Design of kitchen-living room 18 sq. m: layout and design options

The studio apartment is perceived by many progressive representatives of the young generation as a kind of panacea, which makes it possible to make the home not only comfortable, but also original. At the same time, you need to understand that the design of the combined kitchen-living room can be both successful and very mediocre, because it would be wrong to perceive the redevelopment by itself as a great way to change everything for the better. In order for the result to be impressive in a positive direction, it is necessary to carefully consider the interior concept and follow the plan, without deviating from it.

The combined kitchen-living room is not a priori the best solution - it has both advantages and disadvantages. However, even if the area of ​​the connected premises is only 18 square meters m, then doubt the feasibility of unification is hardly necessary - Your apartment can be safely called small, and the removal of walls that occupy excess space can be a very reasonable move.

Once the partition was mounted for the simple reason that in each, even the smallest apartment, a separate family had to live. Then the wall between the two rooms was justified by practical considerations - doing kitchen with all the attendant smells and sounds, you could not interfere with the rest of the household who are sleeping or just relaxing in the living room. Today, the housing situation for most families looks much better, and in an apartment where the living room and kitchen together occupy only 18 square meters. m, most often one or two people live.

Having given preference to redevelopment of your apartment in favor of combining the premises, you achieve several positive results at once. Firstly, you get rid of crushing crowds, so there will be much less reasons for claustrophobia in your own home. Secondly, in a dwelling that is not too spoiled by natural light, in the absence of a wall, you can make the most efficient use of the rays that penetrate all windows, and after all, the abundance of light visually expands the cramped space. Thirdly, now it will be easier for you to invite large groups of guests, because it is advisable to place all the invitees in one room, and you have the whole apartment.

A studio room with an approximate size of 3x6 m inevitably implies noticeable limitations for imagination. Ideally, such a combined room should have three main areas: Actually a drawing room for rest, a kitchen area for cooking and a dining area - for reception of guests and daily breakfasts, lunches and dinners. In small apartments, the last zone is often sacrificed - more precisely, it is, but so little space is allocated for it that it is not even perceived as something completely separate.

Before you tear down the wall, you must draw up a project for the future room, in which places for future furniture will be marked. Often the redevelopment is perceived by the owner of square meters as a kind of universal solution that allows freeing up a lot of free space for new furnishings, but, as a rule, such transformations preserve the initial amount of furniture in favor of increasing the unallocated area.

In most apartments that were not originally designed as a studio, the shape of the combined room will be complicated - a small square process of the former kitchen will adjoin the main part, the former living room.

Less commonly, a studio room is originally square or very similar to a square. In this case, one of the corners is usually allocated under the kitchen, since a convenient working area should ensure that you, standing still or taking no more than one step, can reach all the products and tools. Respectively, the living area occupies the opposite corner and space along two walls diverging to the sides of it.

The combination of two rooms with different functions does not mean their complete merger - human nature usually requires that the functional zones still be different from each other. Moreover, even the operational features of the kitchen and the hall directly indicate that the decoration and furniture for them are different.

It should immediately be said that some solid partitions, like the same false walls, are rarely used on an area of ​​18 square meters. Since you have such a modest quadrature, the freed space must be used to the maximum benefit, and therefore, first of all, the following methods of separation should be considered.

If you are very cramped in a limited space, you can completely separate the kitchen and the living room, and draw the border only conditionally. The kitchen area is constantly faced with high humidity, temperature extremes, splashes of grease and other contaminating food, because its finish must withstand not only all of the above tests, but also cleaning with aggressive chemicals. The living room does not face such tests, it should be just as comfortable and convenient as possible., because here more attention is paid to the aesthetics of finishing materials.

Given that you can’t allocate a full-fledged dining area in any way, and it would inevitably have to be organized in one of the two main areas, the allocation of the border with the help of a tabletop seems completely justified. Such accessory just does not interfere with the penetration of light, and you are unlikely to deny that it is useful - because you want to eat humanly, at the table. Even if you live alone, friends and relatives who need to be planted somewhere can come to visit you.

One of the most sought-after solutions is rightly considered to be a through shelf - it, even without being empty, passes more light through itself than a blank wall, and at the same time helps to store things or organize a simple exhibition of interesting things. A good alternative is an aquarium or green spaces, because both solutions help to relax and cheer up, and vegetation also contributes to an increase in the level of oxygen in the apartment. For those who want to be able to isolate the living room from the smells and sounds of the kitchen, sliding plastic or glass partitions that take up a minimum of space may be a good option

Again, the limited space gives not so many options for how to design a kitchen-living room of such a small size, but nevertheless some styles will help to visually push the walls. You can experiment at your own risk, but most people in a similar situation choose one of the following areas.

It is well suited for a connected room for two reasons: firstly, it is minimalistic and does not litter the space, and secondly, by default it involves the use of the most light colors of decoration and furniture, which makes the space seem more spacious. In the hospital room, you won’t feel if you add episodic accents of any other color and decorate the interior with large geometric patterns.

It is suitable for similar conditions for another reason: it places a great emphasis on modern multifunctional equipment, which does not take up much space, but can literally do everything. The color scheme is also mostly light - white or silver, black blotches are allowed. Of the materials most in demand are metal and glass., and these are all shiny surfaces, thanks to which you do not feel trapped in cramped conditions.

In contrast to the high-tech described above, he presses on materials of traditional origin - wood, rattan, bamboo, ceramics. A kitchen apron is laid out from a tile imitating a real stone, living plants in pots look best as decorations. This approach provides an elusive feeling of real home comfort, because you somehow forget about crowding.

It is used with certain reservations - most often in tight rooms it is chosen in bright colors, usually consisting of a combination of white and gold. The emphasis is on the high cost of the whole environment. - wooden objects are made only of solid wood, the floor is made of expensive parquet or marble, chandeliers are only crystal, you can add stucco molding or columns made of the same marble or gypsum as decoration. Because of this, your small apartment looks very expensive and chic, and here the thoughts of a lack of space are simply inappropriate.

The coloring of the interior is not always selected purely according to the aesthetic preferences of the owners - for example, in a small room where you need to place a large amount of furniture, it is important to create a visual feeling of the breadth of space, otherwise even those who were not familiar with claustrophobia will encounter it. Exactly because of this reason a small kitchen-living room is most often decorated in bright colors - white or pastel with acceptable impregnations of brighter shades. Recommended styles are largely chosen precisely by this principle.

In this case, no one restricts you to purely light shades - you can choose a two- or three-color combination, which will turn the studio into a focus of comfort and coziness. At the same time, choosing suitable colors should also be based on the degree of natural illumination of the room, and on the degree of its warming by sunlight. The warm part of the palette is usually chosen in cases where the room is clearly not enough sun - then decoration and furniture in cold weather enhance the mood and add coziness. Similarly, and vice versa - cold colors are relevant where in summer there is an abundance of sunlight, decoration at the subconscious level will help you to perceive the visit as a good shelter from the heat. In all these cases, white plays only the role of the background, which has a positive effect on lighting and is neutral in terms of heat.

A large pattern inevitably reduces the room, so for 18 squares it makes sense to choose a picture of small and medium size, otherwise even a light tone will not help. If you have trouble with low ceilings, you should give preference to vertically elongated patterns on the walls, as this will visually “raise” the ceiling.

When almost your entire apartment fits in a modest area of ​​18 square meters, you should choose your furniture wisely - it is advisable that it does not take up much space. For this reason, designers usually do not recommend choosing cabinets with traditional hinged doors - all furniture of this class should either have sliding doors, or even do without such a detail, representing open shelving, so as not to interfere with free movement.

In this context the partition between the kitchen and the living room, made in the form of a through shelf or bar, looks especially practical - zoned space and almost without losing free space, you get additional functional items of furniture. The same bar counter compares favorably with the table in that it is not always possible to put your feet under it - its bowels can be occupied by useful furniture such as drawers for storing various small items, a refrigerator or a minibar.

In crowded conditions, it is desirable that the furnishings do not have sharp corners, which can be easily injured, but the owner should be guided by the style in order to understand what to give preference to - slightly smoothed corners or their complete absence.

Besides, it is important to fit the furniture in the color scheme of the room. Please note that the colors of the kitchen and living areas may vary, but it is advisable to establish between them a minimum roll call of colors, which can be done also thanks to the furniture. In the living room, the same chairs can be a noticeable accent, while in the kitchen everything should have something in common.

An example of a kitchen-living room design in the next video.