Interior living room in the "Khrushchev": a stylish room design
"Khrushchev" called high-rise buildings, built from the fifties to eighties of the last century. On the territory of the former Soviet Union there are a lot of them, and they constitute the majority of affordable housing. Living rooms in Khrushchev houses are far from being as cozy and stylish as in modern new buildings. But nothing prevents you from making repairs, redevelopment and arrange everything in its own way.
Features of planning
In the middle of the last century, when building apartments, it was important to complete the project as soon as possible, creating conditions for the life of as many workers as possible. Then they didn’t particularly care about the beauty of the interior and its convenience.
The main disadvantages of Khrushchev can be attributed too thin walls, which deprive you of your personal life, cramped rooms and low ceilings. And the layout of the rooms itself is not particularly successful. In Soviet times, even the interior of the apartments almost always looked identical.The walls were decorated with bright wallpaper, under them were a wall, a sideboard, a chest of drawers with a TV and an uncomfortable spring sofa. And in order to isolate the room from extraneous sounds and at least slightly insulate, they used colored carpets on the walls.
But now the living room design in Khrushchev, despite the small size of the apartment, can be made more interesting and modern. However, when redesigning a narrow small room, you will have to either sacrifice some interesting ideas or destroy one of the walls.
Choose a project for the area
Depending on what area of your apartment, it is worth choosing and the corresponding project.
Passage hall
If you have a two or three room Khrushchev with a narrow living room, then in this room you can equip the entrance hall. In this case, the room will serve not so much as living space, but as a place to store things or a corridor leading from one room to another. In such a living room there is a place for a wardrobe with clothes, shelves with books or a small sofa.
Room with balcony
If the balcony is in your living room, you can use it to expand the space.Even a small balcony can still be a great addition to the main room. It can accommodate a dining or work area, for example.
However, before you take out the furniture there, you need to not only glaze the balcony, but also to warm it.
Partition with a corridor
Additional square meters can be won back by connecting a corridor to the living room. In this case, you have to make a full repair and remove the door, replacing it with a low partition. Behind it may be a children's room, a play area or a place where you can fully devote yourself to creativity.
Arch decoration
If you act on a similar principle, then you get a stylish studio. Connect the main room with the kitchen, replacing the doors with an arch, and you get a trendy layout option and much more free space. It is convenient to do such repairs both in a one-room apartment and in a 2-room apartment.
If you have an ordinary apartment with a living room of 15, 17 square meters. m or 18 square meters, you can simply zone the space with different colors, materials or racks. In such a living room you can fit not only a sofa with a TV, but also a table with a computer or, for example, a mini-nursery.
What colors to use?
It is also important what colors you choose for your living room.If you are even a little versed in color, you know that colors can simultaneously affect our state and mood, and change the surrounding space.
White
Since the living rooms in Khrushchev are notoriously known for their too compact size, the designers do their best to increase the space in the hall. To do this, use different tricks. But the easiest way, as you know, is to opt for light wallpaper and ceilings. Exactly light shades make the room more spaciousand the interior is fresher.
The pure white color looks the best. But you can safely choose other related shades. For example, beige, light blue or golden.
The light background in the living room is like a clean sheet. Make the walls white, and then you can go in any direction, making the room even vintage furniture, even laconic modern sofas.
Gray
Gray has similar properties. Do not ignore it, calling it boring and inexpressive. In fact, it is a very rich color, and every shade of it brings something different to the interior.
It is gray that is best suited for the decoration of modern high-tech apartments or minimalism.It goes well with achromatic tones, and with something more vivid and expressive.
Beige
Of the neutral shades also stands out beige. He, unlike monochrome gray and white, seems warmer. The room, decorated in beige color, looks cozier than rooms in cold colors. Beige goes well with warm woody shades.
Blue
Revive the interior blue color. It is often used to design a recreation area, because it has been proven that it is precisely different shades of blue that contribute to complete relaxation and tranquility. In the living room with blue wallpaper you will quickly rest after a hard day's work.
Green
Green has similar properties. In the city, we often lack pieces of nature. And to fill the lack of green paint will help the use of the desired colors in the interior. Choose any of the shades of green that you like: olive, herbal, green, emerald, and so on. They are all equally good for a small living room.
Red
Even if you really like rich red, experts do not recommend using it in the living room of a small Khrushchev-style house.The fact is that this color is too active. It is better to use red fragmentary, as accents, selecting different details of burgundy, wine, berry or scarlet shade.
Sunny colors
You can make the interior more cheerful, fill the living room with light by choosing colors such as yellow and orange for the background. It can be as faded pastel colors, and more saturated and bright. Especially good in the interior of the living room look golden, orange and sand shades.
Actual styles
Determining the style is also not so difficult, despite the fact that there are many different directions. Of all the possible directions worth paying attention to the most popular.
Minimalism
Since the rooms in Khrushchev are small, there is not enough space - I don’t really want to clutter the space. Here to help designers comes one of the main styles of modernity - minimalism. It is characterized by the use of a minimum amount of furniture and decor. Primary colors are taken from a monochrome palette, complementing brown and diluted with bright accents.
Minimalism style looks reserved and like young people.After you decorate the room in this way, you simply do not recognize your old small-sized living room.
Provence
A less obvious choice is the Provence style living room. This direction is not typical for our country, because it came to us from France. However, a room decorated in the style of Provence will look charming and delight you not only with its well-groomed appearance, but also a cozy atmosphere.
To decorate a room in this style you will need light wallpaper of pastel shades. For example, soft purple, blue, pink or pistachio. Delicate floral patterns or abstract subtle prints can decorate the light base. Furniture in such a living room should be chosen appropriate: wooden, decorated with soft textiles.
Classical
If you miss the restrained classics, you can choose this favorite style for many to design your living room. A classic immediately make the living room in a simple Khrushchev many times more luxurious.
The best way to decorate such a room is to fill it with nice dark wood furniture, decorated with all sorts of patterns and upholstered in textiles.
You can also choose such stylistic directions as high-tech, modernism or loft. They all look good in their own way and give the room individuality. Everyone can find for themselves what will allow him to create the interior of his dreams and reflect his individuality in the surrounding space.
Fashionable finishing ideas
Previously, when decorating rooms in Khrushchev, simple paper wallpapers were used. This was done not because of the great love for this material, but because of the availability of the material and its low price. But now there are no special problems with the search for materials. Therefore, it is possible to decorate the walls with almost any coatings.
A room can be decorated, for example, with stone or brickwork. The stone looks great in the interior in the style of a loft, and white brick - in the classic. As for the fabric wall coverings, they remind us of the magnificent palaces and ancient estates, so it will be useful to those who want to stylize a room under vintage.
Lighting
Despite the fact that most of the living rooms in the Khrushchev small, to ignore the issue of lighting is not worth it. As well as using one central lamp to illuminate the entire room.
As a rule, the room is divided into several main zones, each of which is highlighted separately.
The main source of light is almost always the ceiling chandelier. Since in Khrushchev ceilings are low, you need to choose a neat lamp, and not a massive chandelier on the chains. Or at all limited to spotlights around the perimeter of the ceiling. Diode lights can also be located under the shelves, in niches or near the TV.
The working area or corner for a hobby should be provided with a bright light source, for example, a floor lamp or a sconce. This is very important, because otherwise you will quickly ruin your eyesight.
For evening gatherings, you can install a night light that will project a starry sky on the ceiling or light up the room with colored lights.
Expert advice
Finally, some interesting ideas for redevelopment of the living room, which will help to increase the living room space without much harm.
The simplest - the use of light colors - has already been said. Besides him, there are others.
The more indoor natural light, the more visually it seems. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, replace the small windows with large and spacious ones. If this is not possible - use the mirror surface. Due to the fact that they reflect the whole room, the place in it seems to be significantly more. You can choose not only wide mirrors, but also mirrored doors or glossy stretch ceilings.
The second no less obvious option - the expansion of space due to the demolition of walls and partitions. Bearing walls can not be touched in any case. Therefore, before such a radical redevelopment is to consult with professionals, and most importantly, get all the necessary permits.
But when you make your idea a reality, the room will really increase due to the space of the kitchen or balcony. It will be possible to arrange the continuation of the main room or a separate zone.
Beautiful examples in the interior
The best proof that a living room in a tiny Khrushchev can also be cozy - these are real examples of how to furnish a room.
Living room with working area
The first room will appeal to those who spend a lot of time at work at home. In this room the living room is combined with a working area.At the same time, there is enough free space in both parts of the room.
The living room looks more comfortable, because in addition to the gray sofa with soft upholstery, this area also has a fluffy carpet a few shades darker. The work area is conveniently located between two windows. So, you will always have enough natural light. It takes up little space, since most things are prudently folded on shelves. The table on which the equipment is located is quite small.
New look at old ideas
In the Soviet Khrushchev living room decorated with a wall with a TV and sofa. In this room there are the same familiar elements, but they look more modern. The stylish wall is made of white quality wood, and the sofa is soft, decorated with pillows. Opposite it is a large TV set in a niche, and under it is a small electric fireplace.
Bachelor's room
This living room is a combination of all modern trends. The light background contrasts sharply with dark furniture, the chandeliers look original and unusual. The room is divided into three main areas. The bedroom is just a bed separated by a translucent partition.Working - a table with a desk lamp and a laptop. The living room occupies the most place - a sofa with a low coffee table and beautiful paintings against the wall.
This room is suitable for one person, and for a young married couple. If desired, later in the room you can take a place under the nursery.
Modern classic
The last beautiful example is a room in which modern trends are combined with classical ones. The background here is plain - light walls and ceiling, dark floor and furniture in neutral shades. And curtains, pillows and lampshades decorate classical patterns. They are perfectly combined with lamps and sconces with curls. As decorative elements are used fresh flowers and books. There is not much space in this room, but it is quite enough for family gatherings or tea drinking with friends.
As you can see, the living room in the old Khrushchev can easily provide a "new life". Replace the door with an arch or partition, glue the wallpaper, pick up new stylish furniture and appliances, and the appearance of the room will change immediately.
Review the design of 2-room Khrushchev look in the next video.