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We had gone back to Patrick’s house, a new-build flat on the edge of town. It had been marketed as ‘loft living’, even though it overlooked the retail park, and was no more than three floors high.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I am a little confused about what a "loft living" should be looked like, as in my understanding and among my peers, "loft" is not some premier or fancy flat, either a very small-sized skip-floor flat/apartment, or an restored/reconstructed old factory, or a barn, or maybe as a storeroom?

If so, then why "market it" with "loft living"? Isn't it supposed to market a product with something smart and fancy? And in the sentence it also suggests the actual flat is not as good as it marketed. So could anyone help me to picture this "loft living"?

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loft living

is a real estate term used to describe large industrial warehouse like living areas which are usually open plan with high ceilings and is considered to be very fancy and upscale. It is very different than conventional apartment living where spaces are defined by many individual interconnected rooms.

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These spaces are usually characterized as being "open" and "airy", traditionally used by artists who needed the space for rehearsals or painting. In some areas, particulary Soho and Tribeca in NYC it is the standard apartment layout and tend to have the same square footage as an single family house.

You may be thinking of a "loft bed"

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Which is a very different use of the adjective "loft".

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  • This is so specific, crystal clear, and thanks so much for all the pictures, totally making sense to me now.:) I was also mistaken this "loft" for a space at the top of a building under the roof used for storage and usually entered by a ladder.
    – user86301
    Commented Dec 21, 2018 at 10:13
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    That is exactly what "loft apparments" used to be until someone knocked some holes for windows, put in decent flooring, evicted the spiders and gave the whole thing a lick of paint. The artist who live in them used to be the type that is too poor to have a real home but these days it is turning into the fancy type of artisté that always seems to have money.
    – Borgh
    Commented Dec 21, 2018 at 10:50
  • exactly! that's why I could not get its logic for making it as marketing slogan. thanks for clarifying.
    – user86301
    Commented Dec 22, 2018 at 8:42

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