Thinking about building a private house, many people think about combining the living room and kitchen into one room in the layout. But how can this be done and what are the pitfalls in such a project?
Usually, this planning method is used either in houses with small sizes, where two rooms have no more than 20 m2, or in a huge house, where it is necessary to occupy the space so that it is functionally convenient, and so that you do not have to get lost in the numerous footage of rooms and corridors.
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Advantages and disadvantages
Modern designers advise to expand the space, increase the volume of the premises. The most popular way to do this is to combine the kitchen and the living room, and if the project does not always allow it in the apartment, then it will not be difficult to implement the plan in a private house.
But with such an arrangement, one must not forget that these rooms have completely different functions, and completely different requirements are put forward for their decoration.
What disadvantages should you pay attention to if you decide to make this combination?
The first thing that is alarming when arranging a kitchen combined with a living room is the smell of cooked food. No matter how powerful the hood you install, the aromas of the cooked food will still freely penetrate into the living room area.
The fashion for the studio, where the kitchen and living room are combined into one space, came from America. But they hardly cook at home there. Therefore, this disadvantage is almost invisible. In our country, they cook a lot and everything, including holiday dinners, so the aromas of cooked food will freely penetrate into the living room area, even if you install a powerful hood.
The second is that when cooking and eating food, a lot of garbage is formed, which easily gets from the kitchen area into the living room. And cleaning will have to be done very often inside the entire combined room.
But there are significant advantages in such a design solution
- The living room, combined with the kitchen, visually increases the area of both zones due to the absence of a wall. This is especially important in small spaces.
- You can place large-sized furniture and all kinds of equipment.
- It is more convenient to receive guests in the kitchen-living room, not being limited to a small space. This option gives the hostess the opportunity to spend more time with relatives, to follow the children playing in the living room, while not stopping from cooking.
- You can place a full dining table at which a large family can fit.
- Fashionable and modern look. The kitchen-living room looks attractive, in line with the latest fashion trends.
How to divide and arrange space
If you decide to combine the kitchen and living room in your private house, no matter what size they are, you will need to divide it into zones. This can be done in several ways:
- bar counter;
- arches (beams);
- screen;
- sliding glass panels.
- separate with ceiling and floor;
- the use of various wall finishes.
Let's consider everything in order
Bar counter - one of the popular ways to separate the kitchen and living room in small spaces. At the same time, the bar counter also serves as a dining table. Also, it is possible to organize a storage place for various things in it, which is important in a small kitchen-living room. To make the bar look organic, it should be made of the same materials as the kitchen set.
Arches, all kinds of beams will visually help separate the kitchen space from the living room. This zoning is perfect if the kitchen is in a so-called niche.
The screen is usually performed as additional storage systems. In this case, you will not only successfully divide the room, but also get a lot of shelves and drawers. Or, a portal with an electric fireplace can be built into the screen. This solution will make the living area more comfortable.
With the help of a tiered ceiling, you can also divide the kitchen and living room areas. You can also play with lighting fixtures, or with various finishing materials.
You can also put different flooring in different areas of the kitchen-living room. Tile the kitchen floor, for example, and put parquet in the living room. Such a solution will not only visually draw a line between the zones, but will also be convenient from a practical point of view. Also, very often the living area is allocated with a carpet.
You can lift the kitchen to the podium. This will also divide the space well. In addition, the podium can accommodate additional storage space or hide poufs and couches for guests.
When the separation is made using wall decor, in this case it is necessary to select either companion wallpaper or a combination of colors that are in harmony with each other. However, recently, wall decoration in the kitchen-living room has been popular with materials of the same color, but different textures. For example, the walls in the kitchen are tiled, and the walls of the living room are covered with wallpaper in color.
If the division is more or less clear, then how to combine the kitchen and living area together?
- Using the dining table. It will help make a smooth transition from kitchen to living room.
- The use of companion materials in decoration. This will both divide and connect the rooms.
- Same color accentssuch as a bright armchair in the living area and red lights in the kitchen.
- Illuminated ceiling. Perimeter LED backlighting will do the job perfectly.
Do not forget that the combined rooms must have one stylistic solution, otherwise the picture of the room as a whole will not converge.
Examples of a room layout project
The room layout project can be completely different. For the most part, it depends on the placement of rooms in the whole house as a whole. But we must not forget that the combined premises should not lose the functions that were originally assigned to them. Therefore, before combining these two rooms, first of all, it is necessary to draw up a plan, where the following features will need to be taken into account.
- The size and shape of the premises.
- Which side the windows face, and which rooms adjoin.
- How is this area illuminated, as well as where the doorways are located and how many there are.
- Who lives in the house.
- Money question.
The entire project of the union depends on the size and shape of the room. But even in a small area of 15-17 squares, this layout can be accommodated. The furniture that will go into such a kitchen-living room will be only the most necessary. In this case, the kitchen should be equipped with no more than three pairs of cabinets (wall and bottom drawers - a pair). Covers for sinks and stoves can be provided. In this case, the surface of the sink can be used as an additional surface of the cutting table, and the stoves can be used as a place, for example, for a multicooker or a bread machine.
Medium-sized premises are the most common in private houses. Their area is about 30 square meters. Usually such rooms have several windows, and it is quite light in it. Here you can place a straight or corner kitchen set, allocate a large enough space for the living area. In addition, the space allows you to highlight a separate dining area, organizing a smooth transition between all the components of the combined room.
If your private house has a huge area where it is planned to place a living room combined with a kitchen, then here you can feel free to choose both furniture and project design. And if this room is also with an exit to the terrace, then the room will be filled with light. In this case, it is necessary to arrange doors to the terrace in the form of large glass structures, and place a living room in their area. Alternatively, it will be possible to organize an outdoor dining area under the roof of the terrace.
Another great planning solution is to organize a kitchen on the terrace, having previously insulated it, and install a brazier oven, while the glass doors can be opened at any time, thereby combining the two rooms into one.
Now let's talk about the options for placing the kitchen area
A kitchen area that occupies one of the walls in a rectangular room. Such solutions are usually separated by an island or a bar counter. Suitable for not too large rooms
The kitchen area occupies a corner of the room. An L-shaped kitchen set is arranged here. This layout is suitable for both a small room and a large kitchen-living room. It is very convenient to place an island here, equipped with additional storage space and serving as a dining table, or place a table in the living area, while dividing the zones using flooring
If you have a house with several floors, then it is advisable to place the kitchen in the area of the stairs. In this case, the space under the stairs can be occupied by cabinets for storing kitchen utensils, or act as a space divider.
If your room is large enough and you want to organize a dining area in addition to the living room and kitchen areas, then it is advisable to place the kitchen in the middle of the room. Then, being in the kitchen, it is convenient to set the table in the dining area, and not be limited in communication that takes place in the living room
A kitchen in a cupboard is another project for placing a kitchen unit in a small room. By closing the wardrobe with doors with special designs, you make a living room out of the living room combined with the kitchen
Mark the cooking area in the middle of the kitchen, then it will perfectly zone the space, in addition, such an arrangement will allow you to install a powerful hood that can cope with all the smells when cooking
Interior design
A design for a living room combined with a kitchen can be made in any stylistic solution, but do not forget that it should be the same for all areas of the room.
First, let's look at the colors in which you can decorate the living room combined with the kitchen
Working on the design of the living room combined with the kitchen, you can easily get lost in the variety of furniture, textures and finishes. To prevent this from happening, you can choose one pastel color, in which you can decorate the whole room, playing only with texture.
But it's a pity to simplify such a room with such a minimal design.
One of the options for playing with color is to arrange, for example, in the living area a table or pillows on the sofa in the same color as the kitchen set.
You can decorate the entire room in white and black. In this case, it is very difficult to violate the foundations of color, and you do not need to resort to the services of designers.
The snow-white glossy kitchen is combined with almost any color. It can easily fit into any decoration of the living room. Its hospital look can be easily removed by buying bright dishes or installing a flower next to the headset.
It will be interesting in the interior to look at a bright purple countertop in the kitchen, combined with the pillows on the sofa in the living area, and at the end, combine everything with an LED strip that emphasizes the multi-level ceiling.
Olive in the living area can be enhanced in the kitchen with accessories in color.
But besides the color in the living room area, combined with the kitchen, you can play with texture.
In a wooden house, if it is made of calibrated logs, you can not trim the walls, but use their texture to decorate the kitchen-living room in a chalet style. True, in such an interior it will be necessary to illuminate the room as much as possible, since the tree is darkish. And it will "eat" all the light that will enter the room.
Country style is also suitable in this case. Furniture in a white and brown palette will look great in the interior of the kitchen-living room.
Another option for a country house made of wood is the design of the living room, combined with the kitchen, in an eco-style, where only natural materials are used.
A large kitchen-living room in the style of medieval castles will also perfectly fit into a wooden house.
In a panel house, you can apply red brick wall decoration, this will give not only color to the interior, but also texture. But this is suitable only in a spacious room, a small one, brickwork will only "eat up".
You can also decorate the walls with companion wallpaper to emphasize the different functionality of the zones.
At the dacha, even in the premises of the smallest one-story house, you can also organize a kitchen-living room.
If the country house is very tiny, you can put a table and an armchair in the kitchen, thus separating the seating area, and the aged design of the accessories will look quite appropriate.
The design of a living room combined with a kitchen in a private household has its own characteristics. Unlike standard projects in an apartment, here the room can be of absolutely any shape and size, which allows you to equip it in any style and with all kinds of technical equipment. Therefore, when combining the living room and kitchen in a private house, turn on your imagination and create your unique style that will delight you day after day, and the ergonomics of the room will positively affect the cooking process.
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