In most cases, the apartments of Europeans look very spacious and comfortable, despite the fact that they do not differ in large dimensions. What's the secret? Novate.ru tells what design techniques are usually used in the West to make housing look stylish, beautiful, neat and contain everything that is necessary for a comfortable life.
1. Use the space under the ceiling
If your apartment has a small area, but high ceilings, we have great news for you: you can increase it not in width, but in height. To do this, you need to equip the mezzanine second floor - a technique that is often found in western houses. There you can arrange a mini-office, library, dressing room or bedroom. And if you have small children - then a nursery. In this case, the bathroom and the kitchen-living room will remain below. Of course, in the process of redevelopment, you may encounter some problems, because in Russia it is not so easy to agree on such apartment changes. However, if we talk about Europe, then everything is much more complicated there - without special permission it is impossible not only to demolish the wall, but even to install an air conditioner, paint the walls and change the windows (when it comes to a historical building). Nevertheless, anything is possible if you have a desire and a clear goal.
2. Combine functional areas
If the inhabitants of Russia try to outline their personal space as much as possible and build as many walls in the apartment as possible, then the Europeans, on the contrary, strive to make their home as spacious as possible. The result is a complete rejection of partitions. The only exceptions are the bathroom and toilet.
While we believe that studio apartments are a temporary fashion trend that will soon go into the shadows, in Europe they maximize the usable area by eliminating partitions and adding new functional areas instead.
Note: Numerous intricate turns and narrow corridors become a serious obstacle in small-sized Khrushchev buildings, as they take away valuable square meters. Without them, the space looks much more harmonious, so consider combining several rooms into one.
3. Reduce the area of \ u200b \ u200bthe kitchen
In Russia, the kitchen is almost always the most important room in an apartment. Here not only breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared. Here guests gather, sincere conversations are conducted, all family members meet in the mornings and evenings. Therefore, the very idea of reducing the area of \ u200b \ u200bthe kitchen terrifies us.
But in Europe, the attitude towards this room is completely different. Crowded feasts are not practiced there, so the kitchen, as such, is often absent in the apartment. Most often it is combined with the living room to make a studio. If this area is located in a separate room (which happens quite rarely), then the main area is occupied by a large dining group, and the place for cooking is modestly located in the corner.
4. Think over multifunctional backlight
In European apartments, a lot of attention is paid to the organization of lighting - in the West they believe that it should be multi-level and complex. We are not talking about the design of lighting devices (here, on the contrary, the rule “the simpler the better” applies), but about various scenarios and lighting options. For example, in the same apartment you can see spot lighting, wall lamps, sconces, and floor lamps. Such a variety of lighting devices is due to the fact that with their help Europeans zone the space and create the atmosphere necessary for a particular case. By the way, in Europe they have a special love for natural light. That is why heavy curtains are rarely seen on the windows. But tulle or roller blinds - easily.
5. Choose a uniform color and style
Wallpaper in western apartments is a rare phenomenon. Especially when it comes to tiny apartments. This element plays rather the role of decoration, while paint acts as the main decoration. As a rule, the walls are painted white, milky, less often beige. Nevertheless, when you enter such an apartment, there is no feeling that you are in a hospital ward. Europeans play with decor very skillfully. They are well aware that a pure white interior looks dull and impersonal. That is why the owners of the apartment decorate the rooms with bright accessories, posters, cozy gizmos and beautiful furniture.
As we have already mentioned, in the West they refuse to use partitions, which means they have a single space, which is always designed in a common style. Such a simple design technique allows you to make the apartment as comfortable and harmonious as possible. For interior decoration, try to select the simplest design possible without piling up various elements. It can be country, minimal or Scandinavian style.
6. They rely on simplicity and conciseness
Western interiors are as simple and laconic as possible. They rarely have pompous decor and fanciful prints. All items that are in the apartment have their own functional value, and do not lie there "for beauty". Europeans are sure that the house should not be turned into a museum of souvenirs. Neutral colors, a minimum of decorative elements, comfortable furniture - these are the three components of western apartments that we should also adopt.
And how you do not need to arrange a small-sized apartment, you will read in the article 6 unforgivable mistakes that are made when designing a small "Khrushchev"