Friday, September 3, 2010 Loft Decorating Ideas

Lofts are in! They are everywhere you look. As cool as they are, lofts are often hard to furnish. By not having the divisional space of traditional rooms, one often has to be creative in furnishing a loft. Cool artwork, functional furniture and use of colors/texture are a must.

Here are a few ideas in furnishing your loft:

1)Invest in a great sofa--one that is comfortable to sit, snuggle yet beautiful enough as this is the first thing most people see after walking in the door. Here is a few of our favorites:




This sofa is long (105 inches), modern and classic. It can be done in our fabric or yours (we've done it in cream and chocolate--it's marvelous).

Domicile Sofa by Bolier $2595-customer own material

Another one of our favorite (this one sits so well, it's unbelievable how comfortable it is).



White Leather Sectional by Moroni $3500

Artwork is another very important component in furnishing a loft. Here are some cool ones that can be custom-size (yes, you can have it as large as you want it).


Oh Hey Longo $450 (36x24-Custom size available)

Check out the rest of the contempory art collection designed with lofts in mind.

For design ideas, we love Metropolitan Home Magazine.

For design inspirations, we love luxury boutique hotels. A good site to check out boutique hotels is Tablet Hotels.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 Loft Room Divider

We're in the process of downsizing from a 4000 sq ft home to a 1200-sq ft loft.  Do you know,  loft living sounds more romantic than it actually is? We find that we really miss the traditional division of space. We miss having rooms.  We miss the privacy!

We've been looking into options of dividing the space.  Drapery is one, but do you have any idea how expensive a piece of fabric with four stitching is?  It's quite a mystery actually, how much drapery can cost.  The other option is to go with a company like the Sliding Door, but they are really pricey too.

We found this company, Loft Wall, today and we thought it might be a good option.  They make portable dividers that you can customize the sizing and the panels.  They are not cheap but they are not too expensive either.  You can visit the web site to download the price list.  Keep in mind that the published prices are retail, and no one pays retail!

Here are some samples:

To see more product specifications and pricing info, visit the Loft Wall web site.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Cool Wall Arts from Farm Boys

Have you ever walked into a really cool restaurant or hotel and say to yourself, darn, that decor is so hot, I wish I have that at home?

We find that with wall arts all the time. It's really difficult to find cool artwork for your walls, plus, you kinda want something different than just frame arts. Something that makes a STATEMENT, right?

For example, we have an empty loft that we're trying to decorate now. What do you do with a huge white wall that's 12-feet tall? We thought it would be really cool to take a favorite black and white photograph and blow it up as wallpapers, you know. Just one wall. How dramatic woud that be?

So where do you find that really? Well, because we're the kind of folks who share, we thought we let you in on a resource that we just discovered, Farm Boy Fine Arts. They usually work in commercial applications for hotel and restaurants, but we think they do individual work too. They have some amazing, amazing stuff for the walls/divider/headboard etc.

Here are some samples:

To see the rest, visit Farm Boy web site. We have to warn you, it's REALLY slow, so you'll need to be patient. There is a 800- number that you can call for assistance.

We think you can deal with them directly, but if you need help, send us an email...

Monday, August 17, 2009 Ideas for Loft Furniture

We like the minimal look when it comes to decorating a loft. Something about a loft just DEMANDS a minimal look. Anything else doesn't seem right.

At any rate, we think minimal doesn't mean boring, and it also doesn't mean cheap imitation of Corbusier or any of the mid-century masters. We think it can be original and elegant.

We came across Maria Yee furniture a few years back and we thought we show you her stuff. Her furniture has a refined quality that we like:







To see the complete product line and find a dealer nearby, visit Maria Yee web site.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 Loft Living Inspirations

We just love the idea of living in a loft. There's something kinda cool, kinda chic about it. Now, to actually live in a loft is a different story. Have you tried it? It's often cold, uncomfortable and hard to decorate.

Still, loft living is a popular concept especially in the cities. So if you are into it, here's are some inspirations from the New York Times to get your creative juice going...

(click here to see more home portfolios from the NY TImes ).

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Love This Loft!

The New York Times recently featured a wonderful loft in New York City that we just love. Loft decorating is tough. It is usually just a blank, open space and most people find it a challenge to make it cozy, warm and inviting at the same time. There is also the issue of spacing--you have to divide and conquer creatively.

Here are some pictures from the article which shows how it can be done. To see the rest of of the pictures and read the full article, click here.

Sunday, December 31, 2006 Loft Decorating

The trend toward loft living is increasing. We see more lofts being built than ever. Traditionally, lofts were conversions from old factory and warehouses. Recently, however, more builders are building loft-style developments throughout the country from coast to coast.

Lofts are cool, but they are difficult to decorate. Here is a sample of a great loft design from Metropolitan Home Magazine.

Notice the clever use of all neutral colors....


We love the use of yellow as punctuation. Very clever...



See the use of hallway as a functional space...



The kitchen warms up with accessories...


Here are a few lessons we've learned from looking at these photos:

1)Make use of awkward spaces by using built-in bookcases and desks.

2)Use neutral colors if that is your thing, but pump it up with splashes of colors.

3)Use accessories to warm up the space.

4)Don't stick to one type of furniture. Mix it up.