Loft Interior Decorating: Creating Zones

A loft interior presents unique decorating challenges. Because you must use the entire open space for several different purposes, you must appropriately divide and decorate the large space so that it easily flows, is comfortable and provides privacy where needed.

Review the Room and Its Uses

Survey the loft, making notes of its overall size and any natural divisions it might possess. Do the walls push in or out in any particular place or are there windows that signify a specific room? If so, you might be able to use these natural divisions as invisible lines to separate the space into two rooms. The beginning of carpet, a countertop or a support pole may also provide such a separation.

Typically, architects subtly designate the uses for particular areas in your loft, but you may not need to follow their guidelines depending on your furniture and needs. Additionally, the kitchen and bathroom will be clearly separated, but if they are not, you will need to include some barriers for privacy for the bathroom at least.

At this time, make note of whether certain furniture must be placed in specific areas. For instance, if your bed will only fit in one space of the loft or must be near the bathroom, you must work around the bed. Facts such as these may affect placement of other furniture.

Finally, think about what you need to do with the space. Your requirements for strictly living in the space are different than if you need to also work from the loft. Because of its openness, what you need to put in the space for its utilization should be functional and flow easily with the other furniture.

Place Big Furniture First

A loft is meant to be open but that does not mean that you can or should not create natural divisions between its different uses. The best way to do this is to start with larger pieces having straight lines, such as a sofa, dining room table or buffet. Because these pieces are often the focal point of their respective rooms, they will create the feeling that the space is intended to be for the use provided by the furniture, which will in turn create the sensation of the area being separated.

The reason why it is important to start with the pieces of furniture with straight lines is that, in addition to creating a feeling for the space, they may also create a specific dividing line. The straight back of a sofa, for instance, can create a literal line between living and dining spaces.

Divide and Unite

The difficulty in decorating a loft is that you are trying to create a unified space with different purposes but which still feels open. When arranging your furniture it is important to create illusory and not literal divisions. However, this does not remove the need for a few pieces that will create divisions. At times, a screen or other semi-opaque barrier will provided the needed privacy for a bedroom or desk in a completely open floor plan.

Blend and Match Color and Decor

A loft flows together seamlessly. Because of this, extremely visible disparities in paint color or décor themes will stand out and will make the room choppy. While you can use different colors to indicate different spaces, keep them within the same theme. Drawing a line down a wall to start a new color will look terrible and unnatural. It is best to use one, neutral paint color throughout the space. You can still use color in artwork and other décor to gracefully separate the rooms.

Because they commonly need to be used for multiple purposes, a loft poses several decorating challenges. Remember that while color can be used to indicate separation, it should not be the main indication of such as it will seem glaring and abnormal. Use the natural lines in your furniture and the walls as guidelines for arranging the room. Most importantly, though, decorate to maintain the feel of the loft as that is most likely what drew you to the space in the first place.