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Kitchen design 18 square meters. Puzzle: how to make the interior of an open kitchen-living room harmonious

Area 18 sq. meters is enough to equip a comfortable, multifunctional kitchen. In design, you can embody any ideas: an unusual layout, an extraordinary combination of shades, non-standard decor. But what if it is necessary to accommodate another, no less important area in this room - the living room. Combining a dining room with a living room is quite common. To equip such an interior is not difficult if you follow some design tricks. In this article we will tell you how to design a kitchen-living room of 18 square meters. m ideal.

Advantages, disadvantages of combining

Any redevelopment must be carefully considered. We need to weigh all the positive and negative sides of change. There are a lot of advantages of combining several functional areas into one:

• savings in square meters. This is especially true for owners of small apartments, large families. By moving the living room, you can free up an additional room for children;
• additional design options. Square meters are enough for an unusual arrangement of furniture, the use of extraordinary decor;
• increasing the amount of natural light. An "extra" window opening appears. The room will become lighter, more spacious;
• the ability to do several things at once at the same time. Housewives will be able to easily cook food, watch their favorite series, watch small children.

There are not many disadvantages. The main disadvantage of the association is the need to constantly maintain order. Drops of grease, dirt, crumbs will easily penetrate into the living room. Cleaning will have to be done almost daily. Another disadvantage is the presence of an unpleasant odor.

Important nuances of redevelopment

Having conceived global changes in the layout, there is no need to rush. First you need to get official permission from the local authorities.

Obtaining a redevelopment permit is a mandatory requirement. In the absence of consent, the property owner will be forced to pay a fine.

In most cases, minor redevelopments are allowed. But there are exceptions. Load-bearing walls cannot be removed inside the apartment. The consequences of such a decision will be deplorable - the whole house may collapse, people may suffer. "Wet" rooms can't be moved either.

Most importantly, you can not connect the living room with the dining room, where a gas stove is installed. If the above prohibitions do not personally apply to your home, you can safely collect papers, obtain consent, and begin dismantling work. Demolition of walls should be carried out by professionals with proper experience, special equipment.

How to make a design project

After the completion of dismantling work, another stage follows - the creation of a design project. For its independent development, you will need an ordinary piece of paper, a pencil, a ruler. On the sheet you need to transfer the graphic plan of the resulting room, indicate the dimensions.

• choose the right style;
• choose high-quality, safe building materials;
• determine the required amount of furniture, equipment;
• mark on the plan the location of functional zones;
• if there is a balcony, consider combining it with the room
• decide on decorative elements.

On the graphic plan, you need to schematically indicate the location of communications, draw the main pieces of furniture and appliances (refrigerator, oven).

A design project is a plan of action. The best solution would be to order a project from a professional designer. It will make repairs easier.

Stylistic directions

The kitchen-living room of eighteen squares can be decorated in almost any style. In the table we will consider the most popular destinations, their characteristic features, features.

Style	Peculiarities
Provence	Suitable for lovers of rural life, nature, romantics. This is a popular French trend, characterized by freshness, lightness. The interior uses light textiles, natural materials. Preference is given to putty, cotton, wood, brick. The apron is tiled. Furniture is selected "aged". You can buy wicker chairs. The color scheme is quite light: pink, sand, beige, yellow. Decorate the dining table with fresh wildflowers.
High tech	High tech style. It is characterized by functionality, practicality, space. The color scheme is light. The decoration uses wood, metal, glass. Particular attention is paid to the selection of technology.
English	It combines rigor, sophistication, stiffness. The British direction is characterized by decor with the help of photographs, various paintings. Dark-colored materials are chosen for finishing the floor: parquet, laminate. Walls are often made plain, furniture is bought with symmetrical lines.

Zoning methods

Having chosen the appropriate style, you need to highlight the zones in the room. Usually in the kitchen-living room they do three:

1. Working;
2. Dining room;
3. Resting-place.

Each part will have its own set of items, decor, equipment. The working area is best placed closer to the window. This will make cooking easier.

A window sill is used as an additional surface. It is combined with a kitchen set. This practical technique helps to save usable space. The dining room should be conducive to eating. It can be distinguished by unusual kitchen-themed photo wallpapers. The resting place should be the main one, occupying the most space. A solid sofa should become its center. Nearby you can place a fireplace, TV, coffee table. How to separate all these parts? Consider a brief overview of the simplest zoning methods.

Furniture arrangement

In the separation of one part of the room from another, furniture plays a major role. For separation use: bar counter, shelving, sofa, table. The choice of subject depends on your own desires, style direction. The bar counter is a great way for a small family. It is usually installed in bachelor apartments. The stand looks stylish and doesn't take up much space.

Shelving is a good way to divide the room, organize an intimate area. In the rack you can store books, cups, various decorative items. The rack, deployed to the kitchen space, is used to store beautiful dishes, glasses, and other utensils.

The easiest way is to use a sofa or table as a border. These are the central design elements. They unobtrusively designate functional areas, will not clutter up the space.

Wall color, finish

The color scheme, building materials help in zoning. For the kitchen-living room, use the following useful recommendations:

• a cooking place, a living room should be decorated in different colors. These rooms have different functions. The facade of the working part must be practical, resistant to washing. Walls can be decorated with tiles, ordinary paint. The paint can be light, it is better to choose a tile with an interesting pattern. In the hall, you can paste wallpaper, apply decorative putty. Give preference to light colors: purple, pink, purple, pistachio, beige;
• the tones of the walls of the various parts must be compatible. Compatibility can be checked using a special shade table;
• if you want to make the space more solid, you can apply different shades of the same color.

Floor covering, creation of a podium

Different materials for finishing the floor, creating a multi-level base are great ways to divide the space. It is customary to place a kitchen set on the podium. The podium can be small - about ten centimeters. This decision is characteristic of the modern style direction. The main disadvantage of the podium is trauma. The multi-level floor will take some getting used to.

A safer way is to use different finishing building materials. Decorate the guest room with parquet, laminate, carpet. Parquet made of natural wood will suit the classic style. It looks presentable, will serve for decades. In a high-tech room, it is better to put carpet, laminate. They are affordable and have a wide range of colors. The kitchen part is best decorated with marble, floor tiles, linoleum. These types of coatings are easily washed from any type of pollution.

Many underestimate such an item as a bar counter. This is a functional countertop of a way to solve several problems at once. It saves a lot of square meters. Replacing a standard table, the rack allows you to leave more space in the room. Such an object is widely used as a border between two functional parts. It visually marks the edge without overloading the small kitchen-living room.

When choosing a bar counter, consider:

• table top height. It should be comfortable for all members of your family. It is also important to choose comfortable bar stools for it. Better with a back;
• surface color. It should stand out against the background of the color of the rest of the headset. The ideal solution would be a black surface;
• design reliability. Its design must be strong and stable.

Sliding structures

If you want to keep the intimacy of the situation in the guest room, you can build a sliding partition. The partition is installed on special rollers. It can be closed, opened at any time. Sliding structures are made to order. They are relatively inexpensive. The design will replace an ordinary wall, make the interior much more interesting.

In the manufacture of a sliding structure, different materials can be used: glass, wood, fabric. Glass partitions are suitable for modern design trends. They let in natural light and look airy. On the glass, you can apply a drawing, an ornament using various techniques. The disadvantages of glass are its relative fragility, high price, and a tendency to quickly become dirty. Wooden, fabric partitions are more difficult to damage. They will serve for years.

Multi-level ceiling, lighting

You can visually delimit the sites with ordinary light, installing a multi-level ceiling. The designer ceiling will make the interior unusual, more convenient to use.

The backlight can be turned on pointwise. Stretch multi-level ceiling has a lot of advantages:

1. Reliable protection against flooding, roof leaks. The film will protect the new repair from water. Most importantly, do not try to release the water yourself. The film may be damaged.
2. A wide selection of colors. The ceiling can be plain, with an unusual effect, ornament. You can make it two colors. Lots of model options.
3. Possibility of installing spotlights. Light installation is quite simple. You can install lamps of various intensities.
4. Fast installation. Professionals install such structures in one day.

The kitchen-living room should be comfortable. Therefore, it is important to correctly position the appliances, kitchen set. There are several accommodation options:

• linear. The simplest arrangement. Suitable for owners of narrow rooms. All items are placed along one wall. There is enough space in the center to install a full-fledged dining table. The sofa is placed in a free place, a little to the side;
• angular. An excellent layout option for an irregularly shaped room. The set is installed in the corner near the window opening. You can use the window sill. At the other end of the kitchen-living room they organize a place of rest, in the middle they set up a table, chairs;
• p-shaped. This method is used in rectangular rooms. Furniture is placed with the letter P. In the middle, you can put a rack, a dining table. At the other end they put a comfortable sofa, TV, coffee table;
• island. This is the original layout. However, the area may not be enough for him. In this case, you should contact professional designers. They will create the right project, tailored to the features of a particular apartment.

decorative touches

The interior of the kitchen-living room will not be complete without decorative elements, various little things, final touches. You can start decorating from the workplace. To do this, it is enough to purchase beautiful kitchen utensils, potholders, towels, unusual jars for spices.

Textiles should be of high quality, easy to absorb moisture. Jars for spices can be placed on a small shelf, not far from the work surface.

A beautiful still life decorates the dining area. There you can also put bright pillows on chairs, cover the table with an original tablecloth. All elements must be designed in a similar color scheme. Near the sofa you can put a statue, a design with living plants.

As you can see, creating an attractive room interior is quite simple, knowing certain design tricks. Competent zoning, a deliberate approach to choosing furniture, bright decor will allow you to create a cozy, ergonomic kitchen-living room, even a small area.

In this article, I will give the design principles for a combined kitchen-living room on an area of ​​​​18 square meters. meters. The main options for zoning a room to achieve maximum functionality will be considered. I will also conduct a brief analysis of style solutions for a combined living room.

Benefits of combining kitchen and living room

The design of the premises includes the creation of an aesthetic and comfortable space, while it is important to work out the functionality of each square meter. The question is especially acute when organizing small areas.

Speaking of a combined kitchen-living room of 18 square meters. meters, it is important to take into account a number of nuances, because such a space will have quite a few functions. However, this solution has a number of advantages:

• the combined room gives a feeling of spaciousness, because 2 separate rooms, conditionally with an area of ​​9 square meters. meters, seem cramped;
• a modern solution that can be stylishly beaten up due to design;
• the embodiment is possible in most interior styles.

Room shape

The design features of the combined living room are more dependent on two factors:

• the shape of the room;
• location of sources of natural light;

Let's consider each item in more detail. The following options for room configurations are most common: square, rectangular, U-shaped, L-shaped. Each of them has features and benefits.

square

Kitchen furniture can be arranged both linearly and L-shaped.

This option is quite common. The strong point is the even distribution of natural light sources: as a rule, there are no dark corners into which light from windows does not enter. This gives freedom in the placement of functional areas: the kitchen can be located both along the windows and on the opposite side.

Zoning such a room is not particularly difficult: you can divide it with the help of furniture: a sofa, a shelving unit, a bar counter.

It is better not to use stationary partitions for this form.

The complexity of the design lies in the fact that 18 squares is not too large an area, and a square room does not allow clear zoning, otherwise the room will simply be uncomfortable. Therefore, you need to select fairly minimalist furniture options, preferably compact in size.

Rectangular

It is better to place the kitchen closer to the windows, the living room - in a darkened area.

Due to the elongated shape, the room is illuminated unevenly: the windows are usually located on the shorter sides of the rectangle. Nevertheless, in such a room it is possible to functionally arrange the necessary zones. Separation of zones can be carried out both with the help of stationary options for partitions (glass, sliding, semi-partition made of drywall, etc.), and with the help of furniture: a bar counter, a dining table, a sofa.

A significant disadvantage in this option is a rather compact kitchen area.

It is necessary to carefully consider its content without loss of functionality. The kitchen can be arranged U-shaped, L-shaped or parallel.

U-shaped

This form is not common, usually it is deliberately designed with a free layout of the apartment. The advantage is a clear separation of zones due to the geometric shape: two elongated parts of the room can be allocated to the living room and kitchen, respectively. Thus, additional partitions are not required. As for the small "isthmus" connecting the two zones, it can be used as a dining room, if the area allows.

The disadvantage of this form is the rather modest size of each of the zones, the feeling that there is not enough space and air.

But this is solved by competent furniture design, the rejection of dark tones in favor of light ones in decoration, the use of mirror surfaces in decor.

L-shaped

One of the most successful options for combined design is the L-shape, as it intuitively suggests dividing the room into two zones by placing each of them in a separate "wing". And this is the best solution, since the kitchen can be partially hidden from the eyes of guests relaxing on the sofa in the living area. In such a room, it is not necessary to install physical partitions, since the location of the zones already solves the problem of delimiting space.

Of the difficulties, not always good lighting can be noted, natural light may not be enough in the area as far as possible from the window, so it is important to correctly think over the sources of artificial lighting at the design stage.

Zoning: ready-made solutions and ideas

Earlier in the article, some zoning options were already mentioned: the use of furniture, the installation of stationary partitions from various materials. In fact, the choice of options is much wider, and it depends on the geometry of the room and the style of the interior.

The most popular zoning solutions:

• use of contrasting finishes. The recreation area is often finished in calmer, darker colors, and the working space of the kitchen, on the contrary, is highlighted with light colors.
• sliding partitions. They are made from different materials: glass, plastic, wood. The main thing is that this solution fits organically into the overall style of the interior.
• zoning with lighting. Several zones are distinguished by using different lamps: pendant, spot, etc.

Combined kitchen-living room style

The combined room harmoniously looks in most interior styles. This solution fits perfectly into modern design options: high-tech, minimalism. Scandinavian style is also suitable for organizing a combined room. Country style variations are also applicable: Provence, Scandi-country, American country.

But it is worth noting that the classic style and its varieties are a controversial decision in this case. The fact is that the rooms in the classical style are too original, as a rule, full of details and decor. The combination in a single space of the kitchen and living room, and even on a relatively small area of ​​​​18 square meters. meters, will make the room overloaded with details, which will deprive it of the necessary comfort and harmony.

18 sq. meters: the subtleties of design

An area of ​​​​18 squares makes it possible to create a comfortable and functional room, but you need to carefully consider all the details even at the stage of repair planning.

First of all, it is important to choose a good-quality technique that does not take up much space, but performs the necessary functions.

Particular attention is required when choosing a hood: a fashionable appliance is needed to avoid absorbing food odors. The kitchen area is built in compliance with the rule of the working triangle: the stove, sink and refrigerator are located close to each other for the rational use of the working space.

Also, the choice of colors for furniture and decor affects the perception of the room. Both zones should either be in harmony with each other or contrast, but a single style should be maintained throughout the room.

In conclusion, we can conclude that the decision to combine the kitchen and living room on an area of ​​​​18 square meters. meters - a competent step, because it meets the requirements of modern trends. It is not too difficult to translate this solution into a thoughtful and stylish interior, you just need to take into account a number of features of a particular room.

The fashion for joint kitchens and living rooms came to us from Western countries. Such a merger is dictated by the fact that busy people practically do not cook food at home, but there must be a place where you can store food or reheat a finished dish. Our traditions involve the constant preparation of delicious food. But often kitchens have a small area. And by combining two adjacent rooms, you can get the desired option as in the photos presented, which shows the design of the living room kitchen of 18 sq. m.

Design of a small kitchen-living room

Kitchen-living room with multi-level ceiling

Benefits of combining kitchen and living room

The combination of two rooms of different functionality into one often pursues the goal of increasing space. Many houses of the old design, which were built on the principle of "each family has a separate dwelling" have small rooms and a small kitchen, creating inconvenience for both the owners themselves and guests. In modern apartments, developers like to make large rooms without partitions, which the owners themselves distribute for the right purposes. For example, for a young childless couple, such an apartment would be convenient, where the living room smoothly flows into the bedroom. And the absence of a monumental wall between the living room and the kitchen will help to increase the space and decorate it in a modern style.

Modern design in a small kitchen-living room

Cozy kitchen-living area

Combined kitchen and living room 18 sq. m have the following advantages:

• Removing partitions, instead of small rooms, we get one large, spacious and bright one, where the whole family and guests can comfortably accommodate;
• There is the possibility of an original interior design: each zone is finished in its own way, but all together should form a single ensemble;
• The old tradition of gathering with the whole family and guests at a beautifully laid table in the living room is preserved;
• A convenient opportunity for the hostess: while preparing food in the kitchen, you can look after the children who are in the same room.

Using a small partition in the interior

It is impossible not to say about the weaknesses of such a connection:

• A kitchen combined with a living room can create inconvenience in the form of noise emitted by appliances, splashing water, hissing dishes being prepared. This can interfere with households and guests resting nearby;
• If you often cook food, then odors and fumes will gradually be absorbed into the upholstery of upholstered furniture, chairs, curtains, and other textiles. In addition, over time, the ceiling may turn yellow and become covered with a thin layer of soot. To avoid this, it is imperative to mount a strong hood;
• The volume of cleaning increases, because the mess in one of the zones easily moves to another. The kitchen will have to be cleaned more often, even a slight careless mess in the form of unwashed dishes or leftover food can spoil the aesthetic appearance of the entire room;
• If several people live in an apartment, then it will be difficult to retire in such a room.

Zoning a small kitchen-living room with a curtain thread

Finishing of various zones

For the organic merging of two or more functional areas, it is required to make a single style design. Finishing, furniture, decor - everything should be combined with each other. But an interesting option would be a design built on contrast. Finishing such a kitchen-living room is carried out according to standard rules:

• For the kitchen, it is worth using more practical materials that will not deteriorate from moisture and high temperatures. For the floor, it can be tile or stone flooring. The walls are finished with waterproof wallpaper or painted in the chosen tone. The apron above the desktop is made to match the room or the color of some decorative elements. The traditional material for the design of the wall above the desktop is tile, but today they use artificial stone, polycarbonate, glass and others;
• The walls in the rest of the kitchen-living room can be wallpapered. They can be more expensive and high quality with the original design. Looks good on the walls and decorative plaster. There are eco-friendly finishes with bamboo or cork panels. And to hide the joints of different materials at the border of the two zones will help decorative borders, trims;
• The most common option for finishing the floor in the recreation area is a laminate or parquet board. Such a surface is not afraid of scratches and weight fluctuations, high-quality material can last for many years. For convenience, a small carpet can be laid next to the sofa.

Floor covering laminate

Tiled walls and painted walls in the kitchen-living room

Examples of styles for the kitchen-living room

Scandinavian

Kitchen and living room design 18 sq. m is carried out in very light shades, upholstered furniture is purchased in white, as an option, black or blue chairs and tables can be added. Large geometric ornaments and bright accents in blue and green shades look good in the decor.

Scandinavian-style kitchen-living room

High tech

This style involves silver, white, black colors. Transformer furniture will fit well into the living area. The presence of modern technology is mandatory, in the kitchen area there are various cooking units, in the recreation area there is a large TV with a modern stereo system. For decoration, objects made of metal and glass with geometric shapes are purchased.

High-tech style in the interior

Eco style

In the kitchen-living room there is a lot of natural, natural. These are wooden dining furniture, wicker chairs in the living room, ceramic dishes. There are also many plants, floor lamps, panels of dried plants. It is better to choose tiles for kitchens with imitation stone.

Small kitchen-living room in eco-style

Classical

Such a room is decorated in soft pastel colors, there is a lot of gilding here. The furniture is selected from solid wood, the upholstery of the sofa and armchairs is made with expensive fabrics. The zones are separated by columns made of marble and plaster. The floor is made of parquet or marble tiles. The spectacular interior is crowned with a crystal chandelier. A similar design of the kitchen and living room is 18 sq. m with zoning, see the photo.

Kitchen-living room in a classic style

Zone separation

Before you decide how to separate one zone from another, you should think about what is needed in this room. For one family, a large dining group will need to be brought in, another may wish to arrange a work area, and a third needs sleeping places for guests. How to combine the required options and at the same time emphasize areas with different functions? Interesting ideas will help to distinguish between zones.

Plasterboard partitions

They can be made in a variety of ways, from a simple low rack to a complex structure of an unusual shape and size. Such partitions can carry additional functions:

• be shelves for books, dishes, all sorts of gizmos;
• hold the TV panel;
• include built-in lighting;
• keep a flat aquarium or pots with house flowers.

Plasterboard partitions for zoning the kitchen-living room

bar counter

The classic bar counter, specially “domesticated”, helps to separate the kitchen area from other areas. The created additional surface can be used both as a dining table and as a small countertop for cooking.

Such a rack can also be made on two levels: from the kitchen side, its height will be at the level of other desktops, and from the living room side, installed on additional consoles, it will resemble its colleagues from cafes and bars. Two high chairs complete the picture. See the photo for a similar design of the kitchen and living room of 18 meters.

Bar counter for zoning

Color

This is an easy way to visually divide space. Properly selected shades will harmoniously fit into the interior, help to improve mood, set up for eating or relaxing. For example, the kitchen is finished in an optimistic orange tone, and the living room is finished in a calm and relaxing peach.

Only in order for the surrounding surfaces to blend well, you need to know the "rules of the color wheel" and the ratio of numerous palettes. Or you can invite a specialist in your field - a professional designer, who will tell you which options are best suited for a particular room.

Zoning the kitchen-dining room with different colors in the interior

Furniture

A very convenient way to divide the area into zones is to place various furniture modules. A sofa placed on the border of the kitchen and living room can act as a partition. Well fit into the interior through racks under the ceiling for books and every little thing. And a low cabinet for dishes, facing the living room with glass facades, will also create an additional countertop.

Zoning the kitchen-living room with a sofa

Flooring

Depending on the styles in which the functional areas are decorated, the floor in such a room may be different. It is convenient to finish the kitchen part with tiles or stone, it will be aesthetically pleasing and practical. After all, every housewife knows how often you have to wash the floor where food is being prepared. In the living room, you can put a laminate or linoleum, and lay a soft carpet in the recreation area. The main thing is that materials that are dissimilar in texture are combined with each other in color.

Advice! The multi-level floor also looks interesting when the kitchen is slightly raised above the rest of the room. This technique is called the podium. But this option is not very suitable for families with small children and the elderly.

Using a high podium in the interior

There are also options with curtains, partitions, screens, sliding glass doors or accordion doors that can perfectly fit into some design styles such as modern, Scandinavian, hi-tech, Japanese.

Furniture in the design of the kitchen-living room

When the kitchen and living room merge, the furniture is arranged according to the functional areas. Depending on the shape of the kitchen-living room: rectangular or square, a linear layout can be used, when all furniture and appliances are placed along one wall, and the dining group is placed in the center of the room.

The kitchen set, marked with the letters G or P, looks more compact. In such cases, an ordinary countertop or bar table will be placed at the border of the zones. Designers advise choosing closed options for cabinets and shelves so that you can hide kitchen utensils and products. Built-in options for a microwave, oven, refrigerator and other appliances are also well suited.

Use in the interior of corner furniture

For the living room, a soft corner and a dining group are selected, if required. For the TV, it is not necessary to buy separate cabinets. Modern flat panels are mounted on the walls. Examples of such a kitchen and living room are 18 sq. m look at the photo.

Lighting in the kitchen combined with the living room

Since the room has several functions, at the planning stage, you need to think about the correct lighting for each zone. Moreover, a variety of options are used: chandeliers, sconces, spotlights, LED strips and others. Design ideas will help you choose lighting fixtures.

well lit room

To illuminate the kitchen-living room in 18 square meters. m you can choose from the following options:

• Above the dining group is placed a central chandelier or several identical shades. The kitchen should be well lit;
• Spotlights are mounted above the rest of the living room space in various locations: along the perimeter, in rows, in a semicircle, and so on;
• If a living room is provided, you can put an original floor lamp next to upholstered furniture or mount wall sconces;
• For the kitchen, lamps are suitable above the working area: above the sink, stove, countertop. This will provide good lighting during cooking and favorably emphasize the desired areas;
• With the help of several lamps on long cords, located above the bar counter on the border of the kitchen and living room, you can visually divide the space and additionally illuminate the surface of the countertop.

On the presented photos you can see a design project for a kitchen-living room of 18 sq. m with sofa and dining group.

Color design

The color of the surfaces of the kitchen-living room should be combined with each other in order to maintain the feeling of a single space, which is what they want to achieve by connecting the two rooms. For large surfaces, such as ceilings, walls, curtains, it is better to choose light pastel colors. Small bright details can dilute light shades and add zest to the room: sofa cushions, paintings, lamps, carpet.

Light colors in the kitchen-living room

Choosing certain colors, you need to know their optical, psychological and other features. For example:

• white and yellow colors can visually expand the kitchen-living room;
• blue will visually reduce the height of the ceilings, and blue will expand the space;
• orange and brown will make the room look smaller;
• gray and green are visually neutral colors.

Advice! For a food prep area, choosing neutral or cool hues, which, according to psychologists, can reduce appetite, will be a good choice. And the part of the living room, where the dining group will be located, should be decorated in red or orange colors, which are designed to improve appetite.

Red color in the interior of the dining area

When choosing a color scheme for the kitchen-living room, you need to rely on the intended style of the room, because some design areas have their own fundamental palette:

• Provence chooses natural light shades, diluted with shades of purple and yellow;
• the Japanese style is characterized by gray, cream, beige tones;
• modern and high-tech combine rich red with classic black and white;
• Scandinavian style implies various shades of cold colors: blue, gray, white.

Before you start redevelopment, you should carefully consider everything. You need to get official permission, because you cannot demolish the load-bearing walls, this threatens to collapse the house. And you need to know where the gas pipes and communications lie in the walls so as not to disturb them.

Photo gallery (53 photos)

Kitchen-living room: the design of 18 sq. m in the vast majority of cases is monotonous and unfriendly. Such studio apartments have long been part of our lives and certain traditions have developed in their design, without making significant adjustments. Such apartments can hardly be called small, but you can’t call them large either - a family of 3-4 people will already be cramped.

However, if you look closely and think carefully, then a small kitchen-living room type apartment has a huge number of advantages. It opens the way for creative people to unrestricted flight of fantasy in order to create a unique design and interior. In our article, we will provide useful tips that will help in this difficult matter.

Color design

Let's start with the living room. The color base is best made white (pearl, milky, peach, beige, cream, etc.). Immediately discard unnecessary thoughts about dark wallpaper - they will strictly outline the contours of the entire room, and we need a smooth transition from the living room to the kitchen and back.

When arranging studio apartments, almost all designers use this technique, which can significantly increase the volume of the room (visually). If you like contrast, then - please! Make one wall bright and extraordinary, and the rest in soothing colors.

As for upholstered furniture, here it is also necessary to adhere to certain color schemes - choose white, beige, pink, pale green and blue tones. Accessories can be of any bright color, thereby creating a certain flavor.

Visually increase the size

The design of the kitchen-living room of 18 square meters is a rather difficult task. This is primarily due to the size of the room, which somewhat limits the designers..

In order to increase the visual space, there are several secrets that we will now get to know:

• Do you want swing interior doors? Refuse! When installed in apartments such as a kitchen-living room, when opened, they will take extra square meters.
  Replace them with sliding doors or get rid of them altogether - wide doorways have always been in style;
• When placing furniture, pay attention to the following fact: you do not need to arrange all the furniture in the house along the walls in the form of a vicious circle. This is a fairly common mistake, which leads to a significant visual reduction in living space.

Paradox!!!
Move the furniture away from the wall by 10-12 cm and see for yourself that the visual space of the apartment has increased (the indentation creates the illusion of a spacious room).

• You can separate the living room and kitchen with dimensions of 18 sq m not only with the help of a screen and a partition - as an additional option, designers recommend using a carpet.
  It’s great if the color scheme of the carpet matches the color of the furniture, both in the kitchen and in the living room. You can also fit the carpet into the design in the old-fashioned way - use pillows that are the same color with the carpet, which will “register” the carpet in your modern kitchen-living room interior;

• Do not be afraid to use thin lines in the interior. For those who do not understand what it is, we will explain: classic squat furniture will look rather awkward, and even ugly in the kitchen-living room, so the designers suggest using chairs with thin carved legs, weightless stools and tables in which cutouts and notches are made, broken lines of paintings on the wall and so on.

Advice!!!
For the decoration of the living room-kitchen, long candlesticks are the best fit, the price of which is pleasantly pleasing. They, moreover, visually stretch the space up.

• Don't forget about glass surfaces. For example, a dining table, wall shelves, coffee table top, doors on cabinets and even glass chairs - make your apartment stylish and light.

We select the style for the kitchen-living room

To the deepest relief, studio apartments have a larger area than standard one-room apartments. 18 square meters can be arranged in any style known today! Let's look at some of them.

Provence

If you are a supporter of country landscapes and measured village life, then Provence-style cuisine is what you need. This style came to us from the coast of France, where every house feels the lightness and freshness of the morning breeze, and the beautiful atmosphere of a country house gives peace.

When decorating, you can use lighter types of fabrics such as cotton, linen and imitation canvas. Use them everywhere - as pillowcases, lampshades, capes and curtains. Their natural straw color can be diluted with pink, peach and lavender.

The “aged furniture” will look ideal in combination with wicker decor elements (baskets, chairs), wildflowers, all kinds of figurines and beautiful dishes decorated with decoupage.

Britannia

British style - a combination of rigor and sophistication. The stiffness inherent in the English style can be emphasized by selected furniture, with a strict and repeating pattern - all lines of furniture tend to be symmetrical, but rhythmically repeating curves do not make the living room and kitchen boring.

The whole room is decorated in blue or deep brown tones - visually creates the feeling of an aristocrat's office.

Such a living room does not tolerate empty walls - do not be afraid to dilute such an interior with paintings, photographs and small mirrors. As the main source of illumination, you can use a small chandelier with inlaid crystal. As for the floors, made of dark laminate or parquet, they will look perfect with a soft milky or beige carpet.

Ethnos

Ethnic style is once again entering our lives with great strides, and the absence of any rules allows the novice designer to show his imagination to the fullest. Take inspiration from colorful India, hot Africa, mysterious China or create your own personal mix.

Such an interior provides for the use of a variety of furniture, including the simplest models of carpentry. As decorations, you can hang pictures on the walls, which are bright oil paintings. The color scheme of this style is grassy, ​​berry, ocher, nut and chocolate.

In textiles, imitation of the skins of wild animals can be seen: bears, roe deer, zebras, leopards and tigers. The table can be decorated with bamboo mats.

Finishing touch

Even an interior created by one's own hands can be of the highest class, the main thing is to competently approach this interesting business. If you don’t know where to get new ideas from, then on our website, especially for you, there is a photo and video instruction that will help novice designers understand the styles, their features and secrets.

The convenience of living is sometimes achieved by combining two rooms into one. It is no coincidence that many people come up with the idea to combine the kitchen and living room into a single whole. With the right approach, you can get a comfortable room, for example, eighteen meters, in the form of a square.

Layout Features

Kitchen-living room of a square shape with an area of ​​​​18 square meters. m can be very comfortable. It is no coincidence that in old houses with small kitchens, where it is impossible for the family to turn around during lunch, apartment owners are increasingly trying to get rid of the partitions that separate the living room from the kitchen. In modern housing, developers specifically provide spacious rooms that the inhabitants of the apartments can plan depending on their own ideas about comfort.

The combined kitchen-living room has a number of very beneficial aspects of such use of the premises.

• A large room instead of two separate close ones makes it possible to create an interesting and functional interior. You can implement a project with a sofa, bar or dining room, decorated in a single style solution.
• The hostess, busy with cooking, is not isolated from the rest of the family behind the wall. She can communicate with relatives during household chores and observe the actions of children.
• The whole family at any time has the opportunity to gather at the table for dinner, lunch or tea.

Such a combination has its drawbacks, which cannot be discounted.

• No matter how perfect the design of the kitchen-living room, located in the recreation area, there is nowhere to escape from the hum of a continuously working refrigerator, as well as other appliances that turn on from time to time in the kitchen. Plus the sound of water flowing from the faucet and the hiss of food being cooked in a frying pan and in a saucepan, which sometimes make it difficult to hear the sounds of the TV.
• When cooking, the splashes scatter to the sides, sometimes reaching furniture that has nothing to do with the kitchen. In addition, all fumes spread throughout the room, impregnating the smell of the upholstery of the soft corner, curtains, pillows and other things.
• The ceiling is gradually covered with a coating, which is a consequence of the processes taking place in the kitchen, if there is no good hood in this area.
• Maintaining order even on eighteen squares becomes difficult, since all the "consequences of kitchen activities" freely spread over all available meters. Even unwashed dishes are enough to create a sense of disorder in the entire room.

Style selection

The style of an eighteen-meter square kitchen-living room can be very different. It depends on the taste preferences of the owners.

• Such a Scandinavian-style room will look wonderful. It involves the use of light colors in the decoration. Upholstered furniture is usually white in this case. So that the room does not look like a hospital ward, bright accents are added to such an interior. It can be, for example, a blue or black table, chairs that are bright in color. The design involves the presence of ornaments of geometric shapes, for example, blue or green tones.

• You can decorate the kitchen-living room in eco-style. It involves the use of natural materials - wood, ceramics, stone. For the dining room, you can pick up wooden furniture, use clay dishes on it. Under the stone, tiles in the kitchen area can be decorated.

• A similar approach to decoration can be used when creating a country-style interior. Here there may be cabinet furniture, which looks like it was roughly knocked together from embossed wood, as if inherited from a beloved grandfather. To achieve this, the surfaces are intentionally given an aged look. To maintain the style, curtains of natural tones, antique chandeliers and lampshades are selected.

photos

• Fans of a large amount of sun and air in the interior can adopt the Provence style. On the windows with this approach, light textiles are used, which only slightly conceal the sunlight. Not only curtains, but also other fabrics in the interior can be decorated with a modest floral pattern. The space is delimited by a sofa or table. The atmosphere suggests simplicity and naturalness in everything.

• Lovers of everything modern and advanced can choose a high-tech style for decorating the kitchen-living room, in which metal and plastic rule. It is quite natural when a room decorated in this spirit is literally stuffed with modern electronics, and comfortable functional furniture is designed in laconic simple lines with elements of metal and glass.

• The classic style involves the use of solid wood in furniture, as well as leather and expensive fabrics in upholstery. Columns, arches can be used indoors, parquet on the floor. The ceiling is usually decorated with a crystal chandelier. Household appliances are hidden behind cabinet doors, as are books. Heavy curtains are used on the windows.

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• In the loft style, elements of brickwork, exposed ceiling beams, and rough plaster finishes can be used. The decor of window openings is emphasized by interestingly shaped frames, and curtains are not supposed at all. The distinction between functional areas is very conditional.

Zoning rules

Before equipping a square kitchen-living room, it is necessary to allocate functional zones in it, and for each of them to allocate so much space so that it looks organic in the layout. On eighteen squares should be:

• kitchen part;
• dining area;
• space for a relaxing holiday (in front of the TV, fireplace, and so on).

To begin with, homeowners need to decide which functional area is a priority for them - kitchen or leisure-related.

If you arrange the kitchen set with the letter “G”, a sink, oven and refrigerator can easily fit in this zone. The rest of the space can be given under the wall or slide, a set of upholstered furniture and the necessary equipment for the living room. In a space divided in this way, it will be comfortable for a large friendly family, and for a young childless couple, and for a single person who is mostly at work.

If you install the kitchen set with the letter "P", much more space will go under the working area. Under the dishes and kitchen utensils there is a place in two corners. With such an arrangement of furniture, it is natural to have a table at which the family can dine quietly, and a set of upholstered furniture opposite the wall with a built-in TV.

Fashionable now is the use of a kitchen island, which can serve as a dining table and a workplace for cooking. In the case of an eighteen-meter room, it can be a bar counter equipped with a place to store dishes. A kitchen set in the presence of such an object usually occupies one wall.

For a kitchen set, you can simply select a line along one wall. Then under the living area there will be a maximum of available space.

To make the kitchen-living room more convenient in everyday life, it uses various delimiters of functional areas. You can separate the kitchen from the room with a rack or other heavy structure. Although sometimes it is more convenient to have a sliding, for example, glass structure. Then, during cooking, the kitchen is separated from the living room, so that odors do not penetrate into the half where people rest, and greasy drops do not fly, crumbs and other debris are not taken away. When no one is working in the kitchen, the partition is easy to remove.

On eighteen squares, conditional plasterboard partitions of various shapes are also used, into which shelves are built.

Lighting also becomes an element of zoning. Each zone has its own lighting, which helps not only visually divide the space, but also reduce electricity costs.

It is advisable to provide individual lighting along the kitchen set. In the kitchen area, a lamp with a lampshade and side lighting will also look very cozy. Above the dining table, it is good to hang individual lamps or several.

An easy way to divide zones is to arrange furniture correctly. For example, a large sofa can serve as a kind of wall, indicating that the living room begins from it.

To delimit space, transformable furniture is also used today, which is easily moved apart and pushed back. It is good to hide bedding and even extra beds in it. Transformable furniture allows you to make a comfortable table for a large company from a compact cabinet. This is a very convenient option for an eighteen-meter room. Although such furniture is not cheap.

You can also delimit the space with the help of different floor coverings in areas intended for certain functions. So, in the living area there can be parquet, laminate or carpet, and in the kitchen there is a tile that is easy to clean.

Even a podium can be used to separate one zone from another. The difference in floor height of 10-12 centimeters creates a visual effect. Usually, the part reserved for the kitchen is raised on the podium, since it occupies a smaller area. You can use this approach only in rooms with high ceilings.

By analogy with the podium, you can arrange the ceiling at different levels. It can be stretched or made of drywall. Spotlights emphasize the isolation of certain zones.

You can also visually separate one zone from another using certain color schemes. Keeping harmony in this regard, you need to keep in mind that the kitchen and the room itself should be decorated in different colors. The judicious use of contrast works very effectively. You can combine colors of different shades and saturations, use wallpapers of different textures, and so on.