The Funky Loft is for the style-minded. We’re for anyone who wants ideas for decorating their own loft home, who doesn’t have time to sift through every cushion or curtain and comes to us to make an edit for them. We know how important it is to have a nice home life, and being in a space you love can improve your mental health no end. So we are bringing you ideas big and small, for improvements that can make a vast difference, all of which will hopefully have you thinking about your home in a different way.

We cover style updates, tours of beautiful houses and news on the latest launches, as well as inspiration for chic getaways, hosting ideas and product reviews. Kitchens, bathrooms, color trends and interiors news are all daily fixtures here. You’ll find us getting as excited about a pantry as we do a living room, while the smart home is important too. How to style a living room TV, the best smart bulbs (and why you might want one) and everything you need to know to create an automated home.

We place a particular emphasis on both design classics and quick new season buys, affordable updates that we think might become the classics of the future.

The Funky Loft was first published in 2001, born out of a reaction to how more people were becoming interested in design. How style was being democratized, and everyone wanted a beautiful space.

Our mission statement is to report on the now and next in home design and style. Breaking trends, making trends, and offering so much expert insight you have all the decor knowledge you could need.

ABOUT OUR REVIEWS

It is really important to us that we give you the best information about any purchases you make. This is why we aim to test as many products as we can in person. Our reviews are written by both in-house experts and freelance reviewers. We ask that they test everything for at least two weeks, though often they do for much longer.

We do not take payment for our reviews, though, on occasion, the reviewer is allowed to keep the product they have tested. This gives us a chance to add to the review months – or years – later, meaning we don’t just look at how it performs out of the box but after a bit of use, too.

Everything we test is tested in the home – as intended. We like to provide as much information as we can about the reviewer’s home set-up so you can decide whether the product will suit your lifestyle. Some of our tests are a little bit more scientific, but on the whole, we are putting products through the paces of daily life to answer the all-important question: ‘Is this worth my money?’

ABOUT OUR BUYING GUIDES

Most of our buying guides are created off the back of the many product reviews we do. We aim to have first-hand experience with every product we feature, but where this is not possible, we use our wider network (family and friends) plus third party reviews on retailer sites to gather the most relevant information about that product.

Some products are not suited to standalone reviews, so in these cases, we will do a mini-review within the buying guide.

ABOUT OUR PRODUCT BADGES

If we have reviewed something in person and really love it, we will let you know with the The Funky Loft ‘tried. loved’ badge. You can see these in our reviews and also on the corresponding items where they feature in buying guides. We award these when a product gets 5 stars from our testers.

Brands cannot pay to be granted these badges, but we do offer them the chance to buy the badge to use on their own marketing material. This is always offered after the review has been written and our writers will not be influenced or paid for a good rating.

OUR WRITERS AND REVIEWERS

Meet our wider team of ecommerce editors, shopping editors, and freelance reviewers below.

Albert Berrian: Editor in Chief

Albert has worked in interiors journalism for nearly a decade, cutting her teeth on the self-build brand. While her first love is really great architectural design, she has a passion for shopping and helping people find the best products for their homes. With her team of brilliant editors, she makes sure the products you see on The Funky Loft are the best of the best and well worth your time and money.

Lisa Stewart: Deputy Editor

Lisa is the Deputy Ecommerce Editor and spends her time advising you on what to buy for your home – whatever the season or the latest trend. From design classics to statement accessories, she keeps an eye out for high-quality and great-value items. Otherwise, you can find her walking her Pug, Doug, or hunting for sustainable buys to add to her home decor (and her wardrobe).

Shaina Thrower: Ecommerce Editor

Shaina’s eye for color, form, and composition was honed in the design studio, creating prints for the interiors industry while studying textile design at Winchester School of Art. Her own style is considered, contemporary and timeless, with a strong interest in modern craft and homewares that combine traditional maker skills and innovative technologies. She looks after our furniture and paint buying advice and is always looking for responsibly manufactured products.

Melva Gilmore: Reviews Editor

Melva started writing for The Funky Loft in 2020 and has since become the head of reviews. Specializing in indoor and outdoor cooking, Melva is always testing kitchen appliances like juicers, stand mixers, and pizza ovens. She loves finding renter-friendly ways of adding her own touch to living spaces and browsing the property market for houses with large kitchens.

Julie Rotella: Freelance Reviewer

Julie is a freelance journalist who has specialized in homes and interiors for the past 22 years, beginning on a trade rag for the Daily Mail Group and now writing full-time. Julie is our resident mattress reviewer. She spends a couple of weeks on every mattress she tests for us, as does her ever-patient husband. She lives in Houston with her cabinetmaker husband, two daughters, and many pets and is locked in an ongoing battle to drag their red brick Victorian home out of 1980s swirly carpet hell…