When the area of the room is limited, you have to use the subtleties of decorative design techniques in order to visually change the aesthetic perception of the existing space. In most cases, the largest room in an apartment or house is the hall. In order for it to look stylish, correspond to the status of the owners of the house and their taste preferences, the furniture should be comfortable, and the overall look should be homely and cozy. We equip the hall space with an area of 18 sq. m, taking into account the original design ideas, understanding the school of stylistics.
Features:
Living room of 18 sq. m is a typical space for most apartments from the Soviet period, including the famous Khrushchev houses. Basically it is a rectangular layout with one or two windows and a standard doorway. In other cases, the room can be a walk-through, its area has a broken perspective, which significantly complicates the arrangement of the room. This forces the use of zoning techniques in the design or more significant changes associated with increasing doorways, making arches, expanding windows.
It is great if the windows are located on adjacent sides: there is more light in such rooms.
If the room has ledges, niches, sloped walls, this affects the harmonious arrangement of furniture, clearly defining a specific place for each piece of furniture. Less often, such rooms have bay windows, podiums are performed, or the room has a message with a loggia or balcony.
The design project of this room, whether in a panel house or in a private building, takes into account a number of tasks of playing out the design features of the space.
In a hall with an area of 18 sq. m important:
- visually fill the space with spaciousness and depth;
- bring maximum light into the room;
- to use design features, giving them the appearance of functionally important details of the situation;
- make the ceiling visually higher, doorways wider, windows larger;
- demonstrate the uniqueness of the chosen style;
- do not overload the interior with an abundance of furnishings;
- functionally equip each area of the room;
- bring the feeling of home comfort into the space.
Style
The style of a small apartment hall can be designed in different directions of design. Moderate classics are welcome, but in the classical directions (neoclassicism, Italian style and classicism), it is worth limiting the abundance of palace solemnity and pomp.
It is important to reduce the amount of gilding in the decoration of furniture and the abundance of crystal in the pendant chandelier, to minimize the plaster molding of the ceiling and the massiveness of the furniture in the guest area. In a space of 18 square meters, there cannot be an abundance of luxury and pretentiousness, especially if the room is narrow or has a small window.
Modern style trends that emphasize functionality are an excellent solution for decorating a small living room. Minimalism, modern, bionics, art deco, brutalism can change the perception of a room. These directions welcome the use of modern materials, metal and glass surfaces in the environment. Thanks to this, the furniture is harmoniously combined with a stereo and video system, corners of the working space with computer equipment, making up a compositional ensemble with it (if the hall is the only living room of the apartment).
Ethnic and creative design ideas are appropriate in the design of the hall with an area of 18 squares. In the first case, the emphasis is often on natural materials and natural tones of the color palette. At the same time, unusual tables with a stone leg and a glass top, wicker furniture and wooden accessories often become interior accents.
Directions in the spirit of loft and grunge in the usual sense are not suitable here , but their stylization is quite appropriate: in some places small protrusions or elements of rough surfaces in the spirit of industrial objects, decorated with imitation of brick, add individuality to the interior. It resembles the setting of a studio apartment.
Decor
The decor of a small living room of a rectangular, square shape, angular or other perspective can be different design elements.
The most interesting decoration techniques demanded by professional interior stylists today include:
- artistic painting of paintings, abstraction, photos in small laconic frames;
- original figurines, glass or porcelain figurines;
- combining wallpaper by means of a different shade, pattern, texture, mixing with other facing materials;
- compositional lighting of certain functional areas (racks, shelves, walls, ceilings);
- combining the hall with a balcony or loggia, giving it the appearance of a bay window;
- the use of glass partitions;
- use of gilding, silver, metallic shades in the interior;
- coloring of wallpaper (embossing, gold plating) and their decoration with special stickers;
- highlighting accent points with photo wallpapers with the desired theme;
- adding expensive functional accessories (clocks, floor lamps) to the style;
- the use of beautiful textiles in the upholstery of furniture, cushion covers, covers, poufs, curtains.
The furnishings of a small hall should not be massive: compactness and lack of pretentiousness are welcomed. In this case, the legs of upholstered furniture can be curved, carved. Small linear and corner sofas, compact armchairs, poufs and neat tables are suitable for such a living room.
Today, attached accessories are in the center of attention: on such tables you can place a minimum set of necessary little things, they look harmoniously against the general background of the space, are functional accessories and in some models imply transformation, which is especially convenient if you need to receive guests by having a tea party.
Armchairs and transforming sofas are matched to them: if the living room is a single room in the apartment, at night the sofa will organize a comfortable and comfortable sleeping place.
Shelves and narrow cabinets with glass or mirrored facades look beautiful in the interior of the living room . With their help, you can visually enlarge the space, make the room larger and brighter. So that the room does not seem cluttered, it is better to buy products with a mezzanine, removing as many objects as possible: this will contribute to creating the spaciousness of the interior composition.
It is better to purchase a video system of a standard size, built into the wall and decorated with laconic acoustic devices on both sides.
Walls
With a hall area of 18 sq. m, wall cladding is possible with wallpaper, plastic panels, laminate, partial imitation of stone and brickwork. An excellent decoration technique is finishing vertical planes with decorative plaster with the appearance of chaotic strokes with a large brush, or another pattern applied by your own hands.
With a harmonious approach to combining materials, planning with zoning is possible, in which part of the wall is decorated in the form of a bottom panel (plastic and laminate), or accentuating the guest area (decorative brick or imitation wallpaper in white, light gray tone). If wall cladding is undesirable and seems time-consuming, you can decorate the walls with different textured wallpaper.
When choosing a wallpaper material, one should give preference to expensive varieties: non-woven, textile options, raw materials with silk-screen printing, for painting, liquid and fiberglass are a priority. Single-layer paper cladding will simplify the interior: the walls set the tone for the whole setting, an emphasis is needed on premium quality and original texture (plush, velvety, rough).
It is worth choosing materials with ease of maintenance (allowing cleaning of the surface), gluing and the presence of an additional effect (fireproof, environmentally friendly, moisture resistant, antibacterial). A material with a glossy surface is undesirable: a variety with a matte background and a silky sheen is preferable, through which you can convey the beauty of the pattern and set the desired mood of the interior.
Floor
Relevant floor materials for creating an original interior for a small hall are:
- parquet;
- parquet board;
- linoleum;
- linoleum tiles;
- laminate;
- self-leveling floor.
The uniqueness of the materials lies in the fact that they can be combined with each other, allowing you to zone the space of the hall. So you can select a guest, work area or dining space. By using a combination of different finishing coatings, the possibilities of flooring open up, taking into account different degrees of traffic and humidity.
Floor decoration can be represented by various curly lines , imitation of carpets, abstract patterns. In some cases, they perform a small fill with a 3D effect, which fills the room with a special atmosphere, however, requires moderation in the subject of the drawing and the size of the accent area (if there is a lot of such fill, the interior of the room may be overloaded).
Ceiling
With a small space, it is preferable not to overload the ceiling area, although simple decorative elements in moderation and size are welcome. To make it appear taller, it is decorated in white. Lighting plays a big role in creating the right atmosphere. It should be compositional, near-surface, zoned, and consist of central light and additional lighting. One light source is not enough: you need a main chandelier and auxiliary spotlights on diodes with a warm flow temperature.
If there is little light in the room, the room is narrow, divided into zones, instead of one chandelier, you will need two. At the same time, they should not be massive, although light eclecticism and a different appearance are allowed, supporting the desired atmosphere of each functional area of the hall, given its purpose. For example, for a guest area, the lighting fixture can be larger, more colorful, for a dining rather laconic model with a closed shade, or point diodes in two rows around the ceiling area of this area.
Color solutions
The choice of the color of the furnishings is a key factor in the interior of the hall. Acid and aggressive tones are unacceptable. Monochrome design in black and white style is also undesirable: it is devoid of cheerfulness, color tones must be added to such a design, otherwise it will be uncomfortable to be in the room. Regardless of the basic tone, you need to use white (in the ceiling lining, curtain textiles, window frames, etc.).
Today, harmonious popular shades that are appropriate in the original style of living room design are combinations:
- white + beige + chocolate + light wenge;
- white + light coral + cream + wenge;
- white + beige + coffee + brown;
- cream + amber + white + orange;
- light gray + wenge + brick + white;
- olive + white + cream;
- pale green + cream + pinkish + white;
- white + bleached turquoise + light sand + amber;
- terracotta + wenge + brown + white.
Combinations of light beige tones and brown tones with the addition of a brown-purple soft shade are popular. Wine and blue colors change the perception of a room, such tones are good in drawing textiles, but with an abundance they deprive the interior of the atmosphere of comfort. The turquoise hue is in the spotlight today, especially if it contrasts with the cold sand or coffee with milk shade.
Combining rooms
To make the living room larger, more spacious, and the interior is not limited in design, in some cases it is allowed to combine rooms. If they do not contradict the regulations established by law, it is allowed to connect the hall with a balcony, kitchen, corridor, hallway, dressing room. In each case, it turns out to bring space into the room, to arrange the furniture in an unusual way, without cluttering the freedom of movement around the room. Combining allows you to free up space in other rooms.
Using the space of the corridor, you can equip a small dining area without reducing the space for passing to other rooms. At the same time, the living room will seem more inviting and comfortable. By connecting the hall with the balcony, you can give it the appearance of a workspace, a secluded corner for relaxing, reading books or sleeping. Economy options provide for a partial solution of combination (expansion of doorways)
Beautiful examples of interior decoration
The arrangement of the hall does not depend on whether it is a private house, one-room apartment, two-room apartment or more: beauty can be arranged everywhere.
Among the beautiful examples of the style of the hall, there are many original ideas that can be taken as a basis by adjusting to your preferences:
- a square room looks stylish and cozy in sand-white tones with a white stretch ceiling, a corner sofa of a similar tone that stands out against the background of a contrasting wall, having a sand-tone cladding support on the opposite side, highlighting the video system and a shelf with drawers;
- by increasing the width of the doorway, you can connect the living room with an adjacent room, while making a separate functional area in each corner: a dining area, a guest room and a cooking area, delimiting them with different shades of the color palette;
- the space can be arranged differently: the window sill can be given the appearance of a writing desk, complementing the working area with two chairs, separating a kind of bay window with textile screens, the guest area should be marked with a corner sofa to match the screens, complementing the furnishings with built-in wardrobes, placing a video system with acoustics in the space between them (it remains to expand the door opening - and a welcoming room with an original design is ready);
- the interior of a narrow room can be played up with illumination by placing a central surface-type lamp with closed shades in the center of the hall on a stretch ceiling, decorating an auxiliary lighting on two opposite walls, decorated with original paintings in laconic frames;
- imitation loft looks great with brick-like wall decoration in the place of the guest area and opposite it as a panel that highlights the TV, while the ceiling and communication elements are original in the style, complemented by stylish lamps of the desired design
For information on how to design a hall with your own hands, see the next video.