Co living is a community living concept where residents have a private bedroom, often with an ensuite, in a furnished dwelling with shared communal space. It is extremely popular amongst young professionals as it enables them to split the cost of amenities and engage regularly with other like minded people.

The model has grown quickly in the UK housing market, particularly in city centres where the cost of one-bedroom apartments has pushed renters towards collective living. Most schemes offer a single monthly rent covering utilities, wifi and use of the common areas, which makes budgeting far simpler than a conventional tenancy.

Co living works on the premise of openness and collaboration, often with a focus on shared spaces and values. The concept can take many forms, from large developments with luxury amenities, to smaller single family houses. It offers residents the opportunity to reduce costs and have more flexibility with short term leases.

In practice, a building is divided between private rooms and shared facilities — typically a communal kitchen, lounge, laundry and often co-working space or a gym. The flexible accommodation model is what draws residents: leases run for months rather than years, and rooms come fully furnished, so moving in requires little more than a suitcase.

The concept of co living offers tremendous benefits for both landlords and tenants alike. It provides landlords with an opportunity to maximise their investment by catering for more tenants per property. Residents have fewer commitments, can share costs, and experience living with compatible individuals whose company they can enjoy.

For operators, the appeal of urban living schemes is occupancy: well-run developments hold residents longer than comparable rentals, because the community itself becomes a reason to stay.

Co living furniture has to work harder than furniture in a standard rental, because shared spaces are used by everyone in the building every day. Private rooms need to feel like modern homes rather than accommodation — a proper bed, real storage, and a desk that someone can actually work at.

Common areas are the more demanding half. Communal kitchens, lounges and dining spaces see intensive use, so furniture needs a contract-grade specification while still looking residential. Getting that balance right is what makes a scheme feel like somewhere people live rather than somewhere they're staying.

Yes. LOFT specifies, supplies, delivers and installs furniture across co living projects, from private rooms through to communal spaces and amenity areas. Packages are built per room type and repeated across the building, which keeps the specification consistent and makes replacing individual pieces straightforward once a scheme is operating.

Because co living turns over faster than conventional tenancies, we also handle like-for-like replacements so a room can be turned around between residents without waiting on a new order.

More than most schemes plan for. The usual mistake is furnishing common areas for the number of people expected to use them at once, rather than the number who might. A lounge that seats eight in a fifty-room building becomes a source of friction rather than community.

We specify against resident numbers and how each space is intended to work, so a co-working area, a lounge and a dining space each get furniture suited to its actual use rather than a single generic layout.