What is a Loft Apartment and do I want one?
8/1/21
Loft. My favorite misunderstood word. My heart goes out to the loft to be honest. It is always fabulous, often impractical, and eternally misunderstood. Its the Aquarius of home design. Starting with the issue that no one can seem to quite agree on what a loft is. Let us agree that the loft is enigmatic and explore some options of what you will be looking for should you find yourself looking for a “loft”.
Possibility 1: In this case, the word loft refers to a particular room. A 3 walled, open on one side, upstairs room that overlooks most typically, a common area. That common area will have the benefit of high ceilings and a light airy feel. In some 1 bedrooms, the bedroom is the loft, this is great for someone who lives alone. If you have a cat, he or she WILL jump off at some point. Negatives: Sound carries, so in the event that your loft is an office and the living room is the large downstairs room, there may be tv wars or just general inconveniences regarding noise. Great look, often affordable, makes small spaces feel bigger.
Possibility 2: The True Loft. What a unicorn, and yet so plentiful in movies- but i digress- The True Loft is found frolicking in urban areas, these are often renovated former industrial buildings turned modern apartments. They often feature high ceilings with exposed rigid steel ductwork, exposed support beams and trusses, and brick walls. Some even have old slogans painted onto the brick walls which remain, providing character and historical curiosities. This will be a large open space with a kitchen that opens to the community areas. High ceilings prevail, large windows, heavy metal doors. Often the only enclosed room is the bathroom. These can get really interesting, you might find spiral staircases, rooms stacked on rooms, ornate fireplaces, massive closets. It is a matter of opinion whether the “drawbacks” are really drawbacks. One being that these “true lofts” are older buildings, so there will be old building issues, corners can be quirky, the elevator might need frequent servicing, there could be leaky windows here and there. Any old building is going to come with some drawbacks to all those charming quirks.
Possibility 3: The soft loft. The soft loft has kind of a tricky name. So this is a nice name for an efficiency or studio apartment. This type of loft is all about space saving. In some markets soft loft refers to new lofts made to look old, but in the Houston and Austin “Loft” world, it refers to a snack-sized bedroom that does not have a door, and often that has openings at the top of the wall that is in between the bedroom and living room.
Possibility 4: The modern loft, and again, this is just going to say “Loft” when you’re searching or in property descriptions, is our last loft. These are new buildings made to look old, that are renovated warehouse style. You can expect high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, stained concrete, exposed mechanicals. You can also expect amenities comparable to a luxury apartment amenities, so there will be a pool, fitness center, parking etc. Another option I see is modern luxury, with a floorpan that has more walls, but still carries elements of that original industrial renovation. If there are parts of the Loft style that really appeal to you, like concrete floors, a great apartment locator can find those things for you.
Whether you live in the apartment or home of your dreams, or are still working your way towards it, it’s important to enjoy coming home.
I hope the wind is at your back today, and thank you for reading,
-Jen