About Lofts
Loft (lôft, l ft)
- n. A large, usually unpartitioned floor over a factory, warehouse, or other commercial or industrial space. Such a floor converted into an apartment or artist's studio.
- n. an open space at the top of a house just below the roof; often used for storage
Loft living
Origins - Loft living emerged in Manhattan's SOHO garment district in the 1950's to 1960's. During these times, old abandoned 19th century factories and warehouses were converted to open floor-plan apartments. These apartments were illegal, so it made way for low rent and undesirable living. The first tenants of the "loft" apartments were the "starving artist", who needed a way to both live and work for cheap. They needed space that could provide room for their, sometimes, larger than life artwork. Loft apartments was the perfect fit, since they were wide open spaces with a flair of the art in them, from their exposed brick and ducts to the high ceilings and large timber beams.Today, loft living is not about just finding a place to sleep at the end of a long day. It is a way of escaping from the traditional and conventional living of the cookie cutter condo or suburban home. It is about living, not only in, but also, as a part of an aesthetically unique space. Lofts are still built from old manufacturing or commercial buildings converted into numerous unique loft living spaces. Only now, there are many more converted loft buildings and a much higher demand for them. They are mainly concentrated in the larger cities where older, larger factories and warehouses exist. Some of these cities include: New York (Manhattan), Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and London.
Loft Types - Many different types of lofts have emerged because of the high demand for these unique spaces. They include the traditional New York style hard loft and the new construction soft loft. Throughout the last decade, more and more people use an expanded definition of lofts in their property description in order to ask for a higher price. Higher prices are usually associated with traditional hard lofts, as compared to lower prices for standard condos or soft lofts. In hard lofts the original post and beam construction and the original concrete or wood floor and ceilings are retained. Exposed ductwork, electrical, and plumbing complement the exposed brickwork, which complete the overall industrial appearance. High ceiling heights, from 10ft to 25ft, and usually large floor to ceiling windows, accompany the other characteristics to give the loft that open spacious atmosphere.
Soft lofts came about from condo developers taking advantage of the trend for more open space in the living, dining, and kitchen areas. There are only a limited number of old warehouses left to convert. So in order to provide for the growing demand of more unique spaces, building developers, designed their new condo's to have that loft feeling. Most soft lofts are new construction buildings with open floor plans similar to the traditional hard lofts. Soft lofts typically have their ducts and pipe enclosed in drywall. They usually do not have exposed brick. Any exposed brick is limited to one or two walls in different areas. The ceiling heights are lower than what you would find in a hard loft. Some of them will have the ¾ high bedroom walls, but most are enclosed bedrooms. There is also a refinement to the soft loft spaces with covered ceilings, smaller windows, and sometimes carpeting on the floors. Many of them are duplexed to provide for a lofted space on the higher level. This gives the living room area higher ceilings heights and open space atmosphere.
General loft characteristics:
- open floor plan - no dividing walls splitting up the living, dining, and kitchen areas.
- higher ceilings heights - 10ft+
- large windows
- Timber - wood ceilings and large timber beams
- Concrete - concrete ceilings and beams
- converted old warehouses or commercial buildings
- completely open living, dining, kitchen
- large living area - higher square footage
- walls of exposed brick
- exposed heating and air ducts, electrical pipes, and plumbing
- hardwood floors throughout living area - sometime carpet in bedroom
- large floor to ceiling windows
- high ceiling heights - usually 12ft+
- industrial appearance
- located in mainly industrial or commercial areas
- lofted bedrooms or open bedrooms - no diving walls or ¾ high walls
- balcony or roof deck
Soft lofts
- typically steel & concrete building
- usually new construction - sometimes rehabbed concrete building
- open living, dining, and kitchen area
- drywall ceiling - typically no exposed duct or pipes
- ceiling height usually around 10-12ft
- very little or no exposed brick
- enclosed bedrooms - some may have ¾ high walls
- more carpeting in living area - some with hard wood floors
- smaller windows than hard lofts
- balcony or common roof deck
LoftyFinds.com - View additional loft resources for Chicago