DIY loft lights

Loft style was formed in the United States, when in the middle of the last century, rising land prices in the city center turned factory Manhattan into a virtually uninhabited island. All entrepreneurs were forced to transfer factories to the outskirts, and production facilities remained free. They were gradually filled with creative bohemia, turning nondescript brick walls into open exhibitions of works. Gradually, living in the “attic” has become fashionable, and now these rooms are very expensive. However, you can transform the most ordinary apartment. The main thing is to add details characteristic of such an interior to the interior, for example, do-it-yourself loft lamps.

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Style features

Everyone can easily imagine what the factory floor of the last century is. This is the calling card of the style in which the elements of chic are added. Deliberately rough decor is combined with expensive accessories, like a tribute to Bohemia. Thanks to the creative elite, Loft appeared, its own, special features:

• High ceilings that make the room spacious and saturated.
• Rough beams on the ceiling, and sometimes floors or rafters, left in their original form.
• The absence of any partitions, walls, dividers. Functional areas are separated from each other only by furniture, and, basically, it is not located along the walls.
• Large panoramic windows from the ceiling to the floor, which fill the room with natural light.
• Unexpected combinations in the design of the old and new. The well-known types of machine tools from a foot machine appear from a different angle in view in combination with cutting-edge technology. A huge plasma TV is adjacent to the Loft lamp with its own hands.

Important! The Loft room is designed in 2-3 shades that are harmoniously combined with each other or contrast. The color scheme of the interior decor should not consist of too bright and catchy shades.

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Light nuance

The main task of the designer who decorates the room in an industrial style is to make the light play in the room. And you can achieve this with the help of different types of loft-style fixtures with your own hands, which fit perfectly into the "attics" with high ceilings. And there are several options.

Loft style ceiling lights:

• Do-it-yourself pendant lights in the Loft style are often called “spider lights.” They are located at one point from which they give a strong stream of light even to the most secluded corners of the room.
• “Beams” of lamps are a design on which several light sources are located at different levels. This approach allows you to achieve the “Brownian motion”.
• The most common shades are also characteristic of this style; they imitate industrial lamps. Often, to enhance the effect, they are decorated with coarse wire.
• Do-it-yourself bus systems, or Loft track lights, are arranged in several rows. The advantage of this particular type of structure is the ability to create different light intensities in the room.
• Spot and string lights economically distribute electricity. Modern technologies allow you to adjust the lighting, changing the length of the mount, the size and shape of the light source. Without such lighting fixtures, it is difficult to imagine cafes or offices in the Loft style.

Lamps on the walls:

• Lamps in the Loft style with their own hands, which are located on the walls, are various lamps and sconces. They can be rotated, twisted in different directions, thereby changing the direction of the light stream.
• It is these lighting fixtures that give imagination to any person who has a love for creativity. The materials for their creation can be any, even the most ordinary concrete or a plastic bottle will do.

Important! The only caveat to consider if you want to recreate this style to the smallest detail - Loft lamps with their own hands are never decorated with a glamorous finish. No rhinestones, beads or bugles.

Floor lamps

These lighting models are usually complemented by large decorative elements, such as:

• carved bars;
• glass shades;
• metal parts on a plafond made of polymer.

Important! All this pushes the lighting function of the lamps to the background, and the aesthetic component comes to the fore. Particularly atmospheric space is added to the room by floor lamps made of pipes of lampposts or industrial searchlights.

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Master Class

Sometimes, in order to decorate such an interior and add a special chic to it, it is not necessary to spend a lot of money and time on choosing a suitable lamp. In addition, designer lighting fixtures are quite expensive. But you can easily and easily make a Loft chandelier with your own hands or a lamp. It will come out inexpensively and beautifully.

Single lamp

In order to make a lamp that fits the modern interior, you need only two hours of time and a little ready-mixed cement mixture. You can take the original color of the composition as a basis, or you can add special dyes to it.

It is also worth preparing the following materials:

• Wire with or without switch. Please note that it must withstand such a load as a concrete lampshade. Therefore, it is worth supplementing the finished structure with a metal chain.
• Cartridge and tube with thread and nuts to it. These parts do not have to be bought; you can use the elements of an old appliance.
• Self-tapping screws.
• Two plastic bottles of different diameters, if you want to make Loft lamps with your own hands at different levels.

Important! Here it is worth considering that a lamp holder should enter the lamp, proceed from this criterion when choosing bottles.

• Lamp.

Important! Of course, repeating the lamp in the Loft style with your own hands in the master class, you have to prepare a workplace for yourself, because you have to work with concrete. And after completion of the process, for example, it will not be so easy to remove it from the table surface.

From the tools, prepare the following set:

• Scissors;
• Nippers;
• A small drill or screwdriver (optional);
• A small spatula for mixing concrete;
• Hacksaw (optional);
• Paper knife.

Now we proceed directly to the work itself:

• Cut the bottom of the larger bottle.
• Drill with a drill or make holes in the covers in another way. It is more convenient to work when the caps are worn on bottles.

Important! Remember that the holes should be located strictly in the middle so that the thickness of the lampshade is the same on all sides. The hole must be dimensioned so that the tube passes freely into it.

• Fasten the tube to the bottom bottle cap.
• Attach the top bottle.
• Fix the bottles on the sides with self-tapping screws. This will avoid displacement.
• Prepare the concrete mix. Fill the form. During operation, do not forget to shake the bottle to ensure a snug fit to the concrete. You can also ram it with a stick.
• If you want the surface of the Loft lamp to be smooth with your own hands, use thick concrete. The fluid consistency will help create an unusual effect on the surface of the shells.
• After the concrete is tamped, you can remove the screws and tamper again by pressing on the smaller bottle. Be careful that the center does not move.Shape the edge.
• After the concrete has partially dried (depending on the brand used), you can carefully remove the bottles. Do not forget that at this time the lampshade is fragile and easy to damage.
• Align small surface imperfections with sandpaper.
• Pass the wire with the cartridge into the shade, connect the system to electricity.

Lamp with three lamps

Now consider another master class on making a loft lamp with your own hands. This design will be more complicated, but its appearance will surprise all guests who come to your house.

The set for its creation will be much larger:

1. Pine board for the base of the lamp in the Loft style with your own hands, which will be mounted on the wall. For the version with three lamps, a length of 80 cm is suitable. The bars will be needed in order to make recesses for wiring.
2. Three ½ flanges.
3. Three ½ threaded tubes.
4. Three ½ x¾ elbow fittings. The size of the end of one is ½, the other is ¾.
5. Three cartridges.
6. Wires.
7. Four hex bolts. Color does not matter, as they will be painted subsequently.
8. Twelve screws are also of any color.
9. The three most common light bulbs.
10. Enamel “Rust-Oleum”.
11. Varnish for wood, it is better to take a shade of "dark nut".
12. Glue for wood.

To create such a lamp in the Loft style with your own hands, you will also need a working space - a table or a workbench. Then, in order, do the following:

• Apply glue to the bars and press them with clamps to the base. Fit before fitting. Wipe off any excess glue that has squeezed out. Let the glue dry.
• Paint bolts and screws. To do this, screw them into a small unnecessary board. For staining, use the “Rust-Oleum” enamel with a hammer effect. This color will very closely match the details of your lighting fixture. Let the paint dry completely.
• Arrange the parts in the order in which they will be joined, but do not assemble them yet. Insert the cartridge into the ¾ hole of the elbow fitting. For a stronger bond, use a small amount of superglue. Wait for the glue to dry completely.
• Coat the front and side of the lamp base with varnish. For a matte effect, immediately after applying the varnish, wipe the surface with a dry, clean cloth. Repeat until you reach the desired effect.
• Using a drill of the right diameter, drill holes for the wires. Everything is ready for the assembly of a lamp in the Loft style with your own hands.
• Screw the flanges to the base. Center them with drilled holes.
• Route and assemble the structure.

Important! Use a parallel wiring diagram so that if one lamp goes out, the rest remains on.

• Hang and connect your Loft-style lamp to the mains. Use extreme caution when drilling holes so as not to damage the wires on the rear panel. Use the construction level to avoid skewing.
• When you connect the lamp to the mains, screw the bulbs into the lampholders.

Chandelier

Now let's try to figure out how to make a chandelier in the Loft style with your own hands. For this creative process we will need:

• 5 large pear-shaped lamps - the more interesting their shape, the more unusual your own Loft-style chandelier will look like;
• 10 brass copper tubes - 5 short and 5 long;
• fitting by the diameter of the tubes;
• 1 long brass tube, which will serve as the axis for hanging from the ceiling;
• 5 adjustable brass hinges;
• 5 bullets for light bulbs, it is better to take ceramic;
• two-core connecting wire, the diameter of which will be slightly smaller than the tube;
• electrical cable;
• insulating tape;
• screwdriver.

Now you can start the process:

1. Unscrew the covers of the prepared cartridges and attach the wires to them.
2. Pass them through the tubes; use the hinges to align the short tubes with the long ones.
3. Cut off the excess wire, leaving only a few centimeters to connect to the main cable.
4. Now screw the legs of the future Loft-style chandelier with your own hands into the fitting and make the wiring. Do not forget to wrap the joint with electrical tape.
5. Tuck the cable inside the tube, which will become the basis of the future design. Fix it on the ceiling, only then screw in the lamp.

As a result, you get an urban lamp that combines both industrial style and chic, combining all the main features of the Loft style.

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Variety of style

Do-it-yourself Loft lamps can also be made from various improvised materials, this is the charm of this style. Here are just a few of these examples:

• An excellent loft-style chandelier with your own hands can be obtained from an old lighting device, to which, instead of shades, attach cups and saucers, while placing the lamp inside the bowl.
• A variant of the first workshop based on a plastic bottle can easily be transformed into an equally interesting Loft-style lamp with your own hands, if you use the simplest metal soda bottle instead of a concrete lampshade.
• Interesting wall options are obtained from simple plumbing pipes, where lamps are inserted into the joints and jumpers.
• Do-it-yourself stylish chandelier in the Loft style is also created on the basis of a wooden circle, to which wine bottles are attached, inside which light bulbs are inserted.
• Even the most ordinary grater will change if you turn it upside down and insert a cartridge with a lamp inside - this option will give very unusual lighting.

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Stock footage

Do-it-yourself Loft lamps, like the interior style itself, are distinguished by functionality and originality. It is these characteristics that are key when choosing a combination of light sources in a spacious “attic”. The more unusual the source materials, the more original the result. The main thing is to remember the main features of this style: deliberately rough decor and expensive accessories.