The small kitchen gives a lot of inconvenience to the housewives, as well as to all family members who are not able to get together in a comfortable room on weekends and evenings to discuss pressing issues. This makes homeowners increasingly think about how to expand the kitchen from the balcony.
I must admit that such a reorganization of space gives excellent results, which sometimes exceed the most daring expectations. Kitchens with access to the balcony, quite often found not only in new homes, but also in the buildings of the old housing stock. This is a very convenient layout option. The kitchen with a balcony, combined into a common space, allows you to get a spacious, bright and attractive room.
The kitchen with access to the balcony has some hidden features. Having got rid of the partition and connecting the kitchen to the balcony, you can optimize the space.
Where to start the reorganization of the premises?
First you need to find out if in your case it is possible to dismantle the balcony block. If the wall is a supporting wall, you will never get permission to remove it completely. In this case, you will only be allowed to remove the doors to the balcony and window, and use the window sill as a bar, shelf or table.
Permission or prohibition to remodel the balcony into the kitchen can be obtained at the BTI. We do not recommend that you begin to engage in this work without going through all the necessary approvals: at best, you will get off with a pretty impressive fine, and at worst, at your own expense, by court order, restore the original layout. In addition, you will not be able to sell an apartment without all the proper documents.
If you get a positive result in the BTI, you can order a kitchen project, which in the future will need to be agreed with the SES and the Ministry of Emergencies. As a rule, paperwork takes about six months. The process includes several stages:
- Request for the issuance of the technical plan of the apartment from the BTI.
- Order a kitchen project. For its implementation, you should contact the city expert organization.
- Coordinating it in the Sanitary Inspection and the Ministry of Emergencies.
- Obtaining permission for redevelopment in the Housing Office.
When the partition is dismantled, BTI employees draw up an act on the change of layout. After completing work in the BTI, you need to get a new apartment plan.
Redevelopment Types
Expansion of the kitchen due to the area of the balcony can be done in two ways:
- Without dismantling the wall. The easiest way is to just remove the window and threshold. The ledge of the wall remaining after dismantling is beaten like a bar counter or countertop. For such a redevelopment, permission of the relevant authorities is not required.
- Dismantling the wall. A more complex version of the redevelopment, requiring coordination. To demolish the wall between the kitchen and the balcony is possible only if it is not a carrier.
Zoning
Before you order a project, think over the layout of the balcony with the kitchen, carefully consider all the details and nuances. It should be decided what exactly will be on the former balcony:
- Work zone.
- Dinner Zone.
- Rest zone.
We connect the kitchen to the balcony
Having completed all legal requirements and having prepared the necessary documentation, you can proceed with the project. As a rule, work begins with the repair of the balcony railing. Reconstruction is necessary primarily in unglazed balconies. For the construction of the fence can be used:
- Brick. Durable material with good thermal insulation characteristics, practicality. Its only drawback is too much weight.
- Wood. In order for the wooden fence to serve for a long time, the material must be treated with antiseptic compounds. Its advantage is environmental friendliness.
- Foam blocks. The most convenient and financially profitable material for the construction of a balcony fence. It is distinguished by its affordable cost, excellent physical and technical characteristics, convenience and ease of installation.
- When installing a balcony fencing, it is necessary to correctly lay thermal insulation. To do this, as a rule, polystyrene or other types of insulation are used outside, and inside the floor, ceiling and walls of the balcony are insulated with basalt wool, covering it with a layer of vapor barrier film from above.
Glazing
A very important stage of redevelopment, which is better to entrust to specialists. When we connect the balcony to the kitchen, it is very important to create high-quality sealing to make full use of the space. In this case, experts recommend using a PVC profile with three-chamber double-glazed windows.
Creation of an aperture
Now, you can proceed with the construction of the opening. To do this, it is necessary to dismantle the old partition. This work is performed in the following sequence:
- They clean the windows and doors.
- Remove the window-door block.
- Partially or completely dismantle the wall. To perform this work, you will need a circular saw, a hammer drill and a sledgehammer.
- The formed opening is leveled.
Heating
This issue should be considered at the design stage. The most commonly used heating options are:
- warm floor system;
- heating radiators.
Interior Materials
At the final stage of the reconstruction, we connect the kitchen with the balcony visually so that these two rooms turn into a single whole. To do this, you will need to develop an original design using such finishing materials that are well combined with each other in texture and color. To the successful combinations, experts include the following options:
- natural wallpaper and decorative plaster;
- natural or artificial facing stone and liquid or glass;
- stucco and wood.
You can choose any other combination of materials. Their choice depends on your preferences and taste.
Color spectrum
The balcony connected to the kitchen can be finished in any color and style. In this case, some nuances should be taken into account. If you plan to visually separate the balcony area from the kitchen space, this can be achieved with the help of color, as well as coatings for walls and floors of different textures.
If you want to increase the space of the kitchen due to the balcony, then it is better to arrange both rooms in the same color, preferring light and calm tones.
If this option seems too boring to you, then the balcony part of the room can be decorated in bright and contrasting colors, but they must necessarily overlap with the shade of the main room.
Lighting
To get the best result from redevelopment when combining a kitchen with a balcony, you should correctly select and arrange lighting fixtures. Naturally, in an expanded kitchen you can not do with one ceiling chandelier. In the reconstructed space, additional light sources must necessarily appear: sconces, spotlights, floor lamps (if a relaxation area is provided).
Combined kitchen with balcony: design ideas
It should be understood that the design of the kitchen combined with the balcony is different from the usual room. Indeed, as a result of redevelopment, you get additional space, which often dramatically changes the general appearance of the room. How to equip it depends only on your imagination.
Bar counter
The dining area will be very interesting on the balcony. Especially if you beat part of the wall under the window like a bar or table. Such an interior looks especially exquisite in cases where a beautiful view opens from the windows. Such a partition can become a table, designed not only for snacks and breakfasts, but also for storing kitchen utensils. This design of a kitchen with a balcony and a bar counter not only distinguishes zones in space, but also unites it.
The bar counter, for which a balcony window sill is used, looks interesting.
Work area on the balcony
On the vacated and insulated space of the balcony, you can create a working area. In this case, electrical appliances and kitchen utensils are brought here. As a result, only a comfortable dining area will remain in the kitchen itself. This alteration of the kitchen should be very carefully calculated: it is necessary to take into account the allowable load on the balcony, to conduct the necessary communications. For example, you can take out a refrigerator on the balcony combined with the kitchen, but this is not always convenient from the point of view of the “working triangle”.
Theoretically, even a kitchen with an electric stove, sink and hood can be installed on the balcony. But for such a redevelopment agreement can only be obtained by residents of the first floors. When moving the kitchen to the balcony, it is necessary to transfer communications, so the working area is located on the same side where the sink and all the equipment were before repair.
Rest zone
Thinking about how to combine a balcony with a kitchen, many owners play out the freed up space in a not quite traditional way: they equip a recreation area here, where it is very pleasant to drink a cup of coffee in the company of relatives or friends.
If you like this idea, we recommend that you separate the balcony part of the space not only visually, but also physically. It can be a French window, a low partition, a rack, etc.
Some tips from designers
- Two areas of the updated kitchen should be decorated with similar finishing materials, in a single style and close color scheme.
- For zoning, use the small remaining partition, glass doors.
- You can not eliminate or hide floor level differences, but use them as a podium to highlight a relaxation area or dining room.
- To design windows on the balcony, you can use roller blinds, Roman curtains, panel curtains and blinds. Their choice depends on the overall stylistic decision of the interior. For the classical style, for example, curtains, light tulle curtains and even curtains with lambrequins will be appropriate.
- Do not clutter up the small balcony with large pieces of furniture. Replace closed cabinets with open shelves, the dining group with a compact folding table and light chairs.
- Properly selected lighting can be a unifying factor for the two zones. To do this, it is enough to install spotlights around the entire perimeter of the ceiling, and place small sconces on the walls.
- Accessories for decorating the updated space, choose in accordance with the chosen interior style.
- As a floor covering in the working area, it is better to give preference to tiles, porcelain stoneware. In the dining room or recreation area, it is better to use a laminate or linoleum.
- Do not forget about the colors: they will decorate and enliven the interior in any style.
The combination of the kitchen and the balcony, when the layout of the apartment allows, is an excellent and not too costly way of reconstruction and improvement of the apartment. Using this method, it is possible to rationally use limited space. Such an architectural and design solution will help you transform a small kitchen and use every centimeter of its area.