How to Decorate a Loft on a Budget
Lofts are traditionally large, open areas converted from industrial buildings into residential living spaces. They usually boast high ceilings, industrial qualities (exposed brick, exposed gas lines, etc), large windows, and no dividing walls.
Lofts are perfect for artsy folk or city dwellers who are comfortable uniting all their living spaces into one. If you’ve toured loft apartments or checked out these lofts for rent, you may be opting to move into one of these open-floored beauties yourself!
Decorating a loft is like decorating most other living spaces, and you can easily do it on a budget!
Adopting Large Pieces
When decorating a loft, you need to be mindful of the scale of furniture. Smaller furniture will look very awkward and out of place in a wide, open loft. It’s important to use a mixture of large and medium-sized pieces to decorate your space.
Large furniture pieces can seem a bit frightening when you’re on a budget, but there’s plenty of places you can find large and medium-sized furniture for low prices!
When shopping for wooden furniture, like desks or tables, try out a local thrift store. Many times people will donate larger wooden furniture when they’re moving and need to downsize, and a lot of it is in very good condition. It’s also the perfect place to find more retro pieces, if you’re going for a vintage feel.
If you’re on the hunt for a large sofa or dining room table, there are plenty of online stores, like Wayfair and IKEA, where you can find low-priced furniture and have it shipped right to your home!
Separating “Rooms” with Area Rugs
While a loft does lack dividing walls, there are ways to separate areas and designate purposes for each of them.
Area rugs are the perfect item to create “rooms” within a loft. If, for instance, you’re trying to put together a living room of sorts, it’s important to buy a rug that will extend past the furniture you want to be inside the “room”.
Having the rug pull past any sofas, chairs, or tables will make it clear that all the furniture and items within the dimensions of the rug belong to that “room”.
Outlets are a good place to search for rugs, and there’s a ton of variety in designs and textures, which makes them the perfect places to satisfy your budget area rug needs!
Creating a Color Palette
When decorating a loft, it’s a good idea to choose a color palette that you can use throughout the entire space. You will want to strive for a cohesive feel in the loft, rather than the disjointed feeling that can come with decorating your dining space the complete opposite of your recreation space.
Using a color palette that focuses on neutral colors is an easy way to avoid that mix-matched vibe. Plus, they add to the industrial charm that comes along with a loft.
Keep larger pieces of furniture neutral colors like black, gray, and white. Choose a few accent colors for smaller pieces, art, etc.
There are plenty of places you can find low-budget accent pieces to give your loft that burst of color here and there. For simple decor, dollar stores and antique stores will become your new best friend!
If your color scheme is a bit more unusual, consider making your own decor. Otherwise, yard sales are the perfect places to find unique items for dirt cheap prices.
Incorporating Storage Pieces
Lofts generally don’t have much closet space or additional storage space, so this is where you have to get creative. You want to incorporate storage units that are both functional but also eye-pleasing, since you can’t hide them away in a corner or closet.
Shelves will be exceedingly useful here, and if you’re handy then you can likely build your own shelves with some cheap materials.
Otherwise, cube organizers are an incredibly cheap way to store things while maintaining a minimalistic, art deco like design!
Hanging Pendant Lights
Choosing pendant lighting is key when deciding how to decorate a loft. It serves several purposes. First of all, like the area rugs, a pendant light can help to differentiate between spaces. Hanging one pendant light above your bed and another over the dining area, for example, will break up the areas a bit.
Furthermore, pendant lights tend to be on the dimmer side and don’t flush rooms with as much light as traditional overhead lighting. This is perfect because you will want to utilize the natural light coming in from the large windows common in lofts as much as possible.
When arranging the pendant lights, hang them from different heights to create a more visually appealing effect.
Destination Lighting offer a variety of economical pendant lighting for just about any space you can imagine.
Building an Artist’s Paradise
Lofts have long been used by artists as a place to combine their home and work lives in a singular space. Therefore, make the most of your loft space and spice it up with some art!
Whether you dedicate an entire wall as an art tribute or simply throw up a few pieces here and there, it’s easy to find art at modest prices to give your loft a more creative and personalized feel.
You can easily and cheaply create your own photo wall if you buy photo paper and have access to a printer.
Creating Your Dream Loft
Lofts are wonderful spaces to live in and they encourage a very open and creative lifestyle.
For those who are wondering how to decorate a loft, hopefully this article has shown that it most certainly can be done on a budget!
While decor in a loft is important, it should primarily operate to highlight the loft’s industrial charm and make the space simply livable. So long as you achieve those two things, price is less important. Take your own style and infuse it into the loft as much as you want!
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