So, in this article we will tell you how to create a loft kitchen with your own hands for our small apartments . Although most loft-style design projects are created in spacious apartments or studios. Of course, this is not a rule, but rather a result of the past from which it originated. Yes, from New York's abandoned factories and industrial buildings of the 20s.
But this does not mean that a kitchen in this style cannot be implemented on 6, 8 or 12 squares . For a loft to appear in your kitchen, you just need to follow a few simple rules. We’ll talk about what these rules are and how to create a brutal kitchen based on them in this article!
Why DIY Loft kitchen?
Let us first remind you that we create the loft with our own hands and there are reasons for this:
Firstly, most kitchen companies do not do turnkey interiors for the entire room.
Basically, such offices specialize only in design projects for kitchen units. Therefore, you will have to look for a design studio or a quality designer who understands this style. Our torment does not end here!
Secondly not every master to install this style ... The area is small and not everyone has the desire to lay electrical wiring and technological communications openly. For these trivial reasons, we will most likely have to make the loft ourselves. But that’s what we wanted?!
Why is Loft style kitchen design so popular!
Now let’s figure out why the loft attracts such a large audience? Is it only thanks to the legendary brick? Let's describe this style in broad strokes, but it should be understood that the main task of the loft is to convey realism and naturalness. So, how is this achieved:
- various variations of wall and ceiling decoration: rough broken brick, unfinished gray concrete, or vice versa - solid neat brick and bluish cement walls and ceiling. Overhanging wooden floor beams.
- the right light: minimalistic but stylish lamps. Often, these are track systems in a modern loft variation and incandescent lamps hanging on wires in the classic version. It is the play of light that makes a loft a loft.
- openly laid communications: wiring, sockets, steel air ducts protruding from the walls, ducts, hoods and heating pipes, as well as radiators.
- vintage furniture, cutlery and storage equipment. Some commercial companies have specifically set up separate production of lines of vintage electrical appliances.
Everything described above will help to comply with this brutal design and a do-it-yourself loft kitchen will appear in our apartment.
Lighting
The industrial interior is characterized by simple lighting in the form of single pendant lamps or a group of light bulbs without shades. Metal chandeliers, steel table lamps, spotlights or LED spotlights can provide the necessary brightness in the kitchen.
The photo shows the kitchen interior, complemented by black ceiling lights on pendants.
To organize lighting in a loft style, it is possible to install ordinary sconces without shades, painted in white, black or metallic shade. In addition to the main light sources, spectacular pendants or accessories are selected.
The photo shows hanging light bulbs above the bar counter, creating a bright accent in the white kitchen.
Now a little about color
In the loft there are no smooth transitions of color or a soft combination of materials used. Oak facades are set into gray concrete panels, and steel hoods are set into textured red-brown brick. The stone countertop absorbs steel, wood and white plastic. Bright colors are rarely used in this design, but you can play around with it.
Of course, all this button accordion is difficult to imagine in a 12-meter kitchenette. But you will see one or another loft element in completed projects. Let's move on now to the examples. And we begin to select what we want for ourselves... And also, these examples will add to your faith that you can experiment without being afraid of how it will actually look. Go for it..!
Loft is most often found in 2 variants : modern minimalist combined with modern, a sort of mix. And classic, which we already habitually distinguish with an abundance of brickwork and rare furniture.
In our style, there are often no . They are being replaced with open shelves. In modern designs, cabinets are made to reach the entire height of the ceiling .
Style elements
Let's look at a couple more non-obvious points.
Apron for loft kitchen
There are 3 adequate options for an apron and they can all be used in a loft-style kitchen: tiles, glass, countertop material. I analyzed the pros and cons of each in the material about an apron for the kitchen.
The tiles are suitable for concrete, stone and metal (I don’t recommend wood for an apron).
Glass skinal without photo printing (with a plain background).
As a more budget-friendly option for a wood-look chipboard tabletop, use an apron made of the same material.
Please note that neither concrete, nor decorative plaster, nor decorative stone, nor brickwork are suitable for an apron in the work area. The first 2 can be protected with glass, the rest simply should not be used.
Brick wall
The toughest version of the loft style for the kitchen is red brickwork. It is difficult to fit red brick into the interior. Imitating it with decorative stone is almost always a bad idea.
If the original brick walls are in good condition and you want to leave them, you can, but the whole design must continue to be built from this, and this is not easy. Even so, it's easier to prime them and paint them casually in any shade from white to black.
If it is an old brick and there is a need for any restoration (sanding, strengthening), then know that it is usually cheaper to plaster and decorate it.
White brick for a loft-style kitchen in an apartment fits better and is easier to fit into. You can already imitate it with decorative stone or gypsum plaster. It is advisable to highlight it.
DIY Loft kitchen lamps
Give a particularly important place to lamps and their design. There are many options, but there is a common component - the classics will not work. For this style, handmade or track systems are selected. And if you find industrial “scoop” lamps and slightly modify their decor, it will be cheaper and more unique.
Apron
A work area in the kitchen made of decorative bricks is not quite the right solution. Despite all its beauty, this solution will cause many problems when cleaning. Therefore, it is better to make the apron of the cooking and washing areas from tiles, which are easy to clean.
What kitchen furniture and appliances are suitable?
A competent selection of furniture and appliances will give the kitchen style individuality and the atmosphere exclusivity.
Dinner Zone
The kitchen table most often has a rectangular and elongated shape. Complement with folding stools or wrought iron chairs without armrests. Designer seats covered in leather are appropriate, as are simple plastic models with chrome legs.
The photo shows a dining area with a leather sofa decorating the spacious kitchen-dining room.
Both antique and modern products look equally good as a sofa and armchairs in a loft. The upholstery of kitchen furniture is made from practical materials, such as thick fabric or leather with an aged effect.
The photo shows a loft style in the kitchen with a bar counter made of untreated boards.
Kitchen set
In the loft style, straight and corner sets are most often found. For kitchens with niches, bay windows, ledges and other architectural features, custom-designed structures are ordered.
The facades of the set are usually made of stainless steel, glass or roughly processed wood, coated with neutral enamel or laminating film with imitation metal.
An interesting finishing solution for the countertop is stone veneer. Kitchen cabinets have a strict geometric shape and a smooth surface.
Practical corner kitchens with an ergonomic structure for comfortable cooking are quite common.
The photo shows a bright island loft kitchen without upper cabinets.
In a spacious kitchen with a high ceiling, an island or U-shaped set will look impressive. This set has a bar counter with high stools. The work area should be smooth and simple. For its design, choose wood, metal or glass, and also decorate it with chrome elements in the form of shelves, hooks or edging.
The photo shows a straight set with a metal facade in the kitchen interior.
Storage systems
The loft style allows for open shelves, racks or hooks. This option is quite convenient and simple. Shelves with metal corners convey the atmosphere of an industrial warehouse, and in combination with nickel-plated utensils they create the image of a loft in the kitchen, like in a restaurant catering unit.
The photo shows wall-mounted open shelves with lighting.
Modular shelving or antique dish racks can add beauty to your kitchen decor while expanding storage space. When designing a kitchen in a loft style, the furniture should have a natural roughness to create the necessary contrast.
The photo shows a small kitchen decorated with wooden shelves with glass doors.
Appliances
The main highlight and bright accent in the kitchen are red retro refrigerators with rounded corners, as well as stylized stoves. To create a calm loft design, a more modern product with steel doors is installed.
An important element of the interior is a stainless steel sink with a chrome-plated mixer, equipped with a high watering can. Faucets made of brass or bronze look no less original in a loft. To save kitchen space, built-in household appliances are used. The industrial flavor of the style will be emphasized by a metal or glass hood with bright lighting.
The photo shows a red retro refrigerator in the kitchen interior.
Loft facades
Let us repeat and remind you that loft is maximum realism . Therefore, select the texture of the facades, countertops and floors as close as possible to the real ones.
Now European brands offer many options.
We use matte facades. Gloss is suitable for light-colored headsets.
By the way, in a classic loft the mixer is another Feng Shui relic from the 60s, in a modern one it is an attribute of technological minimalism.
Making kitchen walls in Loft style with your own hands
For example, imitation walls and ceilings like concrete or natural stone is the best component of a loft. But it is not as cheap as it might seem! By the way, it’s really better to make such a wall yourself, and this solution will be more economical.
Using many examples, we showed how to implement a loft and most of the ideas can be made with your own resources. But at first glance it may seem difficult. However, if you apply a little patience, money, time, then everything spent will pay off many times over! Good luck…
Materials and textiles
If you need to make a modern kitchen in a Khrushchev-era building, this complicates the work, since the area is very limited. For a kitchen of 9 square meters. m. you need to use everything that will have a positive effect on the perception of volume. General recommendations for finishing materials are as follows:
- Wood, laminate or ceramic are suitable for the floor.
- It is best to simply plaster the walls or make an imitation of brickwork. In a small room, it is better to paint the imitation brick white. When leaving a concrete surface, it is also best to paint it.
- The ceiling is made of tension fabric if the room is small and you need to save as much height as possible. It can be simply painted if the surface is smooth.
When it comes to textiles, remember the following:
- Curtains are not used in the loft. Blinds will do instead. It is important to ensure maximum penetration of natural light into the room.
- For furniture upholstery, it is better to use plain textile options, giving preference to natural fabrics.
- It is not advisable to use rugs.
By the way!
Even if the surface is left as is, it is still worth covering it with a moisture-proofing compound.
