If you have an apartment with a loggia, then you can easily enlarge your home in a fairly simple way - simply by combining the balcony space with one of the rooms.
Advantages and disadvantages
Loggia and balcony are two different spaces. This must be understood by everyone who decided to combine their room with a small extension. A balcony is a protruding part of your room, which is separated from the main room by a wall with a door. It can be glazed or open, and is usually compact in size.
Loggia, in turn, is a niche that is located directly inside the facade of the building. Loggias are fenced off from the main room with strong walls. It is because of this that in order to combine it with the space of your room, you need a special permission.
Of course, combining rooms is exclusively your business, especially if you are a full-fledged owner of an apartment. But due to the fact that the loggia is usually separated from the main room by a load-bearing wall, it is necessary to make sure that its dismantling will not lead to the collapse of other walls and the destruction of the building or a separate part of it.
The dismantling of the wall with the removal of the window opening for the sake of connecting the two rooms must be certified by professional engineers who, before approving the project, must inspect your room
Remember that the independent combination of the loggia and the room will not only result in an administrative fine for you, but can also lead to the destruction of your house
But if everything is in order with the plan of the house and the connection of the two rooms will not bring any negative consequences, then you can safely translate this project into reality.
The protracted process of obtaining documentation is the only objective disadvantage of such a redevelopment. She has a lot more advantages. The main one is an increase in space and the ability to translate into reality many interesting design ideas.
Preliminary work
If you decide to combine a room with a loggia, then you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to work on preparing your premises.
When redeveloping a space, remember that the features of combining a room with a loggia in a panel house and in a monolithic house are significantly different. If you live in a panel house, then you may have much more problems when remodeling a room. Therefore, do not be discouraged if you are denied permission to demolish the wall. In this case, you can limit yourself to replacing the door with an arch or dismantling the window.
If the loggia was not previously glazed, then this, of course, needs to be corrected. Then, in order to combine two separate rooms, you need to dismantle the wall that separates them. If necessary, the wall can also be additionally reinforced with columns or beams. It is also desirable to insulate the resulting space.
Insulation is necessary, since, according to all the rules, there should not be central heating on the loggia, which means that the combined space will turn out to be quite cold. When insulating a room, you should not dwell only on windows or one wall. Cold penetrates into the room through all possible crevices, thin walls and even the floor. Therefore, everything needs to be insulated.
First, install quality double glazed windows. Seal all existing gaps with sealant, and insulate the walls. If possible, it is advisable to install the heating system on the floor. This is especially true if you plan to use your loggia as an extension of a bedroom or children's room.
What rooms can be expanded
Loggias in modern houses and apartments are located next to different rooms. And the location of the balcony space determines which room you will have the opportunity to expand. Let's take a look at what combination options can be used in modern rooms.
Bedroom
One of the most obvious solutions is to expand the bedroom with a loggia. If you have a small bedroom, and you dream of making it bigger in any way, then this is the most obvious option. In the vacated space, it will be possible to arrange a make-up area, clothes hangers or a small work space. You can also use the freed space to create a cozy seating area - put a small sofa or several poufs there to relax with a book or with friends.
Living room
Slightly less common are living rooms combined with loggias. But this decision is also relevant. On additional square meters, you can arrange a place where you will devote time to your hobby. This can be a few bookshelves and a comfortable sofa, a place for creativity, or even a small greenhouse, consisting of several shelves, filled with flowers in pots and boxes. And if you have long dreamed of freeing up space in the apartment for a home gym, then on the former loggia you can install several exercise machines.
Kitchen
Another practical interior option is to connect the loggia with the kitchen. In order to expand the kitchen space, it is not necessary to completely demolish the wall - you can limit yourself to dismantling the window. The window sill with a wall that remains after this can be beaten. It can be used as an original countertop, modern bar counter or cabinet.
You can also take out a working kitchen area to the loggia, thus freeing up the kitchen as a place for family dinners or get-togethers with friends. If you bring a refrigerator and several pedestals to the loggia, you will be surprised at how much more free space you will have.
You can also go the other way, making the loggia an alternative to the dining room. Place a table and a few chairs in this small space, and you have a great place for joint dinners and breakfasts. The opening view from the window will cheer you up, as well as how much more free space you have for cooking.
Children
If you do not have room in your apartment for a children's room, or the existing room is not large enough for your child, then with the help of a loggia, you will perfectly expand it. This option will especially delight those who live in a small apartment, as well as families in which there are two or more children who are forced to share one room. You should not install a cot on the loggia, but the work or play area from the freed up space will turn out to be very good. There you can install bookshelves, a desk, toy boxes, educational rugs, swings and other functional things.
Room design
When the base of the room is already ready and you have planned out into which zones you will divide the space, you can proceed to planning the interior of your updated room. If the combined room is planned as one full-fledged room, then it should be done in the same style - everything, from the floor and walls to decorative details, should be combined with each other. Use light colors and embossed surfaces to make the room look even more spacious.
Another design approach is worth taking if, despite combining two rooms, you want them to perform different functions. So, if your loggia, which complements the bedroom, is planned as a small office, then it should be decorated accordingly.
Use darker, more saturated colors in this part of the room. Discard unnecessary details and distracting knick-knacks, even if they adorn every visible surface of the sleeping area. This will create the right atmosphere in the workspace and even visually separate it from the resting place.
But even zoning the space with colors and other design solutions, you should not try to combine the incongruous. Both parts of one room should be in harmony with each other, as if smoothly flowing from one style and mood to another. This can be achieved even without the help of professional designers. It is enough just to have good taste and a dose of inspiration.
Attaching a loggia to a room is the easiest way to expand the space of your living space without spending a lot of money. Be inspired by the ideas we have proposed, make yours a reality, but at the same time, never forget that safety is above all.