What to do if your hallway is halfliving room? Tear down the wall or leave? In today's article, we will consider this issue from all sides and give comprehensive advice on finding a solution. If the theater begins with a hanger, and not at all from the stage, then the house is undoubtedly from, not from. Let's be frank, the entrance hall is by no means the main place in the house, but, undoubtedly, one of the most visited in it, and the organization of the space needs to be thought out no less carefully. home and store essentials, whether it be an umbrella or keys. Adjacent to the front door, the entrance hall serves as a buffer zone between the public space and the private area, is the “entry point” to the rest of the house, and is usually separated by a wall or doors. This is a classic version of the layout, but time goes by, and now the owners of small-sized housing, guided not only by an aesthetic, but also by a practical approach to interior design, are increasingly resorting to combining several spaces into one. By eliminating, for example, the partition between the front corridor and the living room, at the exit we get a space that is visually enlarged several times, but no longer has a clear distinction. Any "operative" intervention and redevelopment do not pass without leaving a trace, they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Having heard the professional recommendations of architects Natalia Guseva and Inga Azhgirey, we have collected 10 tips on how to make the process of "merging" two squares competently so that you do not have to build walls again. 1. Furniture After the complete dismantling of walls, doorways and all sorts of obstacles on the way to the living room, each of the combined zones must still fulfill its direct function. Having decided that now the room has become larger, it is not worthwhile to fit a maximum of pieces of furniture into the main room of the house, crossing the conditional boundaries from the hallway. The wrong arrangement of furniture can play a cruel joke on you, when from the doorway you stumble on the sofa or walk in street shoes to the other end of the living room for keys. Everything should be in its place. Leave a vertical or wall hanger in the hallway, replace a bulky chest of drawers with a built-in storage system. 
Natalia Guseva, architect:- Often in small studio apartments, you want to save on hallway space, limiting yourself to only one built-in wardrobe for outerwear, which can be beautifully located somewhere in the corner. If it matches the color and style of furniture in the living room, then it will harmoniously fit into the overall space. facebook.com/kvarta.eco Inga Azhgirey, designer: - To begin with, you should generally understand why you need to combine the hallway and living room. Do you want to be in the living room to see who is coming or going? Do you need full or partial amalgamation? If, nevertheless, to combine, then it is worth immediately deciding what partitions will be, their functionality. You can divide the rooms with a full-height wardrobe with mezzanines (shallow depth, but a solid storage volume). It will become a link between two rooms, and the depth of the cabinet can be used on both sides of the hallway and living room. It is possible to delimit the premises with a low (1.5 m) shelving unit or chest of drawers, this will give additional storage possibilities. facebook.com/inga.azhgirei 2. Wall color Having united spaces, it is not necessary to use one solid color in the room. The absence of a color transition from one zone to another, paradoxically, can visually reduce the area of rooms - in this case, there will be either one large entrance hall, or a medium-sized living room. Use similar shades, smoothly pouring the front corridor into the room, avoiding too noticeable contrast: it can be textured plaster, wallpaper pattern, or a difference in shades. 
Inga Azhgirey, designer:- With combined rooms, I would not recommend too sharp color transitions of zones, otherwise there will be a feeling of a small, suddenly "pasted" hallway. It can be the same color of the walls as in the living room, or close, but with a different texture, or, conversely, smooth. I am for the unity of style. facebook.com/inga.azhgirei 3. Decor In the event of a “fusion” of spaces such as an entrance hall and a living room, the use of decor has a double function: decoration of the room and zoning. A half-meter vase or floor sculpture, a series of photographs or pictures on the wall will be an excellent, discreet way to distinguish between the entrance to the house and the recreation area. 
Inga Azhgirey, designer:- It will be enough to add one interesting, unusual element to the design of the hallway to designate the room, give it individuality and independence, but at the same time not separate (in style) from other rooms. It can be a mirror in a bold unusual frame or a bright pouf upholstery. In general, the hallway is the place that we see when we enter home after a busy day, and from where our path from home begins. Bring in there what pleases you. Maybe it will be a housekeeper with a photo of your family, decorative "happy" baubles from your child on the mirror, or maybe it will be a painted decorative frieze on the wall made by newlyweds who have recently moved in. facebook.com/inga.azhgirei 4. Lighting A skillfully exposed person can not only add comfort and space to a home - different lighting devices are widely used for zoning separate functional parts within one room, not to mention a space combined from several rooms. The central lighting of the living room and a number of auxiliary lamps, sconces, various kinds of lighting can successfully contrast with the spotlights on the ceiling or pendant lamps on long mountings in the hallway. The position and direction of the flow of light will do their job, visually separating one zone from another. 
five.Floors Most often, crossing the threshold of housing, we first look at our feet, intuitively convinced of safety, and then we look around the rest of the room. It is the use of contrasting colors and flooring materials that is perhaps the easiest and most direct way to clearly delineate the area for changing outdoor shoes to a home version. In view of our urban realities and the not entirely satisfactory sanitary condition of the streets, it is not customary for us to walk in shoes at home - the hallway serves as a kind of filter. It is a "apartment" continuation of the street with all the consequences in the form of dirt, moisture and dust, therefore the use of a flooring that is more durable and easier to clean must be used in this area. A smooth transition to the living room can be realized due to a smoother and less textured material: laminated or cork, natural wood, varnished parquet. 
Natalia Guseva, architect:- One of the challenges of combining a hallway with a living room is dirt from the street (especially in inclement weather), which will also infiltrate the living room and create a messy look. To prevent this from happening, you need to "zonate" directly that "patch" where you will take off your shoes and outerwear with materials that are easy to clean: tiles, natural stone or mosaics. Such a zoning solution can also be supported on the walls, finishing them in this place with easily washable materials in the style of the living room interior. facebook.com/kvarta.eco Inga Azhgirey, designer: - As for the floor, a slight "hooliganism" is quite appropriate here - an unusual texture, color, interesting layout, porcelain stoneware is just as appropriate as a coating similar in color or texture to the main floor covering. But an unusual floor in a small area is more interesting! However, do not forget - if you wanted to make a green floor, then let a green scarf or green pendant mini-lamps hang on a hanger. facebook.com/inga.azhgirei 6. Ceiling Along with the approach to the use of different materials for the floor, we should not forget that we have above our head - the ceiling. A slight change in the level of the ceiling in the hallway and living room visually and without clutter zones the space. This approach in the delimitation of functional areas is clearly visible both from the threshold and directly from the room. Another option is the use of popular technologies for decorating the "roof": stretch and suspended ceilings, decorative beams, textured surface coating. 
7.Partitions Speaking of partitions, we do not mean newly erected brick walls or thresholds, but sliding or decorative structures that conditionally create a "presence effect", but do not impede the penetration of light and do not "eat up" the volume. Today, there are many ready-made options for such interior "delimiters" that can be easily optimized for a specific space. But by including imagination, you can do without additional manufacturing and installation of these structures. A beautiful wooden screen that slightly covers part of the entrance to the living room, a loose curtain, and even such light elements as lamps on a long wire can be an excellent option for a conditional partition. 
eight.Corners, supports, passages Nobody forces you to "burn bridges" without leaving even a hint that there was once a separate passage or wall between the hallway and the room. When dismantling the wall separating the rooms, leave the part in the form of a small support, which can serve as a functional surface for a storage system or a mirror: on the one hand, nothing prevents free movement, on the other, the hallway is formally delimited from the living room. The same story with aisles and corners. If the layout of your home has angular shapes, make one of the corners that leads into the living room more expressive by pushing it forward a few tens of centimeters. 
nine.Built-in storage Designers and architects say: use space wisely. Well, to use - so to use. In this case, proven in practice storage systems in the form of end-to-end racks and floor structures are used. By placing the shelving close to the wall or, on the contrary, installing it as a visual center at the boundary between rooms, you automatically acquire additional space for storing small essentials within reach when leaving the house. In combination, such a rack or curbstone plays the role of a completely convincing interior partition, saving you from bulky pieces of furniture in the hallway. 
Inga Azhgirey, designer:- The main problem of many apartments is in very small hallways. Here you need an individual approach, and you also need to take into account the interests and needs of the family. What storage or use element can you not imagine the hallway without? You do not need to try to shove everything into a small room, it is better to do the main storage place that is necessary for you (this can be a decorative hanger for outerwear or a shoe rack, a pouf above the shelf for small items), and store the rest in other places. facebook.com/inga.azhgirei 10. Entrance door When decorating the interior of the room, where the entrance hall is combined with the living room, do not forget about the design of the entrance door. It is the front doors that will be the visual point that, in the event of the merging of two spaces, you will see constantly, being in the room. Avoid too bright colors, because sooner or later a catchy element can get bored or, even worse, start to annoy. But at the same time, you should not use colors to match the overall style of the interior, so you run the risk of simply not finding a way out - but seriously, the hallway may visually lose its main distinguishing feature. 
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Living room combined with anteroom: how to equip and zonify
