Not all people can afford a spacious apartment or a large house, but this does not detract from the desire for comfort and graceful life. On the contrary, the design of individual rooms, including living rooms, is only becoming more relevant. Designers have developed a number of techniques to help deal with this problem.
Features of the
In the living room with an area of 18 sq. m (this is a relative figure, in reality it may be a little more or a little less) it is undesirable to put such furniture, the protruding edges of which take up additional space. The solution to the problem is to combine the kitchen and the hall, but this step needs to be carefully thought out, to take measures against the spread of bad smells.
Even if the budget option is chosen, it is necessary to be more careful in the choice of colors and their combinations with each other.
It is recommended to focus on multifunctional solutions in the interior, since it is more attractive and aesthetically pleasing, and also allows you to at least partially solve the problem of the eternal lack of space in the "Khrushchev" or in the apartment of a panel house.
Even the best classical compositions are noticeably inferior to the living room, furnished in a modern style, which is much more practical and rational than the old-fashioned one.
Zoning
In addition to choosing a style, you should take into account a certain division into zones. In most typical houses, central rooms have a number of functions at once, and it is desirable to implement each of them in a certain part of the room. If there is sufficient space, the living room is isolated from other rooms, and then zoning separates the actual guest part from the recreational one. The main design solutions, in this case, are a visually prominent carpet or a sharp change in the type of floor covering.
If you don't like this scheme, then you can divide the space into shares with various wall decorations or columns and installations. According to designers, the best points for zoning a hall in a two-room apartment are areas around the TV and sleeping place. A more beautiful and romantic solution in this case is the use of curtains and curtains, screens.
An important condition for success is maintaining a stylistic match between the two separated parts of the room. White curtains look good in combination with expressive yellow walls, and the use of lamps and paintings on the walls helps to emphasize the comfort of the room.
Partitions can also separate the guest area from the bedroom, and this step turns out to be the cheapest.
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It is recommended to choose not just a barrier, but a structure that can accommodate certain items, freeing up additional space.
Sometimes the living room needs to be visually separated from the kitchen, and the range of possible solutions is quite large. It should be remembered that it makes sense to use arches, two-level ceilings and floors, as well as columns only if the height of the rooms to be divided is large enough. Regardless of the footage, such a move is unacceptable if small children or elderly people live in the house. A cardinal gap can be made using both blind and partitions equipped with interior doors.
Surface decor
Window blocks can be as beautiful and graceful as you like, but to give them the necessary completeness, you need to use curtains. The only exceptions are interiors in the spirit of hi-tech and minimalism, but even in them you can fit short curtains if you don't like a fully open window. A living room in the shape of a square can add coziness by hanging carpets on the walls. Contrary to popular belief, this can create a completely modern and rational interior. The disadvantage of this measure is the excessive concentration of dust.
The use of handmade accessories helps to make the space more comfortable, but when the goal is to create a feeling of gloss and luxury, you need to use decor with a glossy sheen, easy to remember.
Tapestries and woven panels are often found as alternatives to carpets. Candlesticks help to bring notes of romanticism into the atmosphere. When the interior is designed in a loft style or in another urbanistic key, such an element of decor as paintings by contemporary artists or large-format posters is attractive. You can choose a subject to your liking, although artistic photography is the best solution.
Stucco design can be beautiful and original. If you take not classic plaster solutions, but modern ones (based on polyurethane), you will even be able to design the space in the spirit of neoclassicism or Victorian style. Moreover, such a solution helps to reduce the time required for major repairs. Imitation of stucco elements is no worse in appearance than real gypsum blocks, and its cost is much less.
When choosing decorative elements, attention is also paid to the purpose of using a certain area in the room. So, opposite the guest accommodation, it makes sense to put plasma panels, large aquariums, art canvases (both classical and contemporary artists). A good alternative to such solutions is often a fake fireplace, a miniature karaoke stage, or a decorative wall. Replace paintings if you don't want to pick them up, or you find it difficult to make a decision, you need mirrored plates.
The selection of material, regardless of the size of the room, should be linked to the main motive that you are trying to bring into the room. The appearance of the finishing material and decor must match stylistically.
So, when all the efforts of the designer are aimed at giving originality, at emphasizing it, then a good step is the use of natural stone or its skillful reproduction.
In an environment dictated by an ecological style, it is recommended to use a vertically landscaped wall, but always only one.
By the way, about the walls. Empty surfaces on the back of sofas are often a source of concern to people. It seems that this design problem is very difficult to solve. Designers suggest the following win-win moves:
- the use of modular paintings;
- clock, the appearance of which repeats the general concept of the room;
- a shelf made of durable tempered glass, on which items made with your own hands are placed;
- a small musical instrument on an original suspension;
- installation developed according to an individual project.
As in any other room, in a modest living room, a black and white photograph of someone from the household turns out to be an attractive decor element. You need to choose wisely, so that the angle is good, and the general view does not cease to please after a few months. Print the image fragmentarily, and now a good replacement for industrial photo wallpaper is ready.
And if you don't want to see yourself and your loved ones, then use any other silhouette shot, choosing it just as carefully.
Speaking of ready-made decorative elements, decorative panels are worth mentioning. Particularly good are narrow types that are brought to the ceiling in two or three stripes, mixed in sequence with the usual wallpaper or textured plasters. This technique creates the feeling of elongated walls, especially when narrow mirrors are used. Any other material can also be used, enhancing its appeal with carefully selected textures or visuals.
Furnishings
The use of furniture in the living room does not have strict standards. Moreover, every manufacturer creates kits, focusing on their ideas about the ideal. This applies not only to appearance, but also to a certain composition. In a rectangular and square living room, in a room of any other shape, modern designers recommend installing interior items that are ergonomic, easily move to a new place if necessary, and perform at least two functions.
The rooms where you are going to relax, watch movies and TV broadcasts, involve the use of a soft band.
If you do not want to use sofas, armchairs and poufs in high quality, then the leading role should be given to the home theater, placing seating around it.
Living rooms with dining rooms are furnished around dining groups. In any case, you should take a closer look at furniture options equipped with casters or casters. They allow you to quickly change the composition if the need arises. What categorically should not be, even with the most classic living room format, is the usual large-sized "wall" reaching up to the ceiling.
Systems formed by lightweight modules look much better. Plus, they are more practical to use. An even more avant-garde (and therefore less acceptable) type is constructions with glass. There are already several hundred modern options in total, and it is not difficult to choose the wall that suits you.
Maintaining tradition when choosing a classic style is important, but it is worth considering that cabinet furniture of a truly traditional design can be bought only for a solid amount of money. But there is a way out. This is a contemporary style that allows you to fit furniture products into any interior. It is recommended to "arrange" both upholstered and cabinet furniture initially on the plan in order to avoid gross mistakes. Correcting them will require significant time and additional costs. Corner interior items simultaneously perform three key functions:
- decorative;
- functional;
- delimiting.
Moreover, their undoubted advantage is maximum space savings. The spaciousness of the compartment-type corner cabinets is large in comparison with straight products of comparable size, and this is important for a limited living room area. If you want to have a hall with a fireplace, it is not enough to ensure the compatibility of furniture with it.
Selection should begin with determining the optimal style, and it may not coincide with the dominant style. The classic version of the hearth will remain popular, in demand even after decades.
Lighting
The ready-made lighting option, which the builders leave behind, does not suit everyone. It is sometimes too simple. There is no individuality, there is no zest here. Before buying and installing lighting fixtures, you need to take into account both the design side and the reliability of communications. Complex electrical calculations are almost always required, and, in accordance with their results, decide which ideas can be implemented and which cannot.
Even in a narrow room, you can organize high-quality, pleasant lighting. The main general light located in the center will either illuminate only the middle of the living room, or it will be excessively bright and blinding. The way out is in the use of local decorative lighting, which can be made both point and narrowly directed. The presence of niches in the room justifies the exact direction of the light. This solution is a real classic.
When the hall is zoned with a podium, that is, with an uneven floor, it is recommended to install lighting fixtures just at the point of the drop. Thanks to this step, it is possible not only to illuminate the living room gracefully, but also to constantly remind of the difference in relief. Try to emphasize with light pictures and photographs, other important components of the interior of the walk-through room for you.
The opinion that table lamps can only be installed in bedrooms and study rooms has long been outdated. Lamps with chic designer lampshades will only improve the space.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to set the style of the living room, think over the type of flooring, and key shades, and curtains (blinds). All these elements, as well as lighting, should be selected by one person or a group of specialists in accordance with uniform requirements. In a small room, the sofa, regardless of whether it plays the role of an accent or not, it is advisable to place it against the side wall. It makes sense to install a coffee table with a maximum height of 0.6 meters next to the sofa.
The choice of solutions with countertops of atypical geometry and beautifully curved legs helps to introduce intrigue.
Beautiful examples in the interior
Even a small living room can be fully decorated. Bright colors - light and dark - can be intertwined in one composition. Here, a window, a TV set and surrounding objects, an image on one of the walls and an air conditioner installed at its junction with the ceiling have black paint. The ceiling itself and the opposite wall are white, the floor is a noble yellow-brown hue, the sofa is, rather, lemon yellow. The bedside table is made of glass, it is not immediately noticeable. The intricately shaped chandelier attracts attention and acts as the strongest dominant in the room.
Here they did a little differently: the top and walls are made in white and other light colors. The floor is covered with elegant dark planks, with rugs on top in several places. The sofa and armchair are light, and the bright red pillows that are placed on them immediately attract attention. A tree in a tub and an aquarium in the distance bring a sense of naturalness into the room.
These two examples are quite enough to make sure that even a relatively small living room can be easily decorated in a modern style, you just need to approach this process more carefully, use all the developments of modern design.
For an overview of a studio apartment of 34.6 square meters, as well as interior design in a modern style for a girl, see the next video.
