Thread: Barns and lofts

I'm reading a book where author mentions the new popularity of barns and lofts. I know the loft is an apartment at the top store of the warehouse (by the way is there any other advantage in it except the size? Doesn't it mean you have to live in a strange neighboorhood, something like the abandoned street they lived at in "Fight Club"? )

But I have no idea what barn is. Obviously it's not place for storing corn since people seem to like leaving there. So what is it?

Thanks.

EDIT: And what's the difference between sitting room, drawing room and living room? (This guy describes his household, using all three in a raw). In Russian it's always "гостиная", and it seems all the same to me (I hope he doesn't imply he actualy uses them on their designated purpose, i.e. actually sits or draws there).

He does (most likely) mean the corn sort of barn. It's somewhat 'fashionable' now for city folk to move to the country, buy a barn, and gut the inside. They'll keep the exterior but put interior walls in, electricity and plumbing, etc...

As to sitting/drawing/living rooms, the former two words are just sort of pretentious ways of describing extra rooms in your house. I don't know that there are specific definitions that most people would agree on. That is to say, what one does in a drawing or sitting room is probably up to whoever owns it. He just means that he has so many rooms in his house that he's had to use extra words to describe them all. Most folks I know will call the common rooms in their house a 'living' or 'family' room. If there are both, then often the family room is for the kids and toys and stuff, and the living room is kept cleaner and nicer for guests. Again though, it varies a lot.

Chances are he's sitting in his sitting room right now, trying to figure out what to call his second bathroom.

Lofts are good spaces for artists or bands because there don't tend to be interior walls. Also, they are fashionable enough (meaning: expensive) that they can have a gentrifying effect on bad neighborhoods, making it possible for fancier businesses to move in. The term 'loft' is getting looser and looser, really any space with few interior walls and sort of an industrial (exposed pipes or whatever) sort of a look to it can be called a loft. There are buildings full of them in some cities.

Also, most barns have a loft. It is the the upper floor and is often used to store baled hay.

Michael_SF, very interesting, thank you.

These barns still intrigue me. It's probably nice to live there, it doesn't translate well to Russian. In Russian it has strong err.. "barn" connotations, and people will just lаugh if you tell them somebody lives in a barn.

DDT, тебе тоже спасибо.

Better to think of them (and may be better to translate into Russian) as "converted barn" and "converted loft", since neither were originally designed as living spaces.

Originally Posted by scotcher

Better to think of them (and may be better to translate into Russian) as "converted barn" and "converted loft", since neither were originally designed as living spaces.

Yes, you're right. Still can't wrap my head arund it. In Russian "converted barn" doesn't have that classy vibe it probably has in English. It sounds like they are dirty poor and having no decent place had to "convert" the barn (or cattle-shed or something) to have a place to live.
Probably it's because barns in Russia and USA are different. I suppose ours are more shabby. And they are usually made from thin planes, you can freeze to death in this kind of house here.

Help with another sentence, please (the characters are rearranging their apartment):
The kitchen moved again - this time to an efficient streamlined galley.
What's that? I know it's a kitchen on the ship, but it doesn't fit here (kitchen moving to the kitchen? ship kitchen in the house?)
Is it some kind (any particular design) of kitchen? How does it look? If you know how to name it in Russian, it's even better.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

And they are usually made from thin planes, you can freeze to death in this kind of house here.

Do remember the fact that even the most northern parts of the continental USA (except Alaska) are located at the lattitude of Kiev.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

And they are usually made from thin planes, you can freeze to death in this kind of house here.

Do remember the fact that even the most northern parts of the continental USA (except Alaska) are located at the lattitude of Kiev.

I do said here (in Russia).

Well, I imagine they're trying to draw an analogy between the tiny kitchen in a ship and their newly arranged kitchen in their apartment. That is, with appliances buried into walls and stacked onto one another and whatever. Why they used the verb 'moved' instead of 'changed' I don't know. Whether they actually moved its location in the house or not I have no idea. I guess my point is that I read that as 'changed into' and not 'moved to', and I would continue to do so, barring some kind of contextual clue.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Help with another sentence, please (the characters are rearranging their apartment):
The kitchen moved again - this time to an efficient streamlined galley.
What's that? I know it's a kitchen on the ship, but it doesn't fit here (kitchen moving to the kitchen? ship kitchen in the house?)
Is it some kind (any particular design) of kitchen? How does it look? If you know how to name it in Russian, it's even better.

My first guess would be that they are discussing their potential designs as drawn on paper, moving rooms around mentally. In effect they would be saying, "The kitchen design has changed again, this time being designed as a galley."

When I picture a galley, I picture a corrider lined with kitchen equipment on both sides. Other kitchens might have a workspace in the very middle of the kitchen, but on a ship where every inch is precious, you want instead a design that minimizes the amount of space used. Thus a "streamlined galley" would be a minimal corridor with space-efficient shelves, counters, and equipment on either side.

A Galley style kitchen is common in apartments, not a big open space.

Converted barns and carriage houses are very popular around here. Alot of the old homes around here convert them to living/office space or a Bed & Breakfast. NOT shabby, check this link: http://www.yankeebarnhomes.com/photos/index.php

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

And they are usually made from thin planes, you can freeze to death in this kind of house here.

Do remember the fact that even the most northern parts of the continental USA (except Alaska) are located at the lattitude of Kiev.

I do said here (in Russia).

I did say

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

I do said here (in Russia).

I did say

Ha-ha, thanks.

capecoddah, doninphxaz, Michael_SF, thank you.
You helped me to solve all these little puzzles. (But I still had a hard time, 'cause I tried to make a written translation, and all that stuff just didn't translate well into Russian. You have either to use lo-ong sentences to depict all that, or lose smth in translation.)

But - thanks again.

Barn - сарай
Loft - Чердак

You can make a room in the loft, but it can also be simply a place to store your stuff...

I have a really good article about the development of lofts in Russia (largely in Moscow of course). I can't now recall the name of the magazine the article was published in but surely it's an economic one. Could be Finance or Expert... Should you need more infomation on lofts, I could scan the article and place it here for example.

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

I have a really good article about the development of lofts in Russia (largely in Moscow of course). I can't now recall the name of the magazine the article was published in but surely it's an economic one. Could be Finance or Expert... Should you need more infomation on lofts, I could scan the article and place it here for example.

Статья, как я понимаю на русском? Сканировать не обязательно, лишние тебе хлопоты. Но будет здорово, если подскажешь, как их называют в статье. Неужели "лофты"?

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Barn - сарай
Loft - Чердак
You can make a room in the loft, but it can also be simply a place to store your stuff...

You're kidding, right?
What Russian readers will think about american quality of life, if I say that rich Americans "живут на чердаках и в сараях", and what is more, they are happy with it.

barn has another meaning - амбар. So, здание, дом, постройка амбарного типа.
You can say - чердачный этаж.


Существуют также мезонин и аттик или аттиковый этаж. Они имеют конкретные черты и в данном случае помогут вряд ли, но, по-сути, это те же чердаки.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

I have a really good article about the development of lofts in Russia (largely in Moscow of course). I can't now recall the name of the magazine the article was published in but surely it's an economic one. Could be Finance or Expert... Should you need more infomation on lofts, I could scan the article and place it here for example.

Статья, как я понимаю на русском? Сканировать не обязательно, лишние тебе хлопоты. Но будет здорово, если подскажешь, как их называют в статье. Неужели "лофты"?

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Barn - сарай
Loft - Чердак
You can make a room in the loft, but it can also be simply a place to store your stuff...

You're kidding, right?
What Russian readers will think about american quality of life, if I say that rich Americans "живут на чердаках и в сараях", and what is more, they are happy with it.

Да, статья на русском, про начало развития данной категории жилья в России. Название полностью перекочевало с английского, поэтому лофтами они и называются.