Loft style lamps

Anyone 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 faded away.

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 lighting for this style.

Forties of the twentieth century. America is trying to get out of a protracted economic crisis. Many factories and plants have been closed in the country. And this circumstance was taken advantage of 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 - this is what those who occupied these spaces received. But if you belong to a creative bohemian, is there any point in looking back at someone? The principle “I live as I want” was preached by the new owners of the 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 the whole wall. But in the evenings this area had 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. You can't hang a chandelier chandelier with diamond pendants and five arms on such a ceiling. This is how the third feature of the loft style appeared - deliberate rudeness and 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 sconce from water pipes, without hiding it at all? Lots of wood, hard plastic, glass, and a lot of metal.

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

There are a lot of trends in style today. And when you design, you can strongly deviate from the classic techniques. Loft Industry and the ultra-modern "loft" are too different. In addition, small rooms are suitable for this style. Therefore, we delve deeper into the topic.

Regardless of the style, lamps are:

• ceiling;
• wall-mounted;

• desktop;
• floor;
• street.

By the principle of work:

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

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

• general;
• local.

By mounting method:

• on the ceiling hook (this is how chandeliers of various configurations are attached, including hinged, 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 spots and track (bus) systems, as well as group suspensions or lamps with a pantograph are attached to the mounting plate;
• heavy structures are installed on the cross-shaped mounting plate (using solid wood, chains, floodlights).

By the principle of the lamp:

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

• luminescent (they serve for a long time, consume electricity sparingly, are expensive, burn out quickly during voltage drops, shine with "dead" light);
• LED (they illuminate remarkably, serve for a long time, do not heat up, are expensive, a separate transformer is required for operation).

Having decided on the type of lamp, you can buy it in a specialized store. But since loft rooms, as a rule, are non-standard, then lamps are often designer, in a single copy, made specifically in order to solve your interior ideas.

When using the Loft Industry style, your luminaires will have a lot of metal elements: pipes, chains, frame hoops, profile rails, a large number of connecting fittings. Copper, bronze, brass, aluminum parts are widely used. But where metal cannot be used due to its weight, use PVC pipes and fittings.

In addition, natural wood and hemp ropes are used in the manufacture of lamps. Above the kitchen table, a chandelier made of a wooden box will look great, into which dark glass wine or beer bottles with light bulbs brought into them are inserted.

It is difficult to imagine a floor lamp with a floral lampshade in a loft room. But, given that the style loves brick color and tartan, then perhaps such textiles will be used for the lampshade.

Glass is acceptable to use, but in straight or round geometry, without curls. Some trendy decorators suggest using classic chandeliers with lots of pendants.

1. This is an atypical step for a loft, and maybe that's why it takes place.
2. This type of luminaire requires a high ceiling.
3. You need a flair: not every 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 decorated:

• Boho loft Is 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, perhaps no one will be able to say in what color any lamp of a bohemian loft will be made.

• Glamorous loft easily recognizable by pastel colors. Instead of a large amount of metallic color, for example, gray-lilac can be used. It is here that chandeliers, floor lamps, and shades 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 in a contrasting color. And the lamp is very suitable for this role.

There are many lighting fixtures commercially available with the name "black loft style lamp". Ceiling or floor models really often have this color. A pendant chandelier with an artificially aged shade is often covered with white paint and patinated with bronze.

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

The most popular and unusual options:

• If the ceiling light is made with bus lights, then they can be arranged in the form of a square, triangle, single or multiple straight line. The tires are easy to install. It is even easier to illuminate any hidden corner with them due to the rotary mechanisms.

• In spots, most likely, conditional partitions made of PVC, chipboard, drywall will be decorated. Perhaps they will be embedded along the contour of the picture above the sleeping place. You can make a bookshelf out of metal and wood by integrating an LED strip into the sidewall.

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

1. Several wires diverge from the central hook, at the end of each there is a socket with a light bulb. Each of the slack wires is hung on a small separate hook. How many wires, so many hooks located at different distances from the center. Such a chandelier does not imply any shades.
2. Imagine a long-stemmed metal desk lamp with a hinge in the middle. 8-15 of these lamps without a base are attached to the ceiling round strip. The plafonds are directed downward at different angles. Due to the hinge, the leg is also not straight.

• Interesting chandelier in the form of a hoophanging on a hemp rope. There can be several hoops. The number of bulbs depends on the height of the ceiling.
• Extraordinarily interesting looking rhombuses, squares, rectangles, trapezoids from metal tubes. The chandelier has neither glass nor other shade. Just the edges of the figure and the light bulb. This is certainly not a glamorous loft.
• Floor lamps can be just huge in height... With a professional spotlight, such a floor lamp will resemble a lighthouse or TV tower in shape.

• The lamp looks completely out of the box from pipes... It can be combined with a bookshelf or coat rack. There are many options, but all are made using various plumbing pipes and fittings (connecting elements).
• The floor lamp can have the form of some creature... It will not be a kitty or a dog with rounded lines. But a floor lamp in the form of a robot with burning eyes can be found in such a house.

The choice of lighting depends on the method and place of fixing the luminaire, 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 entire room.
• If the area is too large, zone it with different groups of luminaires.
• Consider using the same type of bulbs. Otherwise, when moving from one zone to another, your eyes will get tired of the sudden change of light.

• To create diffused light, the lamp should be aimed at the ceiling or walls, for spot lighting - at the floor, mirror or table.
• Light bulbs should not dazzle. If you use powerful floodlights, then they should be with metal curtains or directed away from the eyes.
• In the loft, sagging of the wires is allowed, they do not seek to hide them. But take care of safety: the wires should not get tangled under your feet. Light bulbs should not be placed too close to water.

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

Before choosing a luminaire, decide on the model:

• Loft Industry luminaires. Industrial or industrial lamps were the first to appear in this style. But they are still being applied. Most often used above the kitchen and dining area, as well as in the bathroom. 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. Whether 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's incandescent lamps.

• On a long cord. We talked about one option above. But making such a lamp is as easy as shelling pears. Especially if the cord is not just black, but colored. Wrap a decorative base with it or place it along the wall, ceiling on special hooks. If you want, make original shades for your chandelier out of glass bottles or jars.

• Designer lamps. Do you want a lamp like everyone else? Check with the designer or their store. Or make a lamp yourself. After all, there is everything for this!

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

What can be used in loft lighting for the kitchen:

• Chandeliers with metal shades hanging over the table on a tubular rod. It can be one or more lamps at the same or different levels. The shape can also be different. And it will look very original.
• Instead of chandeliers, you can install rails with 2-3 lamps directed in different directions.
• Instead of ceiling lighting, use any kind of wall light. Moreover, the lamps do not have to be large. A "picture" made of metal elements can be intertwined with LED bulbs all over the wall next to the table.

What is not suitable for the kitchen:

• Floor lamps.
• Table lamps with a floral shade.
• Wall lamps - candelabra.

Lighting for the bedroom:

• Use pendant ceiling lamps on long, tiered cords. Since the bedroom is a living room, take care of the shades. The light shouldn't be bright.
• Make a wall sconce from untreated wood. This will dim the lights and accentuate your style.
• Instead of a sconce, hang a large horizontal photograph or painting or print. Pass the LED strip along the contour.

• Use an Edison lamp as a tabletop. It will be appropriate.
• It is possible to use glass shades, but dark solid-colored glass.
• The use of dimmed floor lamps is appropriate and allowed.

Lamps for the hallway can hang from the ceiling, be attached to the walls, be floor-standing:

• If the hallway is small, enlarge it visually with the help of spots along the entire perimeter of the ceiling. Direct some of them to the floor, the other part 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 a large hallway, place an 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). Lead the wire through the base of the vase to the outlet. In the evening you will be greeted by a futuristic picture.

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

• All types of lamps are appropriate: ceiling, wall, floor, table.
• Any shapes and devices are applicable: tires and spiders, chandeliers and single spots around the perimeter.
• If your apartment is bunk, then mount the light for the lower tier in the lintel between the tiers.

• Place the reading lamp by the couch or armchair. If it has the role of central lighting, place it in such a way that it does not blind your eyes.
• Instead of a floor lamp, hanging lamps with large shades on a metal long leg will look great over the sofa.
• For a living room, an excellent 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 to showcase your living room in all its beauty.

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

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

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

You can learn how to make an original loft-style lamp with your own hands from the video below.