If you live in an apartment building, and the Khrushchev-era building is not very large and spacious, then it may seem that an elegant living room is definitely not for you. In fact, you only need a little imagination to create an elegant space in your apartment. Current trends definitely favor a beautiful living room in a Khrushchev-era building.
Organizing a stylish living room in an apartment can be a challenge. Usually the room is not very large, it should contain a lot of furniture and serve several functions: a recreation area, a dining room, an office, and sometimes even be a bedroom. So how can you arrange your living room to be functional and modern?
Features of the hall
Apartments built in the 50s and 60s are characterized by a small area, low ceilings, and thin partitions. In those not very distant times, the task was to provide at least some kind of housing for as many people as possible; they didn’t even think about creating any amenities.
In those days, the living room in all apartments looked almost the same: a wall with a collection of works by Lenin and Pushkin, a TV on thin legs and an ottoman. The carpet on the floor covered the linoleum.
Today, thanks to the efforts of designers, even this room can become a very cozy place. All you need to be happy is to choose the most suitable design and materials and try to expand the available area.
Zoning
Successful zoning of the hall space in a small apartment in Khrushchev allows you to endow this modest space with high functionality, aesthetic appeal and comfort. Apply original ideas for the interior of a hall of twelve square meters, so that it looks like a standard hall of 18 meters in area. Here we can distinguish the following zones:
- rest, as in the photo. It will include a comfortable sofa and armchairs, a small table with magazines, where you can also put a cup of coffee. In order to delineate the boundaries of the relaxation space, you can use finishing materials that differ in color from the finishing of the rest of the room;
- for working by the window, including a desk (it is better to place it in a corner and prefer a corner design with shelves and drawers), an armchair, and so on. In this case, you need to hang transparent curtains on the window so that as much natural light falls on the desk as possible. To prevent your eyes from getting tired, it is better to place an additional lighting device on the table. And if the hall is a passageway, this zone can be separated from the rest of the space by means of a screen or partition shelf. Then nothing will interfere with concentrating on work;
- will complete the image of the interior and give the entire space a single design idea - the unity of textiles on the window openings, floor and sofa. You can choose a rug, curtains and bedspreads for the sofa in the same color and pattern, so that in a small room it is incredibly comfortable to relax and work.
Techniques for increasing space
There are two options to make the room larger:
- First and difficult: Demolish the wall into the next room. But this will require permission from special services and quite large financial costs.
- Second and simpler: Achieve the effect of enlargement through the use of light colors, mirror surfaces, and built-in cabinets.
Of course, the room itself will not change, but visually it will seem larger and more spacious.
Color spectrum
A wide variety of colors are used for the hall. It all depends on the wishes of the apartment owners.
But it’s still better to prefer calm and light colors:
- White, expanding the space and giving the room lightness;
- Beige, adding comfort and softness;
- Delicate blue or green, helping to get rid of tension and stress;
- Gray, which is an excellent background for all other colors;
- Yellow, creating the mood of a sunny day and joy.
More saturated colors also look stylish:
- Browns give a mood of confidence and stability;
- Blues create a feeling of depth and texture;
- Reds give energy.
The original design is created using black and white design.
Colors have become fashionable:
- Pistachios;
- Olives;
- Lilacs;
- Dusty rose.
An overly calm interior will be diluted by small bright accents, but you shouldn’t get too carried away with decorating. Calmness and serenity remain in fashion.
When choosing a color, you should keep in mind that cold tones will make the room more spacious, while warm tones will bring more coziness. Vertical stripes will raise the ceilings, horizontal stripes will push the walls apart, geometric shapes will add energy, and floral designs will embody coziness.
In small rooms, bright colors and large patterns are not used. However, a large number of small pictures will also make it difficult to perceive. So it is better to use plain materials or surfaces with a dim pattern.
Purpose of the living room
The word itself hints that the living room is a place for guests. However, in small apartments it is a multifunctional place: here they relax, eat, watch movies, work, celebrate the New Year and celebrate birthdays.
The living room is the main space of the apartment. That’s why it’s so important to make the room cozy, comfortable, and able to adapt to any situation.
Floor finishing
Laminate flooring enjoys the greatest love among housewives. It perfectly imitates natural wood, but is much cheaper.
- If you want to amaze your household and guests with a more expensive design, then you can use stylish parquet or cozy cork.
- A carpet spread over the entire room, or a carpet that occupies only part of the space, will add additional luxury to the floors.
Wall decoration
The following are used as clothing for vertical partitions:
- Wallpaper (paper, non-woven, liquid, glass);
- Plaster (simple, creating smooth walls, or decorative, imitating the luxury of ancient decoration);
- Paint available in a wide variety of colors.
But the last two options will require careful preliminary finishing of the walls, which in Khrushchev will become a very time-consuming and money-consuming undertaking. Instead of the usual plaster and primer, you can use plasterboard sheets to ensure a smooth surface, but this solution will slightly reduce the space of the room.
- A unique design will be achieved by creating false walls from plasterboard, in which you can create niches for placing lamps, decor, and books. But this arrangement option will significantly eat up the available space.
- Photo wallpapers stand out separately: they become an unusual decoration, help create an original design, and increase the space of the room. Until recently, the optimal pictures were forest paths, sea expanses, and ancient streets. Today, images of megacities, outer space, and abstract drawings are more popular.
- Instead of the already quite familiar photo wallpaper, you can paint the walls with watercolors or create unusual drawings. Artists will be able to do this completely independently, and for those who do not have such talent, special stencils are sold.
The wall decoration with 3D panels looks original. But such options, like photo wallpapers, are used to decorate only one wall. An accent can also be created using a brighter color scheme.
Layout options
A small living room in a Khrushchev-era apartment remains a walk-through without redevelopment. The arrangement of furniture in such a room should be carried out in such a way that objects do not interfere with free movement and do not block the passage. For a walk-through hall, an excellent solution would be to choose a more restrained style direction and install transformable furniture elements.
In a square room, designers recommend determining in advance where the furniture and decor will be located. It is better if all objects are placed at an equal distance from each other. In a square-shaped living room, there is no need to choose a special place for a furniture set, since its location will not affect the size of the room in any way. The main advantage of this layout is the saving of free space in the center of the room.
In order not to make the rectangular room even more disproportionate and not to lengthen the space, it is not advisable to place furniture near one oblong wall. The interior will look more visually balanced if you use combinations and horizontal divisions in the decoration of the walls. For example, the upper part of the plane is painted, and the lower part is covered with wallpaper with patterns. A warm color palette will help expand the rectangular long hall.
In a one-room panel Khrushchev house, the layout of a studio apartment is also appropriate. In this case, all partitions are demolished and the room is combined with a hallway or kitchen. For those who do not accept radical methods of remodeling the room, you can only partially dismantle the partitions or replace the doors with arches.
The photo shows a remodeled living room in a Khrushchev-era building, combined with a kitchen.
Ceiling finishing
For a modern living room, a simple white ceiling is best. The ideal solution is still considered to be the use of light-colored tension structures.
But to create an atmospheric setting, you can use more saturated colors. In this case, preference is given to a glossy coating that reflects light rays to the maximum extent. Lately, light-colored surfaces have gravitated more toward matte, which adds additional luxury.
Floor slabs can also be decorated:
- Whitewashing;
- Plaster;
- Paint;
- Wallpaper;
- Ceiling tiles.
Decor elements
The choice of decorative elements for a small apartment should be approached with a sense of proportion and caution. It’s better to have a few of them - three or four, but they will be stylish and of high quality, this will only emphasize the good taste of the owner.
Paintings and sofa cushions are in the same color scheme
An excess of decorative elements and accessories can turn the living room into a warehouse, so their number should be limited.
The walls can be decorated with paintings or photographs in simple frames, photo wallpapers, panels. For the coffee table, choose a bouquet or ikebana in a beautiful vase.
A modular painting complements the living room interior
For the sofa and armchairs, you can purchase pillows of interesting shapes or with an original print.
Roman blinds and sofa cushions matched with a similar print
Curtains should be chosen depending on the style. These could be drapes or light floral curtains, Japanese curtains or blinds. The main thing is that they must fit harmoniously into the interior.
Hall lighting
Proper lighting will give the room additional space and comfort. Until recently, this role was played by ceiling spotlights, but now more and more often this function is transferred to more familiar ceiling chandeliers and sconces.
Light curtains will help not limit the light flow from the street.
Furniture for the hall in Khrushchev
To furnish the room, a sofa, a couple of armchairs, a coffee table and a wall-mounted TV will be enough.
But reality requires the placement of cabinets: There is not enough space for them in other rooms either.
For furnishing use:
- Visually easy slides;
- Compact-looking sliding wardrobes;
- Modular walls.
A good option is a built-in wardrobe that occupies one side of the room from wall to wall. The façade, matched to the finish, will make the structure as inconspicuous as possible.
Mirror and glossy surfaces will help add more light and space to the room.
Even a small hall in a Khrushchev building can be arranged in the most attractive way, creating a cozy and comfortable relaxation room.
Selecting a soft corner
To save space in a small living room, replace the classic set of sofa and armchairs with a compact corner sofa. If necessary, it can be expanded into an additional bed. And when assembled, put laundry or other things inside.
Do not choose overly bulky designs with a massive back or sides. Simple geometric sofas with laconic textile upholstery look good. Too elaborate textures, such as velvet, jacquard or leather, are too complex for a small living room in a Khrushchev-era building.
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