The living room is a place where people relax daily, chat with friends, and hold celebrations. The room should be equipped with maximum comfort, while the interior should be pleasing to the eye. Modular furniture is a modern and practical solution. Consider the features of such an environment, its varieties and the nuances of choice.
Advantages and disadvantages
Modular systems - an innovation that has expanded design capabilities in home improvement. They are a collection of items that can be bought. in any quantity and placed in any order. Modular walls and sofas are often purchased for the living room.
The advantages of such furniture have already been appreciated by many users.
- Diversity. Modules have a different size, shape, purpose. You can purchase several identical elements or take different ones (depending on your needs), which will make it easy to make furniture sets for both large and small rooms.
- Style. The modules of each series are made in a single design. This means that regardless of the number of elements and their location in the room, the atmosphere will be harmonious and stylish.
- Practicality. Since each element of furniture is selected separately, the set is as convenient and functional as possible. In addition, it is not necessary to purchase all items at once. You can first buy and install the most necessary elements, and add the rest gradually.The main thing is to buy all the modules from one manufacturer, so that the design is the same.
- Mobility. All modules can be installed anywhere. You can connect them with each other, creating the illusion of a single design, or use separately. In this case, all elements can be interchanged at will. The harmony of the kit will not be violated, which will allow you to easily "update" the room's environment.
- Visual lightness. Case models are often bulky, so they are not suitable for small living rooms. Modern modular systems not only allow you to most conveniently distribute the modules according to the area of the room, but also seem more compact. Separate placement of elements makes the interior easier and space - more free.
- Ease of use. No special skills for installing and reinstalling the modules are required.
- Availability. The market offers a wide range of modular designs for the living room. These are elite expensive models, and nice budget options. A middle-income buyer can easily afford to furnish a room with beautiful and practical furniture.
There are no drawbacks to modular designs. We can only note a more complex calculation of the dimensions of the kit.
If, when choosing a case wall, you can immediately find out the size of the product, then here you will have to add together the parameters of each selected element.
Varieties of designs
Modern manufacturers offer different furniture sets consisting of modules. The most common option is the wall. Depending on the design, this can be a set of smooth minimalistic blocks, combined into different hanging and floor structures, or a set of independent pieces of furniture made in one style and color scheme. Moreover, each element has its purpose. Consider the main modules.
- High floor cabinet (hinged or wardrobe). It can be a dress model with a barbell or a pencil case with shelves for linen.
- Showcase. A cabinet with glass doors is designed to showcase beautiful dishes, souvenirs.
- Small hanging cabinets. They can store any personal items.
- Shelving and separate open shelves. They are used to place books, photo albums, CDs, awards, fresh flowers, various design details.
- Chest of drawers. This is a design consisting of several pull-out capacious drawers. They can store clothes, linen or other things.
- Curbstone. This item can also hold a pair of drawers or open compartments. However, unlike a chest of drawers, the cabinet is lower. Due to this, you can put a TV on it.
- Table. Most often this is a desk or computer desk, but some models can transform into a dining option. This decision will be successful in a small living room.
Upholstered furniture can also be modular. Thanks to the individual elements, an ordinary sofa can turn into a design with an ottoman, into several separate chairs or pouffes. At the same time, you can take both identical blocks in color, and different.
In the latter case, you will get not only a comfortable, but also an original resting place.
Materials of manufacture
Solid wood
For the manufacture of luxury furniture, noble materials are used, among which an array of valuable wood species. These are pine, oak, birch, ash, beech and other varieties. Such items are environmentally friendly and durable. They look solid, are durable and wear resistant.
The tree is varnished if it is necessary to preserve the natural shade and texture, or painted. In some styles, the second option is preferred. Patina can be used for decoration. Often, wooden elements are subjected to artistic cutting. Such facades look very elegant.
Particleboard, MDF
The middle class of modular furniture is made of chipboard and MDF. The first option can even be attributed to the economic category.In its production, formaldehydes are used, making the material more resistant to the environment. It is believed that the fumes emanating from the furniture do not cause significant harm to humans, but many try to make a choice in favor of the second material. MDF is considered to be better and safer. Sometimes both options are combined.
As a decorative finish, veneer or film is used. Some high-quality veneered products can be difficult to distinguish from natural wood. This allows you to purchase elegant furnishings for people with any income level. Laminated surfaces are relevant in modern interiors. Thanks to the film, the material can take on any shade, become dull or glossy. On models of the Art Nouveau style, at the request of the customer, they make various drawings.
Photo printing allows you to decorate products with both ordinary patterns and realistic paintings.
Glass, mirrors
Glass elements make the furniture more elegant, and also allow you to diversify the design. Glass can be transparent, frosted or colored. It all depends on the style and design. As for mirrors, then they can even visually enlarge a room, creating the illusion of extra space. Mirrors can also be additionally decorated with, for example, sandblasted patterns. Custom-made furniture with this decor becomes truly exclusive.
Metal
Metal is used for fastening internal, as well as some small external parts. Classics are characterized by metal fittings in gold and bronze. Modern models use chrome elements.
Fabrics, leather
For upholstery of upholstered furniture, you can choose natural or artificial skin, as well as one of the durable materials that manufacturers offer in their catalogs. These are chenille, jacquard, flock, velor and other options. All of them differ in texture, colors and cost.
Fillers for upholstered furniture
As fillers use foam rubber, holofiber, polyurethane foam, synthetic winterizer, durafil, latex. Spring blocks are still popular. Sometimes these fillers are combined. Due to this, manufacturers achieve optimal rigidity and convenience.
Color and design
Shades of modular walls are diverse.
- White color - one of the most popular options, which is not surprising. Such furniture always looks stylish. This color is associated with purity, freshness, spaciousness. Even large snow-white structures seem light and weightless. For a small room, this is ideal.
- You can choose another light shade - beige. This is a universal color. There is no coldness in it, as in whiteness. On the contrary, the interior with such objects seems warm and homely. Creamy, caramel tones look good in gloss and matte.
Good beige in wood textures (for example, the shade of "milk oak").
- Brown - Another wonderful calm color. If the living room is spacious and decorated in bright colors, wenge-colored furniture will look just fine in it. You can combine this tone with beige. The combination will be very expressive.
- Black is often used in conjunction with white. Such a spectacular contrast is appropriate in a modern setting. A completely black wall is a risky choice. If the design will consist of a large number of modules, the result may look bleak.
However, if the wall is small, and the room is spacious and bright, you can choose such a design. Glass and backlighting will help to make the headset more interesting.
- Headsets of bright colors are appropriate only in living rooms decorated in a modern style (classic assumes calm tones). Red, blue, green, purple, yellow and other rich colors usually complement the basic tone (white, black, gray). If the shade is muffled, all modules may be the same.For example, cherry or pistachio color can look very noble.
As for the colors of upholstered furniture, the choice here is huge. These are single-color models and print options. Two monophonic materials can be combined in one product. It is possible to combine the plain version with a colorful pattern. The main thing is not to overdo it with the choice of the original colors.
If wallpaper with patterns is pasted in the room, it is better to choose one-color upholstered furniture.
Use in different styles
Classic
Classic furniture sets have a vintage design. As a material used wood or veneered boards. Colors are calm, natural (beige, brown). Furniture can be restrained and elegant or grandiose-luxurious. In the first case, the decor is limited to moldings, cornices, plain carved patterns.
In the second case, gilding and curly legs are connected. Items are obtained more elegant and elegant, as in the apartments of the royal palace.
It is worth highlighting the trendy trend today neoclassical. It combines classic and modern features. There are also carved decor, exquisite fittings, but the furniture seems lighter. In such headsets there is a lot of glass, white color, sandblasting patterns are often used. You can also find models in a stylish shade of coffee with milk.
Basically, classic sets for the living room are separate elements (cabinets, display cases, chests of drawers and so on). They can be combined into one large structure, combining with small hanging cabinets, shelves, or installed in a room separately. Usually symmetry is maintained. However, if you choose a neoclassical trend, you can make an original composition.
Provence Country
"Village" styles are mainly used for decoration of country houses, although there are exceptions. Such furniture also has a touch of vintage, but here the design is as simple as possible. Country is a rougher direction. It involves woody textures (mostly dark shades), lack of decor.
Provence is more romantic. Furniture in this style is painted in bright colors (white, blue, beige, pale gray, pistachio). Curly legs, small carved elements can take place here.
Accessories in both styles imitate bronze.
Scandinavian style
This area of interior design is very popular in Europe today. Simplicity, comfort and functionality - these are the main qualities of such an environment. Scandinavian style suggests an abundance of white, so furniture usually has this color.
Often whiteness is combined with beige natural shades of wood. This makes the interior more comfortable and warm. There is no decor, the facades are usually smooth, the accessories are compact. Legs, which are found in many headsets, give the furniture even greater lightness.
Minimalism, hi-tech
All living room sets in these styles are modular. This is logical, because modern trends should keep up to date and include all the design innovations. The main principle of such furniture is conciseness. As a rule, these are sets of smooth matte or glossy rectangles or squares. In combination with open compartments of the same shape and shelves, they create futuristic compositions.
To make a living room in such a unique style is very simple, because you can arrange the blocks in any order. For greater effect, you can combine two or three colors in one headset (for example, black, gray and turquoise). It turns out very effective black and white combination. As additional decorations, glass (often darkened), lighting can be present.
Modern
Those to whom the two previous styles seem too cold and restrained can choose Art Nouveau. Here, modern forms are combined with any decor options. Any color combinations are acceptable, wood textures are welcome.
Such modules do not have to be strict.. They can be decorated with photo printing, patterned glass. Often in one element different colors are combined (more often beige and wenge, but other options are possible). As for modular sofas, such models are suitable for both minimalism and modernism.
As a rule, these are constructions with or without soft armrests. Materials and colors are varied.
Subtleties of placement
When choosing the headset modules, you need to immediately decide where the items will be placed. In most cases, the headset is placed against a long wall. In the center there is a place for a TV zone (if the owners watch TV). The equipment is placed on a pedestal or hung on a wall, and around the modules are placed in random order.
However, there are cases when the layout does not allow to place a large number of pieces of furniture near one wall. In this case, you can use the angle by concentrating the modules in it.
Another option that is suitable for small rooms is distribute headset elements throughout the room. For example, you can put a cabinet and a pencil case near one wall, and a large display case or chest of drawers at the other. In this case, you should draw a plan of the room in advance, taking into account its size and other available furniture, and schematically place the modules that you are going to buy on it. It is important that all the elements fit in the living room, without creating a sense of clutter and without interfering with the free movement in space.
If the headset is linearly positioned (near one wall), also it is better to think in advance in what order the modules will be located. If classic is chosen, follow the principle of symmetry. If the room is decorated in a modern style, you can create a fantasy composition. It is advisable to combine closed blocks with open ones. Shelves and shelves will add variety to the design and make the headset visually lighter. The same effect will create glass modules.
If additional items (for example, a dining table or a coffee table) are included in the furniture set, take them too, which will help create the perfect setting in the room.
As for the modular sofa, its location depends on the size of the room, the decor and personal preferences of the owners. It can stand in front of the TV zone or in the corner, can be constantly assembled, or, conversely, distributed throughout the room in the form of separate seats.
How to choose?
When choosing furniture, it is recommended to take all items from the same series from one manufacturer. Only in this way you will get a harmoniously decorated living room. In addition, it is worth considering several important points.
- Style. Furniture design must match the interior.
- Color. If the living room is not large, it is better to stay on a light set of furniture. An exception can be made if there are few modules, and the room is decorated in white or beige. If the room is spacious, the color of the furniture can be any. In this case, it is worth starting from wall decoration (contrasts look spectacular) and personal taste.
- Block size and number. As already mentioned, it is better to make calculations in advance to find out how much space you can allocate for furniture. Decide where the modules will be located, check the sizes of all the blocks you are interested in.
- Functionality. Think about what you will store in the wall (outerwear, underwear, dishes, documents, or something else). Decide if you need a TV niche, a workstation built into the wall. Based on this, determine which modules are most important to you (wardrobe, chest of drawers, showcase, etc.). Write them to the plan first. Then, if space allows, you can add shelves for decor and other minor elements.
- Price. If the issue of money is not important for you, you can consider the products of well-known brands offering luxury expensive furniture. If the budget is limited, stop at less popular firms.You can save by excluding from the project the illumination of glass cabinets, sandblasting glass, patina. But you should not save on quality. Pre-read the reviews of furniture owners from the companies you are interested in. If desired, you can find inexpensive, but quite decent products.
Good examples
Elegant snow-white furniture in style neoclassical makes the interior elegant and sophisticated. If all things are distributed in cabinets in other places, decorating the area with air showcases and open shelves will be a great solution.
Scandinavian style - the embodiment of simplicity and comfort. Small closed modules merge with a light wall, as if dissolving in space. A table made in the same design becomes the perfect finishing touch to a harmonious interior composition.
The combination of traditional Japanese style and modern minimalism - good design idea. The location of the small modules separately creates a feeling of spaciousness and impeccable order. You can put a wardrobe against another wall, which will hide in itself all things that are not intended for prying eyes.
Black glossy blocks look spectacular against a light wall. This is an excellent choice for those who prefer restraint and laconicism.
Juicy cherry tone transforms the room, making it interesting. The perfect combination of the color of the furniture with the design of the room speaks of the good taste of the owners of the house.
A careful selection of shades allows you to harmoniously combine even as many as 5 colors in one headset. Light and dark gray, blue, white and muffled yellow clearly show that minimalism is not always strict. The environment surrounding the wall is designed in gray, but blue or snow-white elements would fit well here.
An overview of the modular furniture set can be found in the next video.