Planning and arrangement of modern kitchens pay considerable attention. Especially if the issue of preserving the usable space of the living space to the maximum is acute. More than 50% of designers claim that the combination of several functional areas contributes to a more ergonomic arrangement of an apartment or house due to the absence of walls and partitions, long corridors or vestibules.
Thinking about building a house or about the upcoming redevelopment of an apartment, one in five is considering the option of combining the living room and kitchen into one functional room. For those who do not know how to do this and what pitfalls they will encounter during the repair, this article is dedicated.
Advantages and disadvantages of combined premises
According to design trends, expanding space and increasing the volume of the room is in trend. A popular way to implement this is to make a living room combined with a kitchen.
With this placement, do not forget that the functionality of these rooms varies, and the decoration of the roomsthere are different requirements. Here it is worth considering whether this option is right for you.
What to look for when combining two or more functional areas
The release of odors when cooking. The kitchen constantly smells of something, no matter how powerful the hood you install, be prepared for the furniture and textiles to be saturated with the aroma of cooked food.
Demand for studio apartments originated in America and migrated to our region. The only difference between North American cuisine and European cuisine is that it is practically not customary to cook there. Therefore, the considered aspect of impracticality is not so important for Americans. In our region, everything is prepared in large quantities, including festive dishes and dinners. Therefore, the combined living room and kitchen contribute to the unhindered penetration of odors. Imagine what it will be like for people relaxing in front of the TV when you fry fish in the kitchen!
A lot of rubbish. This is yet another reason, stemming from the previous argument, why a kitchen plus a living room is impractical. Cleaning in such a room will have to be done longer and more thoroughly, often cleaning the entire combined room.
The good side of this kind of layout
But, despite this, the design solution also implies a number of positive characteristics inherent in living rooms combined with kitchens:
- Visual increase in the area of both zones due to the absence of a wall or partition, if the room is up to 20 m22.
- Increase the area of the kitchen by placing a functionalheadsets and all kinds of household appliances.
- It is convenient to receive guests in the kitchen-living room without feeling cramped due to lack of space.
- The ability to place a full-fledged dining table, at which every member of the family feels comfortable.
- Fashion look. In the pursuit of fashion trends, focus on the kitchen-living room and win.
Zonal division and space design
Having decided to combine two diverse functional rooms - the kitchen and the living room, get ready for the fact that the space will have to be zoned. Divide the area into zones using:
- bar counter;
- arches (beams);
- screens;
- sliding glass panels;
- applying different wall finishes.
Let's talk about each of the techniques in more detail.
Bar counter
When the living room is combined with the kitchen, the use of separation tools is required. One of them is a bar counter. In addition to the zonal divider, the design serves as a dining table. It is easy to organize a place for storing things under the counter, equipping it with convenient shelves or boxes. The bar counter and kitchen set can be performed in a single ensemble in order to maintain the style.
Combining the living room and kitchen, in any case, activate the fantasy. This is a chance to show design inclinations and create your own unique style of combined kitchen and living room. In the photo, the bar counter is a zonal separator and at the same time a design element that creates a smooth transition betweenfunctional areas.
Arch
All kinds of arches and beams visually separate the living room from the kitchen. This is the best option for kitchens located in niches. The use of such an architectural element makes the room more expressive.
Screen
The screen is performed when there is a need to organize an additional storage system. This option fits perfectly into the living room combined with the kitchen in the apartment.
Mounting a screen will solve the problem with zonal separation, and will also make it possible to store different utensils on additional shelves and drawers. In addition, an electric fireplace is built into the screen, bringing coziness to the interior.
Decorative finishes and architectural delights
Multi-level ceiling is another tool used for zoning functional spaces. The interior is emphasized with light or combined with finishing materials.
Acceptable installation of tiles in the kitchen and laminate flooring in the living area. The flooring will draw a conditional line between the zones, and it will also turn out to be practical in everyday life. Designers say that you can highlight the living room with a carpet placed in the center of the room and as if focusing attention.
Put your kitchen on the podium. This is a move that contributes to the successful division of space.
Sometimes separation is carried out by decorating walls and other surfaces in the room. Here, a competent selection of companion wallpapers, or colors or tones of decoration, is important,in harmony with each other.
Since 2015, plain wall decoration has been no less popular, but with the use of materials with different textures. For example, the kitchen is finished with blue tiles, and the living room is decorated with matching wallpaper.
Some principles for combining functional areas
How to contribute to the unification of the living room combined with the kitchen:
- With the help of a dining table to facilitate a smooth transition from the kitchen to the living room.
- Using companion materials in finishing. This technique is suitable for both dividing and combining functional areas.
- Using identical color accents.
- With the help of a ceiling light mounted around the perimeter of the room.
Do not forget that the rooms you are trying to combine must be in the same stylistic solution, otherwise the picture of the room will look disharmonious.
Examples of combined room layout projects
In construction, there are dozens of room layout projects, and all are completely different. The project affects both the arrangement and the placement of the described functional areas, as well as the layout of the entire house or apartment.
The living room, combined with the kitchen in the house, should not lose its original functionality. Therefore, before proceeding with (re)planning, draw up a detailed work plan and take into account the following features:
- the shape and size of the rooms to be combined;
- location of windows and adjoining rooms;
- lighting area, location of doorways,arches, niches;
- number of family members and their age group;
- the price of the issue of redevelopment of an apartment or house.
Small kitchen-living room
The project of combining a kitchen combined with a living room in Khrushchev depends on the size and shape of the room, but even in cramped conditions up to 17 m2 this layout can really be implemented. In such a kitchen-living room there will be only the necessary, and the interior without unnecessary items and things will seem fresher and cleaner.
In this situation, the kitchen is equipped with a maximum of three pairs of wall cabinets (upper + lower). Having provided covers for the stove and sink, you get two more functional areas: the first is for cutting food, the second is as a stand for a bread machine, multicooker, yogurt maker.
Mid-sized kitchen-living room
In a private house, there are often rooms of an average area up to 30 m22. There are 3-4 windows in such rooms, so the living room, combined with the kitchen in the house, is lit.
Both linear and corner sets will fit into the room, and the remaining space will be enough to equip a seating area by the fireplace or TV or a combined dining room.
Dimensional premises and features of their combination
If you have a private house, even a mansion, then it is clear that you can afford to organize a kitchen with a living and dining area in a large area. In this case, do not hesitate to choose furniture, project, finishing materials.
The room facing the terrace will lookeven lighter. Panoramic glazing is acceptable here, large glass door structures in the area of \u200b\u200bthe living room part of the room. In this case, the dining area will be completely organized on the street - under the roof of the terrace.
Custom layout solutions
The terrace is used by additionally insulating and mounting a kitchen with a barbecue oven or grill on it. At the same time, glass doors can be easily and conveniently moved apart at the right time, and you get one functional room for a family vacation.
Kitchen area placement options
There are five main options for placing the cooking area, study them in more detail:
- In a rectangular room, the kitchen occupies one of the walls, and such a kitchen with a living room, combined in an apartment, is separated by an island or a bar counter. Suitable for medium sized rooms.
- Kitchen in the corner of the room with an L-shaped layout, the headset occupies two walls, starting from the corner. This option harmoniously fits into a small combined room or into a large space that needs to be filled.
- In large rooms where, in addition to the kitchen, there is also a living and dining area, the cooking area with all its functional areas is located in the center of the room. In this case, nothing restricts the movement of the hostess, makes it possible to freely communicate with visitors sitting in the living room, it is convenient to set the table.
- Cooking area in the center of the kitchen. This option emphasizes the space, zoning it. In addition, suchthe layout facilitates the installation of a powerful hood that copes with unpleasant odors.
- Kitchen in the closet - do you know what it is? The project of placing a headset in a small room. By closing the cabinet with doors with a special design, you divide, as in the photo, the combined kitchen with the living room in the house into two separate rooms.
No less interesting would be the option of placing the kitchen under the stairs. This option is suitable only for private houses or two-, three-level apartments in the metropolis. The space under the stairs is used for storing kitchen utensils in cabinets, cabinets, drawers or for zoning a studio-kitchen combined with a living room.
Design of the kitchen-living room in the interior of the house
Any stylistic decision is suitable for the room, but keep in mind that each of the zones should not stand out from the composition, but support the interior.
Look at the photo of the kitchen with the living room, combined into one room.
Pastel colors and a variety of textures are suitable for the room. Even when working with one color, the functional areas are emphasized favorably due to the texture of the wallpaper, plaster, and painting technology. Alternatively, use a black and white design in the interior. In this case, it is difficult to break the basics of coloring, and the services of a designer will not be required, which will save the budget.
Playing with colors
Try to play with colors by focusing on one pronounced shade used indecorating each of the functional areas of the interior of the kitchen combined with the living room.
Snow-white glossy kitchen is easy to combine with the room in any color. It will easily fit into the style of any living room decoration. The hospital look of the ward can be easily leveled by adding a bright tableware set to the interior, placing several vases with flower arrangements.
By focusing on the countertop, for example, by doing it in bright blue and combining it with matching pillows on the sofa in the living room, you will get a complete picture of the style of the kitchen combined with the living room.
Playing with texture
Color isn't the only thing you can interact with when designing an integrated kitchen. In a wooden house, especially if it is made of calibrated logs, it is not customary to finish the walls. Use their texture for stylistic design of a chalet-style kitchen-living room. Please note that the tree is dark, so good lighting is required here.
For a house designed in this direction, country style with furniture in white and brown tones will suit, giving the room a special look.
Ecostyle in the interior
A small eco-style kitchen combined with a living room, where natural materials are used, is an alternative option for styling a room. Natural natural colors, furniture and finishing materials are appropriate here.
The medieval-style kitchen-living room looks organic in a wooden house.
Wall decoration is acceptable for panel housesred brick, which gives the kitchen not only brightness, but also texture. But this technique is used only for the design of spacious rooms, as brickwork “eats up” small rooms.
Companion wallpaper finishing will be effective in order to highlight functional areas, as in the photo. A kitchen with a living room, combined into one room, can be really organized even in a small one-story house or in the country. Anything is possible when it comes to ergonomics.
In a very tiny country house, fit a table and an armchair, separating the recreation area in this way. The aged design of the accessories will emphasize the style favorably.
The design of the living room combined with the kitchen in a private house has its own characteristics. Here, the premises can be of absolutely any shape and area, which cannot be said about the typical layouts of city apartments. When furnishing a room that includes several functional areas in the house, use any styles and technical equipment, while doing the same in the apartment - limit yourself to functional and useful interior items and discreet decoration.
This layout option is used either in houses and apartments with a small area of two functional areas - a kitchen and a living room, limited to 20 m 2, or in a large mansion where the designer's soul can roam. To occupy the space of a large room so that it is both functional and comfortable is a real art.
