To become the owner of the so-called “Khrushchevka” apartment in our time is far from a holiday. The inconveniences of living in such a living space are well known to almost all the townspeople of the country since the distant Soviet times. But, as practice shows, even the modest heritage of the Khrushchev period can be turned into a completely comfortable home.
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Features of the
What today seems to people extremely uncomfortable - small adjoining rooms, cramped kitchens in which it is impossible for the whole family to gather, tiny hallways, combined bathrooms, plus low ceilings, the absence of elevators in the house and excellent audibility - after the Soviet communal apartments were perceived as at of fate. Let it be an unprepossessing apartment, but its own.
Today's dissatisfaction with the area and layout of such apartments only indicates that the quality of life has improved significantly, and people have become more demanding of life. AND "Khrushchevs" with all their shortcomings have one remarkable quality - the internal partitions in the apartment can be demolished, which opens up great opportunities for redevelopment. And even when it comes to only 2 rooms in a standard housing, there is something to talk about and what options for reconstruction to discuss.
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Zoning
In order to carry out competent zoning in the old walls, one should take into account not only the area of the apartment, but also the composition of the family, the age and gender of the children, the needs and lifestyle of everyone who will live in this territory. It is desirable that everyone has their own personal space, and the bedrooms do not turn out to be walk-throughs.
One of the tasks in the two-room "Khrushchev" is a reasonable distribution of space between the adjacent bedroom and living room. So, if it is acceptable for a family, the bedroom is made very small, giving the largest area for the living room. You can reduce the bedroom by moving the partition to such a size that a bed and two bedside tables can fit in it, plus a place to turn around a little.
As a result of redevelopment, such a bedroom can even be without a window. But with the help of high-quality lighting and other design tweaks, even in this version, it can be made very cozy. If a significant increase in the living room is not required, a partition is demolished between the bedroom and the hall, which is replaced by decorative columns. At the same time, the sleeping area is isolated from prying eyes with the help of heavy curtains.
Sometimes you need to make a three-room apartment out of a kopeck piece. In this case, one of the rooms will have to be divided into two parts by a partition. It is better to start this when there are two adjacent windows in the room.
But sometimes one of the family members has to make do with a room without the opportunity to look at the street. And this is better than not having personal space at all.
It will not be possible to cut a window through the load-bearing wall, since this is prohibited - you can seriously harm the stability of the whole house.
People who work from home will appreciate the redevelopment projects of a two-room "Khrushchev" with an office area. In this kind of version, the living room, for example, is enlarged by combining it with the hallway and the kitchen. This creates a comfortable space for leisure and eating.
At the same time, it will be possible to make a small room fifteen centimeters wider by moving the partition. Then a comfortable bedroom and wardrobe are arranged in it. A miniature office stands out from a large room with a transparent wall. Sliding doors will allow, if necessary, to include this area in the common space of the living room.
Sometimes you still need to re-plan a two-room "Khrushchev" from adjacent to separate. This is solved by creating a corridor from which you can make an entrance to each of the premises. Then in one of them there will be a bedroom with a small wardrobe in the corner, and in the other a room for children.
"Two-bed tram" gets two separate rooms due to the arrangement of a corridor between them. At the end of it, a spacious wardrobe is arranged. Thanks to such a redevelopment, the former walk-through room can significantly lose in space, but it will become more comfortable for the one to whom it will be given at the disposal.
They also increase the comfort of small Khrushchev-type apartments by redeveloping the kitchen or hallway. The balcony or loggia located next to the kitchen is used as additional square meters, allowing, with proper arrangement, to place a pantry there for food or even put a refrigerator there, place several cabinets and shelves. Sometimes the wall between the kitchen and the balcony is removed altogether, which allows you to add a few coveted squares to the small kitchen space. You can do the same if the balcony is located next to the living room.
When redeveloping, it is recommended not to use solid partitions, highlighting new functional areas. They will make the apartment as cramped as it was before.
Sometimes the problem is solved by screens, transparent partitions, bar counter or furniture. Thanks to this, the space is not cluttered, and material costs can be minimized.
Design solutions
A radical reorganization of an apartment with adjoining rooms into a three-room apartment or, conversely, into a one-room apartment, can change the whole way of life. To bring all these significant changes to their logical conclusion, you need to include design thinking or just use the ideas of the relevant specialists.
A small apartment will not "squeeze" the walls of its owners only if it does not collect a lot of things, "which may someday be useful." Therefore, you need to carefully evaluate what furniture is in place and what is not. It is better that it be multifunctional and roomy.
Take out old junk, sell bulky cabinets and sofas, turning your eyes to minimalist furniture. Its laconic features are the very thing for the "Khrushchev" even after the renovation of the layout.
You can also apply a number of special design tricks:
- An assistant in creating a spacious apartment will be the use of plasterboard structures, decorative niches, shelves and shelves.
- Doorways in the form of arches visually increase the space.
- Doors that slide apart will significantly save usable space in walk-throughs and small rooms.
- Smart use of mirrors can help make rooms look bigger.
- You can also gain in size by avoiding the use of heavy dark curtains.
Colors and decor
To compensate for the disadvantages of "Khrushchev" and to achieve the desired comfort will help the correct use of color and pattern when creating the decor of the premises. Whichever style you choose: classic, modern, provence, country or whatever, do not forget about the rules for using a particular color scheme when creating an interior:
- The use of light shades in the wall decoration will help make the room look bigger, as well as the small pattern on the wallpaper.
- A correctly selected print will make it possible to make it higher than the wall - this is a big problem in Khrushchevs. If in a brick four-story building you can still see ceilings that “do not overhang”, then in panel five-story buildings this is already quite bad.
To compensate for the lack of height, choose wallpaper with a vertical pattern. At the same time, it is better to make the ceiling white. In some cases, the use of stretch ceilings is acceptable.
- When remodeling an apartment, you should pay attention to modern materials, with the help of which transparent doors, partitions, and furniture are made. Elements of this kind look easy and do not clutter up the space.
- It is better to decorate the floors in light colors so that they match the overall color scheme.
Basic Rules
The “Khrushchevka” square, as a rule, does not arouse optimism. The apartment is 41 sq. m or even 45 sq. m is not so easy to turn into comfortable housing. Often people find it insufficient to get rid of the walk-through rooms. The corner apartment option also has its drawbacks. Many people find it inconvenient to arrange windows in a large room of such a panel "kopeck piece".
But in order to carry out redevelopment, and make a truly comfortable housing out of an ordinary "Khrushchev", having realized your best plans, it is not enough just desire and violent imagination. It is necessary to clearly understand that an apartment in any house is part of a huge structure, the integrity of which depends on the safety of the supporting elements in each of the "cells". So an uncontrollably re-planned living space can become a threat not only to those who directly live there, but also to all neighbors.
By law, any change in the configuration of walls and partitions will be a redevelopment. Bearing walls in this sense have a special status. Their integrity can be encroached upon, relying only on special permission.
But even if from the point of view of a possible violation of the supporting structures everything is innocent, one way or another, an appropriate project is needed, which will require approval from certain authorities.
Better be clear in advance which types of work in a particular case can be done and which cannot, since they will not receive approval:
- Do not count on expanding your kitchen or bathroom at the expense of living quarters. At least if the partition between the kitchen and the room is removed, it is forbidden to install plumbing or a cooking stove in the living area.
- For a bathroom, it will be possible to obtain permission to give part of the corridor, but not living space, and then, when agreeing on such a scheme, disputes with competent specialists may arise.
- When redeveloping, the ventilation system must not be affected.
- Do not close access to the gas oven or move it yourself, without the approval of the relevant service.
- Radiators cannot be installed on the balcony.
- Interfloor ceilings cannot be dismantled.
When redeveloping, it is allowed:
- Connect the toilet and bathroom premises.
- Combine a room with a kitchen, provided that the apartment has an electric stove.
- Create additional openings for doors.
- Divide one room into two.
- Combine two living rooms into one room.
How to legalize?
Even knowing about the need to follow all these rules, and not intending to deviate too much from them, many people still prefer to engage in redevelopment without the prior approval of specialists. At the same time, sometimes an experienced builder cannot distinguish by eye a load-bearing wall from one that is not.
Therefore, it is still better not to take risks and turn to experts who are able to assess the situation really competently and offer the most rational plan of action.
Redevelopment issues should be worked out by an architect with a license. He will tell you which version of the apartment redevelopment will be optimal in a particular case, and will also suggest such solutions, thanks to which the housing will meet the tastes and needs of its inhabitants.
Redevelopment must be agreed with the bureau of technical inventory. Other services may need to be negotiated. To make such a large-scale renovation at your own peril and risk, turning, for example, a 43-square-meter Khrushchev apartment building into a three-room apartment or a tramway into an apartment with separate rooms, and even just getting rid of a room partition means the impossibility to sell, donate or exchange this housing is in perspective. Based on these considerations alone, formalities should not be neglected.
Beautiful examples in the interior
Today, there are a huge number of examples of the renewal of the Khrushchev space, which can be seen, including on the Internet. There is an opportunity to draw ideas from a variety of ready-made design solutions that will help you re-plan, decorate and furnish a particular apartment.
So, instead of a blank wall, a decorative structure is installed between the rooms, resembling a window frame, which simultaneously serves as a shelf for vases. This move allows you to separate the bedroom area from the living room. Next to the bed there is a door leading to the closet or wardrobe. Thus, the space remains functional. Its openness allows it to maintain a sense of spaciousness
It is possible to make the two-room "Khrushchev" spacious by installing a functional drywall rack between the rooms. Due to the fact that this spatial solution does not provide for blind partitions, there are no clear boundaries between the rooms, which makes it possible to perceive all zones of the apartment as a whole. The rooms are decorated in white. This makes the apartment spacious and airy. Bold color accents add dynamism to the interior
- The border between the living room and the bedroom can be marked with a glass partition with a door. The use of a black frame in the design makes this solution interesting, filling the space with coziness. The apartment seemed to have another large window to the floor. To prevent the bedroom from always being in sight, curtains are provided on the partition.
- The translucent sliding partition also allows you to separate one room from another. If necessary, it can be closed, and when open, it does not interfere with perceiving both rooms as a single large room and makes it possible not to feel cramped. This is facilitated by the simple design of the ceiling and furniture without excessive pomp and voluminous details.
- You can decorate the living room "Khrushchev" in muted colors, creating a feeling of intimacy and peace. All unnecessary partitions have been removed in the apartment. The space is also expanded through the use of a mirrored ceiling.
- An unusual design in the "Khrushchev" can be created by round doorways. Partitions allow you to reasonably distribute the quadrature for each functional area.
- Beige and green colors fill the apartment with tranquility and comfort. The use of glass furniture and chandeliers does not load the space, allowing you to maintain a spacious and light atmosphere.
- Allocating special space for the bed minimizes the bedroom area. Thus, it is possible to free the largest part of the apartment for other functions, and the owners have a small cozy corner, hidden from prying eyes, allowing them to retire to their own, special intimate world.
For information on how to redevelop a 2-room Khrushchev, see the next video.