Kitchens of free planning enjoy increasingpopularity in homes and apartments of Russians. Previously, such a design solution was associated with a small area of real estate, but today there is an increasing number of redevelopments in 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, in elite residential houses and country cottages. 
The combination of kitchen and living room does not always happenbecause of the small size of the apartment, often this desire arises in the owners who want to equip their house most comfortably. As shown by numerous polls, the decision to make a kitchen from the kitchen is taken by the owners of real estate objects primarily because of the desire to equip their homes with maximum comfort. In the zoning and decor of the kitchen of free planning there are several important points that must be taken into account, so that the room is convenient for daily use and reception of guests.
Rationally use every square meter
On the positive aspects of this redevelopmentyou can tell endlessly, but there is also a fly in the ointment. Before you make a kitchen from the kitchen, you must take into account the negative aspects of such a decision and try not to admit them. First of all, we must take care of the quality of the hood, otherwise the smell of cooking food will be constantly present in the room. The next step should be the planning and implementation of measures for the sound insulation of the kitchen, because it will constantly be heard the noise of sanitary ware, household appliances, TV. The best option is to purchase doors with high sound insulation properties: plastic or wooden. Immediately need to consider: the door-coupe is a fashionable element of modern houses and apartments, but they are still in terms of sound insulation is much inferior to the swing. 
For the kitchen-living room you need a high-qualityextract, not giving smells of cooking to fill the whole room. The question with the door can be solved in another way, if the exits from both rooms lead to a common corridor. Such a planning solution requires additional costs, but it is one of the most practical. When combining rooms, the kitchen door is better to lay and leave from the kitchen, which turned into a living room, one entrance to the corridor. Doors in the kitchen often make glass or with glass inserts, so you will have to pay special attention to the illumination of the corridor, it will deteriorate after the disappearance of one door. But it is possible and to act in a different way: to lay the door from the kitchen so that a niche is formed. This move will help to solve several problems:
- will increase the useful area of the combined premises;
- will reduce the corridor, which does not carry a full functional load;
- will allow in the niche of the kitchen to place household appliances that used to be in the hallway.
What if the rooms in the apartment are sotiny, and that the combination of two rooms will not help solve the problem? In this case, we need to revise the furniture and appliances necessary for the arrangement of the kitchen-living room. It is possible that an effective solution to the problem will have to reconsider its stereotypes. One of the common mistakes that is made by property owners in the arrangement of the kitchen-living room is the desire to maximize the placement of furniture and household appliances in it. When the room is large, this is really possible. But if the apartment has a warmed balcony, which has a door to the kitchen, the refrigerator can be placed on it. Similarly, you can do with a microwave oven and in general with all electrical appliances, while freeing up the space of a small kitchen. 
The balcony can be combined with a kitchen-living room,having arranged there a dining table or a sofa. The balcony is a valuable resource in increasing the usable area in small houses and apartments. Effectively it can be used also in the event that it does not have a door to the kitchen living room. In it it is possible to equip, for example, a small office, and the vacant space can be used as a sleeping place. Immediately need to provide and the size of the dining table for the combined room. The table can be too large for a room due to the presence of interior items installed on the floor. But on the other hand: with the help of such a table, and not just a sofa, zoning of the room is done. The table itself is divided into a working and non-working area. In the first zone, for example, small household appliances are placed, the second is used for serving. Such a table can be divided by a small translucent screen, it does not weight the space and will look very fashionable, especially if its design uses backlighting. The latter in the evening will create a relaxed and festive atmosphere in the room. Back to contents</a>
What to do with the sofa, TV and other things
This issue is often faced withThose who decided to transform the kitchen and increase the useful area of the premises. An ordinary sofa, which once looked appropriate in the living room, may not be suitable for a new room. Designers in such cases are advised to bet on corner sofas. Such furniture allows you not to occupy the central part of the room, it makes it possible to organize space economically and functionally. Experts recommend that for the combined premises to purchase transforming furniture. It's not just a sofa for the kitchen, but also cabinets, and tables. The latter is very popular to combine with lockers. But especially fashionable in recent years are cabinets that allow you to "hide" a shelf with utensils, a sink, a compartment for storing forks, spoons, knives and other household trivia. 
The option of arranging furniture in the living room combined with the kitchen. It is best to divide the kitchen of a free lay-out into two zones:
- working;
- public.
This is quite logical and is due to the specificsa room intended for daily cooking, relaxing in the evenings with family and guests. Without television, modern life can not be imagined. Someone puts it in the work area, and someone in the public. In such cases, the opinions of property owners are usually divided into diametrically opposite. It may even turn out that the TV, transferred to the kitchen, will be inconveniently located in both areas. Designers for kitchens of a free lay-out advise to get a wide-screen model of the plasma TV and to establish it on a wall in the middle between zones. This option is convenient for use and will help to divide space without additional expenses. Back to contents</a>
For cooking and receiving guests
Zoning is widely used contrastingcolor solutions in wall, ceiling and floor coverings. The work area should be darker than the public, not only from aesthetic, but also from practical considerations. Do not get carried away by excessive decorating the work area, as it carries a large functional load, compared to the public one. As a zoning tool, it is fashionable to use a bar, which delimits the kitchen. If the room is small, it makes sense to apply to solve this problem:
- curtains;
- curtains;
- jalousie.
However, we must not forget about the selection of fabrics for curtainsand curtains. It is necessary to take care of the choice of texture, whose aesthetic appearance will not suffer from humidity and temperature changes, which will still be present in the room, which combines kitchen and living room. Back to contents</a>
Trend decisions
Sliding partition between kitchen and living roomIt is very convenient and allows you to divide the room at any time. It is considered a practical option to buy blinds instead of the usual curtains. Preference is best given to non-fabric models made with the use of moisture resistant plastic. There is another interesting option, how to demarcate space by applying curtains and blinds at the same time. The former are placed in the public zone, the latter in the working class. Here the main thing is that the "dress for the windows" harmoniously combined with each other in style and color. There is a controversial question: bright or neutral should be an object of the interior, dividing the kitchen into zones, if it is placed in the middle. The classical move is the use of furniture of neutral colors. As for the screens, there is no unified opinion. In some cases, experts in the field of design advise bright, in others - neutral shades. Therefore it is very important to take into account the general color scheme of the room, furniture and accessories, so as not to be mistaken with the choice. Or to act even easier: to buy glass screens on wheels. They are made of traumatic hardened glass, such screens perfectly pass light and allow you to "re-plan" the kitchen at any time: just move the screen to another place. A similar role can be performed by the shelving, but it is less mobile. On the other hand, on the shelf you can place beautiful accessories to emphasize the special style of the room. There is one more important nuance: when the boundary between the zones passes through the ceiling, care must be taken that the distinction parallel to it is on the floor. The border can be a change in the level of the floor by 10-15 centimeters. In the same way, they act with the ceiling. As for the massive elements of the decor, it is better to avoid them, as they will weight the space of the room and reduce its functionality.
