To decorate a loft New York style, focus on personality

It was the 1960s in Soho, New York. On pieces of industrial wasteland, groups of artists moved into the idle factories and warehouses, and turned them into studios. With limited budgets, they simply retained what was there before, while still instilling a bit of their artsy touch. And this is how the urban loft style originated.

"A New York-style loft usually comes a bit raw and with an open plan," says Jason Yung, an award-winning interior designer and the co-founder of Jason Caroline Design. "Besides a high ceiling, there are also abundant exposed structures like beams and pipes because there wasn't much touch-up. The idea is to use whatever is there. Also, you won't see too many partitions. Instead, furniture is used to divide the wide space."

In modern-day context, according to Yung, a loft simply refers to any "diaphanous and flexible space that alludes to an industrial aesthetic". Steel, alongside other industrial materials like iron and metal mesh, have a strong presence in most loft designs to maintain traces of the past. Exposed brickwork and structures persist, and the retro-rustic feeling is enhanced by the use of natural oak and raw concrete. Adding to that, heavy-duty rough finishes and 1930s- to '60s-era furniture will work best to complete the look.

Despite its industrial ties, loft style is by no means dull or boring, so it is highly sought-after. "The whole idea of a loft is to provide a shell to display your collection - it is free and is perfect to show off your character," Yung says. "So there isn't a particular way to do this. The only thing is, don't treat loft-style design as if it is minimalist - it is the exact opposite of it. Loft design is very eclectic and requires lots of attention on detail design, because you want to expose all details at every corner."

The only big "no", according to Yung, goes to using fake materials such as brick-like tile instead of real brick. "Be bold and be rough, and don't do 70 per cent of that style and hesitate [with] the rest."

Taking a look at the scene in Hong Kong, Swedish interior designer Helen Lindman's recent takes on two old walk-up buildings at Upper Station Street and 55 Tung Street have drawn attention with their loft-inspired designs - airy layouts and big cast-iron windows which let in plenty of sunlight.

"A loft design, as what I envision, is a personal style thing," she says, adding that this vision goes on to affect all facets of the design. "Speaking of the perfect colour palette, if you opt for the classic lofty feeling, grey, black and white would be good. But still you can make a fantastic loft by just keeping a few colours but playing with shades."