Soviet building at one time forced most of the population to huddle in tiny apartments. Many layouts made a person face such a moment as a narrow room. The design of such a room in those years was created simply: light walls, standard furniture layout, a minimum of accessories. Looking at this through the prism of modernity, one wants to change and rearrange everything. How can you competently create a design for a narrow, long room that looks like a trailer? What needs to be considered? Read more about it below.
What is a pencil case room?
So, the weak point of such a room is its width. At best, it reaches 3 meters, but it also happens that this value is 2.5 or even 2.3 meters. These dimensions fundamentally determine what functionality this room will perform. In case you want to equip a narrow living room, the width of the wall2, 3 meters will not fit at all.
It will be problematic to create a room and a bedroom in such a room, since the width of the bed will take almost the entire width of the room, and there will be no space left for aisles at all. If it is necessary to arrange a bedroom in a trailer room, then you can use a single bed, or buy a built-in structure that leaves no distance between the mattress and the wall at all.
The design of a narrow room for children is most successfully created. They do not need wide beds, large wardrobes and other bulky furniture items. Similarly, an office will fit well into the "trailer". However, such a place will have to be correctly zoned (see below for more on this) so that the walls do not put pressure on the eyes. A dining room would look great in such a room. It is only necessary to combine it with a large arch with the kitchen, which will visually expand its boundaries.
Now let's move on to some design tricks that come in handy when decorating narrow rooms. They work for all types of rooms.
Wall coverings
Properly selected wall decoration is the key to a beautiful design of a narrow room. What are the rules to follow?
- Small walls need to be highlighted. It is recommended to paint them in a bright color or paste over with expressive wallpaper (with ornaments, patterns, etc.). Long walls are painted in beige, white or milky tones.
- The design of a narrow room with a window at the end is a standard case. For such a room, 3D-printed curtains are ideal. If there is no window at the end of the room,then on the far wall you can depict a landscape. The main thing is to install the backlight on this wall masterpiece after that.
- Photowall-paper with a horizontal perspective will work similarly. Any landscape can be depicted on them.
Conditional zoning of the premises
This does not mean at all that the room needs to be divided across with a floor-to-ceiling screen or block the passage with a closet. So you deprive the near part of the room of light and generally turn the room into two closets. What are the options?
- Build a podium. If this is a bedroom, then it should have a mattress on it (not a bed with legs, since you will also cut the height of the walls a lot), or a table with an armchair if it is an office. By the way, you can store a lot of things under the podium.
- In the design of a narrow room, there must be a bright accent, which will also serve as a zoning factor. Its role will be brilliantly performed by a patterned carpet or just a bright carpet. Just do not use two different floor coverings in the interior - the effect will be the opposite.
- When it comes to a narrow, but with this large room, you can put a sofa across it. Where his "face" is turned will be the living room, and behind his "back" you can make a dining room or work area.
- A screen or a mobile partition that protrudes only half the room, or even less. You need to place it across, and this element of decor should fit the overall interior of the room. Curtains work the same way.
Furniture according to the rules
It is impossible to design a narrow room with a window on the farthest wall without proper furniture placement. Principles to be followed in this matter:
- Never place furniture along the walls. It is best to group it in one corner, this will create a feeling of free space.
- It is best to choose short sofas, while they should not be part of the same headset. The main one can be a beige sofa in Art Nouveau style, but it will be complemented by Baroque style couches and a two-seater sofa in the neo-classical style.
- Round objects visually change the proportions of a narrow room. They should be both in decor and in furniture. The easiest option is to use round tables and coasters or cabinets.
- The screen will also play into the hands. If it is large and performs its direct functions, then place it across the room, as described above. When the screen is small and decorative, it can be placed in the far corner of the room.
On the benefits of mirrors
As they say, everything ingenious is simple. Mirrors have always visually expanded the boundaries of the room, and in this case, such an effect is simply necessary! If one of the narrow walls is free (that is, it has neither a door nor a window), then under it you can put a wardrobe with a mirror surface. Both aesthetic and functional at the same time. At the same time, hang small mirrors on long walls, which will have fundamentally different shapes andframes. By the way, this option of expanding the space will go well with any style of interior. This applies to classics, and baroque, and hi-tech, and modern, and other less or more popular trends.
Describing the general trends regarding the design of a narrow room, we missed something important. In such a room there may also be a nursery, or even a bathroom. What to do in such cases?
Children's room
If a child lives alone in his room, then the situation in it is compiled according to the general rules and recommendations that were described above. Only standard furniture changes to bright, children's, screens can be replaced with interesting games and stands for training, etc. But the design of a narrow children's room, designed for two kids, is created according to an even simpler scheme. It is necessary to arrange all the furniture elements in a mirror order. That is, two identical beds opposite each other, bedside tables that will stand at the headboards, lamps, etc. Asymmetry can be introduced into this picture with the help of small decorative elements. But do not forget about some general rules. On the far wall, if there is no window in it, you can apply photo wallpaper or a picture. If there is a window, it should be crowned with curtains with an interesting pattern.
Bathroom
Such a phenomenon, of course, is a rarity, and it occurs in individual projects of private houses. If you have already become the proud owner of a corridor bath, and you don’t know what to do with it and how to furnish it,let's try to use the advice of designers.
- Two levels. This means that the back of the bathroom can be raised a step (or two). In this zone, depending on the width, a bathtub (across) or a shower cabin is placed.
- Mirror. We have already described that in order to expand the room, the mirror must be mounted in a narrow wall. In the case of the bathroom, a different rule applies. It is the long wall that is mirrored, against which the wash basins and the bath are located. The width is automatically doubled.
- In the design of a narrow bathroom, the type of tile laying plays an important role. On the floor, it is best to lay it diagonally, and on the walls - in the form of a mosaic, but not under the ruler.
- Perfectly "lubricate" the shortcomings of such a room and corner structures. It can be a bathtub or a corner shower.
- Another option is to make niches on long walls that will be additionally highlighted.
Summing up
When designing narrow spaces, problems arise automatically. It is difficult to choose the color and texture of the walls, it is difficult to choose and arrange furniture, it is generally not clear where and what accents should be indicated. We hope that our article will help you create a cozy and, most importantly, appropriate design for a narrow room. The photos attached to the article, recommendations and tips allow you to slightly break the old post-Soviet stereotypes and create a real interior fairy tale even in such a "strange" room.
