Are you considering living in a loft apartment as your next home? Understandable! Loft apartments are known for being the most stylish housing option.
The loft apartments have become very popular in recent times. It offers both urban style and spacious living altogether. Being associated with this real estate industry, recent homebuyers are showing their interest in lofts.
The reason is straightforward! It offers a lot of distinctive features along with the location. With large windows, industrial bones, and high ceilings, the loft apartment is famous for its open floor planning.
The apartments are attractive and a perfect fit for creatives looking for a house with characters. It is also convenient for the ones who want a place to live and work. I believe if you are a metropolitan resident, a loft apartment can be your ideal space for living.
In this blog, I will help you understand a loft apartment’s whereabouts, its pros and cons and its cost range. I will also break down all the details about the loft apartment for your utmost guidance. Read on…
What Is A Loft Apartment?
A loft apartment is a dwelling consisting of an ample and open space without any internal walls. You won’t have a distinctive room, apart from the bathroom, which is separated by a wall. These loft apartments are pretty large, exceeding 1000 square feet even in dense cities.
The history behind the loft apartment can take you back to the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. These apartment design ideas focused on creating a workspace for musicians and artists.
Primarily, these city buildings were left unused. The artists and creatives are the ones who saw potential in these open spaces with high ceilings. They turned these spaces into functional and inspiring.
However, these loft apartments became mainstream, over time and their popularity increased. Nowadays, it has become a shared housing option for home buyers as well as renters.
There are a few garages with loft apartments, where the loft is situated above the ground level and right under the garage roof. Don’t worry. It might seem that the loft size is small, but you can build it 7-8 feet below the ceiling.
The Common Features Of A Loft Apartment
A loft apartment is like any other housing trend, like a studio apartment, involving no walls. The plan includes an open living space instead of a broken place.
So, if you are planning for a loft apartment, you will have to accommodate one ample space with a high ceiling.
These loft apartments were previously created from unused warehouses or industrial premises. Thus, being similar to the studio apartments, the loft apartments offer bigger sizes with high ceilings.
The loft apartment features include:
- Exposed materials. Firstly, the loft apartments often show exposed brick, beams, and concrete, which gives them an industrial look.
- It offers you a flexible living space. Secondly, the loft apartments have minimal walls that allow you to customize the accommodation as per your desire.
- Loft apartments include large windows. Thirdly, you will find floor-to-ceiling windows which let in a lot of natural light.
- The architecture is sustainable enough. Fourthly, these loft apartments are converted from old warehouses and factories. This is considered a sustainable architecture form.
- The location is convenient for the buyers. Lastly, these apartments are in busy neighborhoods where you will find easy access to many amenities and entertainment.
The Difference Between Hard Lofts And Soft Lofts
Once you start finding loft spaces in the real estate market, you will find two primary types that are available in the market:
- The hard loft apartment
- The soft loft apartment
Let’s discuss the details of these types; read on….
Hard Loft
A hard loft has the most rugged and industrial aesthetic. The hard lofts have a traditional loft apartment layout. You can expect to find exposed beams, pipes, high ceilings, and pipes.
Many hard lofts include large windows, almost similar to the large industry-shaped windows. The hard lofts are converted from warehouses and industry spaces, making them livable for homebuyers.
Soft loft
On the contrary, the soft lofts are primarily designed to recreate the traditional lofts but in an aesthetic way.
The significant difference is that you might find exposed bricks and steel rods, but they are more rugged than hard lofts. Soft loft apartments are mostly renovated from residential space.
Owners mainly focus on capitalizing on the overall craze of loft apartments. On top of that, the soft loft apartments have a raised platform that you can use as your bedroom area.
The Cost Of Loft Apartments
Usually, loft apartments are more expensive than traditional apartments due to their large size. Moreover, the price of a loft apartment highly depends on the location along with the other market conditions.
The loft apartments often have high utility bills since they have ample space to heat or cool down.
Cost Of Building A Loft
The average cost to build a loft apartment ranges between $90,000 to $450,000. In most cases, people pay around $275,000 for 1000 square feet loft.
Cost Of Converting A Loft
When converting a loft, the average cost is around $20,000. However, the range starts from $9,000 and ends at $34,500.
Lofts Vs Apartments
If we compare lofts and apartments, there are some significant differences that we must look into. These differences are such as:
- Size: The lofts have more square footage than the traditional apartments, as well as the studio apartments.
The loft buildings have more floor-to-ceiling windows in an open industrial setting. On the contrary, the traditional apartments have fewer open spaces.
- Storage space: Regarding traditional apartments, you may find built-in cabinets and closets. This is not present in loft apartments
- Privacy level: The traditional apartments have walls that separate the units into different spaces, like living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms.
- Price: The lofts are typically pricier than the apartments due to large spaces and utility bills.
Living In A Loft Apartment- Pros And Cons
If you are considering getting a loft, you must go through these pros and cons before making your final decision.
Pro: Space Adequacy
The loft apartments have high ceilings and blank floor space. So, you may end up getting more space than you bargained for. Now, removing the walls will add more space, which you can use to arrange your personal belongings and other necessary things.
Pro: Large Aesthetic Windows
The loft apartments have large windows that let the natural light come in. It can also work as a proper ventilator for fresh air.
Cons: Noise Issues
Most loft apartments are convenient places, for example, near bars or other amenities. However, living in the city’s center might cause a lot of noise issues during the busiest time of the day.
Cons: Privacy Issues
Along with the floor space, you might need more privacy. While living in a loft apartment, your bedroom, kitchen, and dining room will be in the same room. So, if you have some guests coming over, they will technically see your bedroom as well.
Ready To Find Your Loft Apartment? Learn From The Experts
Loft apartments can be an excellent place for you to live if you prefer living in an open space. Many people are following the trend of living in such accommodations.
Many years have passed; homebuyers are still looking for loft apartments as a great alternative to regular flats.
You can find a loft apartment online. Do you live in an urban area? In that case, you can find developers with the expertise to convert old industrial spaces into loft spaces. Other than that, you can also consider getting help from real estate agents.
Usually, they have better knowledge about upcoming properties, and can even help you get the best deals on buying loft apartments.
The purchasing process of a loft apartment is almost similar to the usual home-buying process. You can easily buy a loft apartment through a developer. However, if it is your first time buying a house, I suggest hiring a real estate agent.
Moreover, you can easily rely on them as they have the expertise to find you the best deal. They also have knowledge about the amenities that will help you have a better living experience.
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