Some apartments are so small that there is no space for a kitchen in the living rooms. But a good interior designer can find a solution to every problem! We'll show you 5 clever projects by professional designers where the small kitchen is integrated into the hallway, leaving valuable space free for other uses. The floor plans of each apartment can also give you good ideas if you are doing an apartment renovation or aPlanning house construction.
1. Kitchen in the hallway of a one-room apartment
Ort: Reutov, Region Moscow
living space: 35 sqm, studio in a new building
Who lives here?: Mother and daughter
Designer: Yuri and Yana Volkov
Problem: The size and configuration of the apartment gave the designers no flexibility: the apartment is long, all the rooms are lined up one behind the other and there is only one window, which is at the other end, opposite the entrance door.
All rooms are arranged one behind the other
Solution: The arrangement of the kitchen and bedroom along the long corridor allowed the designers to organize a full-fledged living room. The bedroom is separated from the hallway by sliding doors.
The hallway flows into the kitchen, so the furniture - not just the kitchenette with built-in appliances, but also a wardrobe for coats and jackets - is lined up along the hallway wall.
The entrance area and the kitchen have the same style and flooring, so they are visually connected. The white high-gloss fronts of the kitchen unit and the wardrobe compensate for the lack of natural light in this area and make it appear brighter.
The floor in the hallway and kitchen is covered with tiles - the black and red pattern looks like a decorative carpet. The wall above the breakfast bar is painted with chalkboard paint so you can draw on it with chalk. The black wall also adds more depth to the narrow corridor and makes the white kitchen fronts stand out better.
What is important:If such zones with different functions are lined up, it is better if the kitchen and entrance area are designed in the same style and their details do not differ significantly in color and material. It is not worth visually separating the kitchen from the hallway.
2. Living room, kitchen and hallway in one
Wo: Moscow
living space: 41 qm
Designer and owner of the apartment: Tatiana Bobyleva, founder of the PROforma group
Problem: The apartment was designed by the developer as a one-room apartment. In fact, it stayed that way, but instead of a small kitchen and a large open space, the designer re-divided the floor plan and separated the bedroom from the living and dining area.
Solution: The furnishings of this small apartment rely on the optical illusion of the actual volume distribution: the room appears larger than it is. This feeling is created by two large wooden boxes, one of which is in the hallway and the second in the living room. The latter purposely does not reach the ceiling to create the feeling of additional volume.
In order to gain more space in the living room, the kitchen was installed in the hallway, almost in front of the entrance door. In this way, space was created for a separate bedroom.
The kitchen is located in the passage area between the hallway and the living room and is designed in white and light wood. The lower cabinets and the decorative frame are made of plywood, the upper cabinets are equipped with white doors. The light colors make the entrance area appear brighter and the mirrored splashback gives the feeling that the upper cabinets are floating in the air.
What is important:Small apartments and studios should not appear overloaded. To create a feeling of space and space, you can use these simple tricks: mirrors as splash guards or cabinets that don't quite reach the ceiling.
Ort: St. Petersburg
living space: 33 qm
Who lives here:a young girl
Project designer: Nikita Zub
Problem: Originally this was a one-room apartment, but the owner wanted a separate bedroom with a window. So she asked the designer to rethink the entire floor plan.
The studio apartment before and after the renovation
There are many planning options for such small apartments. You simply have to think outside the box in terms of new solutions. So the designer decided to swap the places of the kitchen and bedroom and create a separate room for a walk-in closet.
Solution: Since there is no gas system in the new building and the apartment is on the first floor, the issue of moving the kitchen was agreed upon without any difficulty. As a result, the kitchenette was built on the site of the former corridor, as close as possible to the supporting columns.
The bar counter with two chairs was an idea from the apartment owner. She doesn't eat at home very often, so a bar counter is more than enough for her personal needs. The black table top creates a pleasant contrast to the white fronts. The two kitchen units were placed on opposite walls - so there is more work space and plenty of storage space.
What is important is:The issue of “natural light” is particularly important for apartments on the lower floors. If it's not enough, use light furniture and wall colors and plan additional lighting.
4. Small kitchen in the entrance area
Ort: Sotschi
living space: kitchen 6 sqm; Total size of the studio – 25 sqm
Who lives here:The customers planned to rent out the studio or use it as a guest apartment for friends and relatives.
Project designer: Maria Gubina
Problem: The designer was asked to make the strange layout of the studio apartment more comfortable and hide the kitchen as much as possible (see plan below). But that turned out to be not so easy. They decided to design the kitchen in the hallway rather than in another room (there wasn't room anywhere else anyway).
The small kitchenette remains in the hallway, but is hidden in a multifunctional piece of furniture
Solution: The owners wanted the kitchen to be somewhat hidden in the hallway but still remain functional. The white high-gloss kitchen (fingerprints are hardly visible) was given a lid for the worktop: when closed, the kitchen unit is reminiscent of a large chest of drawers.
The kitchenette is 240 cm long – not that small for a studio apartment. There's enough space for a sink built into the countertop, a two-burner hotplate, and a decent-sized work surface.
is important: In a room with a complex configuration, additional zoning with color and material is not required. Here, porcelain stoneware tiles were laid not only on the floor in the hallway and kitchen, but also throughout the entire studio in order to maintain a consistent style. A uniform floor covering ensures a harmonious overall appearance.
Lighting with cold white light above the worktop
From the hallway you go into the bedroom-living room
The mirrored door also serves as a dressing mirror
5. Narrow walk-through kitchen
Ort: Moscow region
Size: 98 sqm, four-room apartment
Who lives here?: a family with two children
Project designer: MO Interior Design, Olga Tregubova and Marina Erpuleva
The clients are a married couple with two daughters who need their own bedrooms. In order to get the most out of the apartment, the designers redesigned the floor plan. The apartment was divided in such a way that the windows remain in those living spaces where they are needed more. The kitchen in the hallway also made it possibleBuild cabinets up to the ceilingand thus make full use of all the available space.
Two-line kitchens offer more work space and storage space and are perfect for larger households. The two kitchen units were arranged opposite each other - the sink, the oven with hotplate and the dishwasher are located on the left wall, while the microwave is installed in the tall cabinet in the right kitchen unit, leaving plenty of work space. The worktop is made of artificial stone and the back wall is made of tempered glass - both are white. Thanks to the good selection of colors, the small kitchen looks bright and inviting even without a window.
View from the kitchen into the living room
