet. In the evening you will meet a futuristic picture.

For the design of the living room, designers recommend using the principle of emphasis:

• All kinds of fixtures are appropriate: ceiling, wall, floor, table.
• Applicable to all forms and devices: tires and spiders, chandeliers and single spots around the perimeter.
• If your apartment is bunk, then install the light for the lower tier into the jumper between the tiers.

• Place a reading lamp on the couch or chair. If he has the role of central lighting, place it in such a way that it does not blind the eyes.
• Instead of a floor lamp, hanging lamps with large shades on a metal long leg will look great above the sofa.
• For the living room, a great option would be to use small lamps located on the walls above the floor. Such lighting will show the size of the room and create a cozy atmosphere.
• Use multi-level lighting, you showcase your living room in all its beauty.

Separately, it should be said about street lamps in the loft style. They are used for lighting and aesthetics of the local area. Such lamps can be installed in front of the porch, along the tracks, on the gates and walls of the house, in the gazebo.

Made of cast iron, bronze, copper with the use of forging or welding, lights will be a real decoration of your site. And this is the case when you can bring electricity or use solar-powered lamps, but decorate them accordingly.

Wall lights can be decorated with springs, chains, shades. In short, there are many options.

You can find out how to make an original loft-style lamp with your own hands in the video below.