The walk-through room in Khrushchev has always been a headache for homeowners. Soviet architects tried to delimit the already small area of apartments, often to the detriment of functionality and ergonomics. They tried to isolate the room by all available means: cabinets, partitions, screens and curtains. But is the walk-through room as bad as it seems at first glance? Modern room design techniques can turn the disadvantages of such rooms into virtues. We tried to collect photos of the design of walk-through rooms to show how a seemingly unsuccessful layout became the main highlight of the interior.
Design Features
Walk-through rooms have a number of positive and negative features that affect their design. This is the key room in the apartment, which imposes a number of restrictions on its design. The first of them is through lines of movement connecting the entrances to other rooms. These conditionalcorridors should be free so as not to interfere with movement. It will not work to use their area when arranging furniture. Next are the doorways. They "cut" the horizontal line of the walls, which also reduces the usable space. Thus, the useful area of the passage room is significantly reduced. In spacious rooms, the loss of space for aisles is insignificant compared to the total, and in small rooms, you can lose almost half of the free space.
The walk-through room is often given as a living room, which is logical, since it is common and requires less isolation than other rooms. Modern trends in interior design gravitate towards bright open spaces and the removal of all possible partitions, and walk-through rooms are already ready for such modifications.
Remodeling
Remodeling in an apartment with a walk-through room is the most radical way to improve the space of a room. In Soviet times, they tried to isolate the living room, creating long dark corridors in the apartments. Modern interior design proposes, on the contrary, to unite the premises, to abandon the halls, delimiting the space into conditional functional zones. By getting rid of extra walls, you can increase the usable area of the room.
The walk-through living room in Khrushchev is a small, narrow and dark room, so combining it with another room will make it lighter and more spacious, and will make it more useful to organize the space. The kitchen-living room is already a familiar, beloved technique for manyroom extensions. You can also increase the space by adding a loggia. In this case, you will get more options for arranging furniture, without looking back at the availability of access to the balcony. Combining a kitchen and a bedroom is a rare technique, they usually try to isolate this area, however, light translucent partitions made of plexiglass or airy textiles are preferable for a balanced composition than blank walls. From an apartment with a walk-through room, you can make a spacious studio, where only the bathroom will remain isolated.
Before developing a design project, you should familiarize yourself with the photo of the walk-through rooms to make the room comfortable and functional. Any redevelopment requires coordination with the relevant authorities, and if the “extra” walls turn out to be load-bearing, then such improvements will have to be abandoned. However, it is possible to achieve a harmonious space without demolishing the walls.
Doors
During the renovation of walk-through rooms, owners and designers are faced with a large number of doorways located relative to each other in the most diverse way. Parallel through doors are one of the best arrangements. The passage line crosses the room, conditionally dividing it into two zones. A storage system behind sliding doors will fit well into a shallow "pocket". And if you make the cabinet doors mirrored, the overall piece of furniture will “dissolve” in space, visually increasing the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. A similar technique can be used with a diagonal arrangement of openings. In this version, the roomdivided into a living area and, for example, a dining room or an office.
The adjacent arrangement of doors takes only one corner of the room, and the rest of the space remains free, so there are usually no problems with the arrangement of furniture. If there are two doors on the same wall and a sufficient distance between them, it would be appropriate to arrange furniture and accessories symmetrically to the axis conventionally drawn between the openings. If the doors are too close, you can mask the distance between them with a mirror, the height of which should be flush with the door frame.
Doors in the interior of the passage room should be as inconspicuous as possible. The effect is achieved due to the monochromatic coloring of the walls, boxes and doors. Facilitate the space of the canvas with glass or mirror inserts. In the design of a walk-through room, it is better to stop at sliding doors. They take up less space.
Zoning
The allocation of functional areas in the walk-through living room is tied primarily to the location of the doorways. Partitions in such rooms are rarely used, however, if necessary, to fence off a working or sleeping area for one of the family members, they will be appropriate. So that partitions do not clutter up an already small space, they should be as light as possible. Through shelving under the ceiling will create a border without blocking natural light. A sliding screen made of frosted glass in Japanese or French style will hide the bedroom from prying eyes. The use of LEDs in the design will help create the effect of naturallighting for the area left without a window.
Zoning with wall decoration, a low podium, multi-level ceiling structures would be appropriate. Regarding the latter, it should be remembered that multi-level ceilings look good in spacious rooms, they are not suitable for small rooms.
Color design
Walk-through rooms in Soviet-era apartments are not distinguished by their spaciousness and abundance of natural light, and a large number of doors makes the room even cramped. These shortcomings can be smoothed out by using light shades in the design and simple tricks to visually expand the space. The combinations of white with pastel colors look most successful: pearl gray, pale pink, pale olive. A single color scheme for the walls and ceiling will blur the line between them and make the ceiling appear taller. Large patterns on the walls and furniture should be avoided, they "eat up" the space. You can visually expand it with the help of reflective and glass surfaces, as well as mirrors. Framed photographs on the walls under glass, the glossy surface of the closet, a well-placed mirror will add light and lightness to the room.
Lighting
The lack of natural light forces the use of a large variety of lamps. A chandelier is traditionally used for general lighting, but this is not always appropriate for walk-through rooms. A large structure under a low ceiling will make the latter even lower, and the room will appear smaller. For walk-through living rooms, the best solution is spot lighting around the perimeter or a central group. Actively use local light in the form of wall sconces. It is necessary to provide independent lighting for each selected zone.
Flooring
Floor covering in the passage room should be chosen resistant to wear. Linoleum, laminate, ceramic tiles are suitable for these purposes. The laminate must be at least class 32, and for tiles it is advisable to install a warm floor. The carpet will have to be abandoned, it will not withstand intensive use. A small rug in the guest area will add coziness to the room, but it should not be on the lines of the aisles. Flooring is often used for zoning. Quite successfully, you can highlight the passage from the hall to the kitchen through the living room with ceramic tiles with a through arrangement of doors, and finish the rest of the room with laminate to match.
Furniture
Arrangement of furniture in the walk-through living room is often difficult. The island arrangement of interior items is possible only in a spacious room. In a small room, furniture is placed along the walls to free up aisles. The central place in the guest area is traditionally occupied by a sofa, however, the length of the walls “cut” by doorways does not always allow the use of such a bulky piece of furniture. It can be replaced with an elegant ottoman and a pair of light armchairs in another part of the room. The room will look spacious, and in the event of the arrival of guests, the furniture can be easily moved. Tables and hanging shelves made ofglasses look airy and do not burden the space. If both doors are located on the same wall, furniture and accessories are placed symmetrically to the openings. This interior looks balanced and harmonious.
Decor
Interior without decor and accessories looks faceless and unfinished. And although there should be a minimum of them in the walk-through living room, you should not completely abandon the decor. The main thing is not to place accessories along the aisles so as not to interfere with movement. In window design, laconic silhouettes of Roman and roller blinds, fashionable this season, will be appropriate. Light translucent curtains to match the ceiling and walls will look elegant and stylish. In the decor, you should avoid large patterns and give preference to small floral ornaments or plain textiles.
The interior of the walk-through room should be concise and stylish. Light colors, light translucent textiles and glass furniture should be preferred to create a light and harmonious space.
