The passage room in Khrushchev has always been a headache for homeowners. Soviet architects tried to distinguish between the already small area of apartments, often to the detriment of functionality and ergonomics. They tried to isolate the room in all available ways: cabinets, partitions, screens and curtains. But is the passage room so bad as it seems at first glance? Modern techniques of room design can turn the disadvantages of such rooms into advantages. We tried to collect a photo of the design of the passage rooms to show how the seemingly unsuccessful layout became the main highlight of the interior.
Design features
Passage rooms have a number of positive and negative features that affect their design. This is the nodal room in the apartment, which imposes a number of restrictions on its design. The first of them is through lines of movement connecting the entrances to other rooms. These conditional corridors should be free so as not to interfere with movement. It’s impossible to use their area when arranging furniture. Followed by doorways. They “cut” the horizontal line of the walls, which also reduces the usable space. Thus, the usable area of the passage room is significantly reduced. In spacious rooms, the loss of area under the aisles is negligible compared to the total, and in small rooms you can lose almost half of the free space.
The passage room is often given to the living room, which is logical, since it is common and less than other rooms require isolation. Modern trends in interior design gravitate towards bright open spaces and the removal of all possible partitions, and the passage rooms are already ready for such modifications.
Redevelopment
Redevelopment in an apartment with a passage room is the most radical way to improve the space of a room. In Soviet times, they tried to isolate the living room, creating long dark corridors in the apartments. Modern interior design offers, on the contrary, to unite the premises, abandon the halls, delimiting the space into conditional functional zones. Getting rid of extra walls, you can increase the usable area of the room.
The walk-through living room in Khrushchev is a small, narrow and dark room, so combining it with another room will make it lighter and more spacious, and it will help to organize the space with greater benefit. The kitchen-living room is already a familiar, much loved method of expanding rooms. You can also increase the space by attaching a loggia. In this case, you will get more options for arranging furniture without looking at the availability of access to the balcony. The combination of kitchen and bedroom is a rare technique, they usually try to isolate this area, however, light translucent partitions made of plexiglass or air textiles are preferable for a balanced composition than blank walls. From the apartment with a passage room, you can make a spacious studio, where only the bathroom will remain isolated.
Before developing a design project, you should familiarize yourself with the photo of the passage rooms in order to make the room convenient and functional. Any redevelopment requires coordination with the relevant authorities, and if the "extra" walls are load-bearing, then such improvements will have to be abandoned. However, you can achieve a harmonious space without demolishing the walls.
Doors
During the repair of passage rooms, the owners and designers are faced with a large number of doorways located relative to each other in a variety of ways. Parallel through doors - one of the most successful locations. The passage line crosses the room, conditionally dividing it into two zones. The storage system behind the sliding sashes fits well into the shallow “pocket”. And if you make the cabinet doors mirrored, the overall piece of furniture will “dissolve” in space, visually increasing the area of the room. A similar technique can be used with a diagonal arrangement of openings. In this embodiment, the room is divided into a living room area and, for example, a dining room or office.
The adjacent arrangement of doors takes only one corner of the room, and the rest of the space remains free, so problems with the arrangement of furniture usually do not arise. If there are two doors on one wall and a sufficient distance between them, it will be appropriate to arrange furniture and accessories symmetrically to the axis, conventionally drawn between the openings. If the doors are too close, you can mask the distance between them with a mirror, the height of which should be flush with the door frame.
Doors in the interior of the passage should be as inconspicuous as possible. The effect is achieved due to the uniform color of the walls, frames and doors. Lighten the space of the canvas with glass or mirror inserts. In the design of the entrance room, it is better to stop on sliding doors. They take up less space.
Zoning
The allocation of functional areas in the living room entrance is tied primarily to the location of the doorways. Partitions in such rooms are rarely used, however, if necessary, to isolate the working or sleeping area for one of the family members, they will be appropriate. So that the partitions do not clutter up an already small space, they should be as light as possible. A pass-through shelving under the ceiling will create a border without blocking natural light. A sliding screen made of frosted glass in Japanese or French style will hide the bedroom from prying eyes. The use of LEDs in the design will help create the effect of natural light for the area left without a window.
Zoning of wall decoration, low podium, multi-level ceiling structures will be appropriate. Regarding the latter, it should be remembered that multi-level ceilings look good in spacious rooms, they are not suitable for small rooms.
Color scheme
Passage rooms in apartments of Soviet buildings are not distinguished by spaciousness and plenty of natural light, and a large number of doors makes the room even more crowded. These shortcomings can be mitigated by using light shades and simple techniques of visual expansion of space in the design. The most successful combination of white and pastel colors: pearl gray, pale pink, pale olive. The single color scheme of the walls and ceiling will blur the border between them and make the ceiling higher. Large patterns on the walls and furniture should be avoided, they "eat" the space. Visually, it can be expanded with reflective and glass surfaces, as well as mirrors. Photos on the walls in frames under glass, the glossy surface of the cabinet, a well-placed mirror will add light and lightness to the room.
Lighting
The lack of natural light forces the use of a large number of various lamps. For general lighting, a chandelier is traditionally used, but for passage rooms this is not always appropriate. A large structure with a low ceiling will make the latter even lower, and the room will seem smaller. For walk-through lounges, the best solution is spotlighting around the perimeter or central group. Actively use local light in the form of wall sconces. For each highlighted area, independent lighting must be provided.
Flooring
The floor covering in the passage room should be selected resistant to wear. For these purposes, linoleum, laminate, ceramic tile are suitable. The laminate should not be lower than class 32, and for tiles it is advisable to mount a warm floor. It is necessary to refuse a carpet, it will not sustain intensive operation. A small rug in the guest area will add comfort to the room, however it should not be on the aisle lines. Flooring is often used for zoning. It is quite possible to distinguish the passage from the hall to the kitchen through the living room with ceramic tiles with a through arrangement of doors, and to finish the rest of the room with a laminate in tone.
Furniture
Arrangement of furniture in the living room entrance is often difficult. An island arrangement of interior items is only possible in a spacious room. In a small room, furniture is placed along the walls to clear passageways. The central place in the guest area is traditionally occupied by a sofa, however, the length of the walls "cut" by the doorways does not always allow the use of such a bulky piece of furniture. It can be replaced with an elegant ottoman and a pair of light armchairs in another part of the room. The room will look spacious, and in the case of the arrival of guests the furniture can be easily moved. Tables and hanging shelves made of glass look airy and do not burden the space. If both doors are located on the same wall, furniture and accessories are placed symmetrically to the openings. Such an interior looks balanced and harmonious.
Decor
An interior without decor and accessories looks faceless and unfinished. And although there should be a minimum of them in the entrance hall, you should not completely abandon the decor. The main thing is not to place accessories along the aisles, so as not to interfere with movement. In the window design, laconic silhouettes of Roman and rolled curtains, fashionable this season, will be appropriate. Light translucent curtains matching the ceiling and walls will look exquisite and stylish. In the decor, you need to avoid large patterns and give preference to small floral ornaments or plain textiles.
The interior of the entrance room should be concise and stylish. Light colors, light translucent textiles and glass furniture should be preferred to create a bright and harmonious space.