Kitchen-living room – 60 photos and 7 steps from redevelopment to design [2019]

/Design/Combined kitchen/

Combining the kitchen and living room is almost always a good idea, especially if the kitchen is small. Of course, you won’t add square meters to it, but at least you can increase it visually by doubling the light and moving the dining area to the border between the rooms. And in such a space it is more convenient to communicate with family (all household members can be nearby without interrupting their work), receive guests and organize holidays.

However, when adding a living room, you need to be prepared for some inconveniences:

The noise of kitchen appliances (from the refrigerator to the blender) often disturbs those relaxing on the sofa. Conversely, noise from the living room, such as the TV, can disturb the cook.
The smells of food travel freely between rooms; over time, textiles become saturated with odors and become greasy.
If a slight mess is acceptable in an isolated kitchen, then it is unlikely to be in the kitchen-living room, which means that the work area will have to be cleaned twice as thoroughly. At the same time, chaos in the living room can disrupt the comfort of a combined kitchen and dining room.
In an isolated kitchen, it is sometimes so nice to retire to everyday affairs or have intimate gatherings over tea. However, by adding a living room to it, this possibility will no longer exist.
In the end, the process of combining the kitchen and the hall is very troublesome, labor-, time- and financially expensive. After all, you will have to first develop a project, approve it, and only then start demolishing the wall.

In this material we will tell you how to legally connect the living room to the kitchen and plan the design of the combined space. The material will also be of interest to owners of studio apartments and apartments with an already combined kitchen-living room (in this case, proceed directly to Step No. 3).

See also: Design of a dining room combined with a kitchen and/or living room.

Application of design techniques when remodeling a one-room apartment

A chair-bed will help save useful space.

For example, in a partition dividing a large room into a living room and a bedroom, you can install stained glass windows that imitate an ordinary window closer to the ceiling, or use glass blocks. Such a wall will serve as an obstacle to noise penetration. In this case, natural daylight will pass into both fenced off rooms. The total area is sometimes divided by open or closed shelving, which determines the degree of isolation of the two created rooms from one another.

Related article: How to expel air from a warm water floor: expert advice

In the bedroom you can put a separate chair-bed or sofa, armchairs, computer, coffee table. You can put a closet in the hallway, add shelves for flowers or a rack for books. Provide storage space for children's toys. You can use plasterboard, plywood or chipboard as a decorative partition, which will allow you to turn a one-room apartment into a two-room apartment. You will need to make a frame from iron guides, which is then sheathed with a suitable material, and a layer of sound insulation is laid between the plasterboard slabs from the inside, installing a door or a system with sliding plasterboard partitions. In it, for example, at the top you can make a small narrow window across the entire width of the room near the ceiling. It is possible to install double-sided niches for storing books, saving space. Installing a narrow strip of glass blocks will be an interesting design solution that allows you to replace natural light with artificial light.

In order to make the countless old apartments more comfortable, designers have to contrive and invent how, taking the best from the layout, they can organize the place very well so that it is possible for an individual family to live comfortably, albeit in a small, but separate area.

Kitchen interior in the hall

Features of the kitchen in the hall

When talking about whether the kitchen can be moved into the living room, we have already mentioned some restrictions that will have to be taken into account. So what are the requirements for a kitchen combined with a living space?

A powerful hood is a must!

The first requirement is the absence of gas equipment. In the kitchen moved to the hall, it is necessary to install either an electric or induction stove. And here it’s not so much about legal restrictions, but about your personal safety!
The next thing without which such a kitchen is impossible is a high-quality hood. If in a separate kitchen you could simply close the door, then in a kitchen combined with a living room, it is necessary to remove the air with all kitchen aromas directly during the cooking process - otherwise, after a few weeks, your upholstered furniture will smell like a mixture of burnt oil, fried fish, etc.
For the kitchen in the hall, high-quality lighting is very important - both artificial and natural. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to expand window openings or combine them with each other, take advantage of it! This will not only benefit the appearance of the room, but will also make your work in the kitchen easier.

Large windows in the hall guarantee good lighting

Advice! The larger the window opening, the greater the heat loss in winter. Therefore, when expanding windows, it is necessary to install high-quality energy-saving glazing.

Dividing space into functional zones

In order for the kitchen in the hall not only to fulfill its duties, but also to fully “fit” into the interior, it must be visually separated from the main part of the room.

Designers call this separation “zoning,” whereby a large room is conditionally divided into two zones – a relaxation area and a food preparation area.

There are several ways to separate zones from each other:

The easiest way is to install movable screens, which, if necessary, will reliably hide the kitchen from prying eyes. This solution is also the most economical, since no repair work will have to be carried out.
The next method is to install a table, bar counter or kitchen island on the border between the living area and the kitchen. In this case, we also turn the kitchen into an impromptu dining room, because the whole family can gather at the bar counter or a large enough table.

Table at the border between the kitchen and the living room

Advice! If you are planning a kitchen island as a divider - i.e. tabletop resting on kitchen cabinets - it is better not to install a sink or hob on it.

A good way of zoning would be to install a podium, i.e. raising the height of the floor in the kitchen area by 10-15 cm. Among other things, it will be easier to hide communications under the podium, so perhaps when moving the kitchen you won’t have to open the screed.
There are also purely design ways to delimit space using different finishes on the floor, ceiling and walls, as well as using different lighting.

False ceiling over the kitchen

In any case, no matter what method of zoning the kitchen you choose, you need to remember the stylistic unity of the entire room: the kitchen and the living part of the room should be visually different from each other, but at the same time be consistent in the same design.

Read also the article “Design of a kitchen-living-dining room in a finished project.”

Possibilities of association

Recently, solutions for demolishing partitions in the apartment and combining the kitchen and living room in one space have become increasingly popular. Here the owner needs to know that:

it is not permitted to dismantle, even partially, load-bearing walls;
it is possible to combine living rooms with a kitchen only if there is an electric stove in it;
If you have gasified kitchen equipment, in place of the disassembled partition you will need to install sliding structures or protective shutters that replace the door.

It is worth noting that in older houses it is not always possible to replace a gas stove with an electric one due to low-power electrical wiring that does not allow for increased loads. Often, even after changing the wiring inside the apartment, the issue remains unresolved, since the common cables located in Khrushchev and Stalin buildings do not meet modern requirements. In addition, for consumers using electric stoves in gas-connected houses, discounts on electricity consumption are not provided. Therefore, the cost of paying for it will increase sharply.

How to legalize and where to apply?

Unauthorized kitchen remodeling

It is not uncommon to remodel a kitchen without approval. This may result in a fine , according to the Administrative Code (from 1,000 to 30,000 rubles). In addition to the fine, you will be required to either return everything to its original state or go to court . The unauthorized transfer of the kitchen to the living room can only be legalized in this way.

If you lost the case, the court ordered you to restore the original appearance of the premises, but you did not do this within the specified period, that is, there is a risk of a new trial according to the norms of the Civil Code. You may be forcibly deprived of your property rights.

Coordination of kitchen relocation before remodeling

The option where you don’t have to try your luck always leads to the best outcome: even if they don’t agree, you won’t be fined. In general, there are fewer problems. The documents that will need to be collected are shown in the figure below.

Documents for approval of the transfer of the kitchen to the living room

Conclusion

But if the difficulties of re-equipment do not frighten you, and you are ready to pay due attention to cleaning, then you can begin moving the kitchen. In any case, you already know how to move the kitchen into the living room correctly!

Design of a kitchen-dining room in a private house - see here.

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A few more important nuances

Ventilation. It is required in the new premises, but moving it is the most problematic part. It is not advisable to move the kitchen if you have to pull the ventilation pipe more than 10 meters. The craving will decrease. Additional fans will be required. This is not the best idea for an apartment with a low ceiling.

Temperature conditions. Permissible temperature is 18-26 degrees Celsius. In cold weather – 19-21 degrees.
The natural light ratio is also important. Its value is from 0.5. The new location must have sufficient lighting. It is not allowed to erect blind partitions that will block the window to the street.
It is not recommended to carry the water supply far. This is fraught with a decrease in pressure due to the large horizontal extent. The pipes are hidden under the floor or in a drywall box.
The cross-section of sewer pipes is larger than water pipes. Considering that they must run at a slope, the floor under which they are hidden will have to be raised. An idea for apartments with sufficient ceiling heights.
It is worth taking into account the load of the electrical network and, if necessary, installing a separate machine.

Unacceptable actions

It should be noted that in his own home, the owner has the right to decide for himself whether the kitchen can be moved to the living room or another room. Here problems can arise only with the presence of natural light in the room and the possibility of providing the necessary communications to the sink and household appliances. Owners of apartments in high-rise buildings will have, in addition to their own wishes, to take into account the rights of neighbors living on the lower level, and also not to forget about their safety and the possible deterioration of living conditions. Unforeseen situations, for example, may arise when sewer pipes located on the floor above leak. Who would like it if fecal waste from a clogged toilet located directly above the kitchen starts dripping onto the kitchen table or stove?

Even if the relocation of the kitchen is supposed to be done according to all the rules, the owner of the apartment is obliged to obtain a permit from the relevant services before starting work, so that subsequently neighbors or in the event of selling the home will not have questions about the legality of the redevelopment.

In what cases is it permissible to move the kitchen to another room or change the boundaries of the room, and in what cases is it not? More recently, the owner only had to write a statement indicating that he understood the situation and was deliberately worsening living conditions. For example, in a one-room apartment, during redevelopment, the area of the kitchen area was increased by reducing the bathroom by moving the partition. In this case, the kitchen fell under the “wet” zone of the neighbors, which is prohibited by the new rules. But previously, officials approved such a transfer on the condition that the owner undertakes to inform the potential buyer about the problem when selling the apartment.

Currently, sanitary and building codes clearly state when moving the kitchen even by a meter is prohibited under any conditions:

in a one-room and one-level multi-room apartment in multi-storey buildings, it is not allowed to move the kitchen under the bathrooms, showers and bathrooms located on the floor above. An exception is an apartment located on two levels or on the top floor;
You cannot move the kitchen to the living room or another room if there are residential premises underneath them, as they will automatically become non-residential. This paragraph does not apply to apartments occupying the first and second floors, if there are no areas under them intended for living;
It is strictly forbidden to arrange a kitchen in a room that does not have a window opening with an opening sash, if a gas stove is used for cooking. It will need to be replaced with an electric one.

Experts do not recommend moving the kitchen if, during its redevelopment, the location of utility networks will have to be significantly changed, as well as if there are significant violations of their technological diagrams. Firstly, such a project may not be approved by the authorities, and secondly, it will most likely require significant material investments.

If you change the configuration or length of the gas pipe, you must obtain permission from the gas industry, and call their specialists to carry out the work.

Valid solutions

Redevelopment involving the relocation of the kitchen on the middle levels of multi-storey buildings can be carried out only if the stove, dishwasher, as well as the sink and other kitchen equipment will be placed above or below the territory of corridors, storage rooms, built-in closets and other non-residential areas.

The vacated apartments, especially in a one-room apartment, are often small in size, but are successfully used as bedrooms or children's rooms. The owner should remember that in the documents such premises will be indicated as unsuitable for habitation, except for the top floor options. Although from the situation there are: a “new” room can be designated in the drawings, for example, as an office. And it is already allowed to place any furniture in it.

Moving the kitchen into a living room or corridor is possible only if natural light enters the room. If there is no window, you will need to ensure the penetration of daylight from the next room through doors with large glass inserts or through transparent partitions.

In dark rooms equipped only with lighting or electric lamps, kitchen arrangement is not allowed.

New designs for a combined living room

Everything should be decorated in the same style and color. It is better to give preference to cold neutral colors. Be sure to properly light both rooms. Lighting devices must be identical in design.

You can refuse the chandelier, giving preference to ceiling lamps, small sconces in the living room and the main lighting also as spotlights.

Pros and cons of a kitchen combined with a living room

Summarizing all of the above, I would like to note that moving the kitchen to the hall has both positive and negative sides.

The main advantage is, of course, the increase in free space in the kitchen, which can be seen in the photo in this article. Instead of a cramped room, we get a fairly large area, so even two or three people don’t have to be crowded when cooking.
In addition, the room in which the kitchen was previously located can also be converted. According to the regulations, this room cannot be made residential - but who will prevent us from calling it, for example, an office in the documentation?

A spacious kitchen combined with a living room is the dream of any housewife

As for the disadvantages of such a constructive solution, there are several of them:

Firstly, the transfer process itself is quite complicated, and the price of all the materials necessary for this can break a serious hole in the budget.
Secondly, legal registration is difficult.
Thirdly, the kitchen in the hall must be kept perfectly clean - otherwise dirt and unpleasant odors will quickly spread throughout the entire large room.