Russian citizens finally fully felt the charm of the European approach to storing things, or rather realized that it was not necessary for decades to carefully preserve what was inherited from a cousin of my grandmother and don’t need to aimlessly save things that were bought on occasion and were not useful never in my life. Now people throw away all unnecessary, good, but unnecessary things - they sell. And gradually, meter by meter, balconies and loggias began to be freed.
Loggia is an additional useful area, a tiny, and sometimes not so small piece of an apartment. And for every meter of this space, the owner once paid decent money. So you should not use them as a banal warehouse of unnecessary things. Moreover, there are many options for arranging the loggia. You can choose something to your liking and part of the work, or do the whole amount of activities with your own hands.
Cleaning
The arrangement of the loggia should begin with a thorough cleaning. It is necessary to bear everything that accumulated on it for many years. Good things, such as skiing, a plastic Christmas tree and a bicycle, should go for permanent residence to the garage or pantry (cleaning the balcony often provokes the owners of the apartment to throw out all the unnecessary trash from the pantry, so maybe there is free space). Whereas for any dubious objects, such as dried paint, old shoes and a cracked basin, a place in the nearest garbage can.
Even if it is planned to store some small things on the loggia later, they still need to be removed at least temporarily due to repairs.
Redecorating
Doing the loggia with your own hands should begin with a simple redecoration. But first you need to make glazing, if it is not already. Next, you need to work out a design project and determine how and with what materials all surfaces of the loggia will be decorated.
Walls and ceilings can be decorated with wallpaper, siding, decorative panels, carpet, paint, tile, etc.
On the floor lay a laminate, linoleum, carpet, parquet, carpet with a long pile "grass" or any other material as desired.
You can work alone with all of these materials, especially since the size of the loggia usually does not exceed 3-6 meters, so this front can be mastered with your own hands. But you can also call a team of workers who will make cosmetic repairs, as well as, if necessary, insulate the loggia and make waterproofing.
Extra storage
What can you turn a standard loggia into? Designers advise trying to get back to basics, namely to present this space as a warehouse of useful things. Only make it more civilized.
After cosmetic repairs, you can put the closet on the loggia - along one of the side walls. The second can be positioned opposite the first. But in order that such furniture does not resemble the previous chaos, the following tips should be remembered:
- Cabinets need to be purchased modern or well restored, antique, but then they should be part of a certain interior.
- Furniture should be small in size so as not to clutter up the space.
- A plus would be the use of convertible cabinets, with retractable seats and a folding table.
- Things need to be stored exactly as much as fits inside drawers and compartments.
- The ideal closet for the loggia can be obtained if you order it according to individual sizes.
Cottage Loggia
Country or country style to realize is not so difficult. But you have to master the skills of a carpenter. The arrangement of the loggia in the country style begins with the fact that the walls and floor are sheathed with lining. Along the length of the side you should make a bar - it is better if it is folding, fastened to retractable supports. One of the sides is arranged in the form of a minibar - bottles, glasses, mugs are placed, you can put a coffee machine. The furniture is complemented by a pair of comfortable stools. You can also put a chair or minivan on the free side.
Kitchen
It’s not worth making a full kitchen from the loggia with the removal of the stove and cooking zone - they are still not in vain placed in a certain place in the apartment, where there is a good extractor fan and special wiring. But you can expand the kitchen with an adjacent loggia. To do this, do the following:
- To waterproof the balcony with liquid rubber, polymers, bitumen, lay a slab with roofing material, coat the cracks with water-repellent impregnations and special primers.
- Insulate all surfaces - first make waterproofing, then sheathe everything with a frame, lay insulation and vapor barrier material. The usable area of the loggia will decrease.
- Decorate walls, floors and ceiling with decorative materials.
After finishing work, you can arrange a wonderful dining area on the attached space.
Mini workshop
Currently, everyone is trying in one way or another to realize their creative potential, and therefore almost everyone is fond of this or that craft - jewelry and pottery, polymer clay molding, sewing dolls and toys, beadwork, embroidery, etc. For someone a hobby has already turned from a hobby into extra incomes or even a way to get a basic income. And they are sorely lacking their own workshop.
Arrangement of a loggia in a mini-workshop begins with standard procedures - waterproofing, insulation and decoration. At the same stage, you need to conduct wiring - for power tools and good lighting.
The workplace most often looks like a side cabinet with tools, complemented by a folding tabletop and a comfortable chair.
Smoking room
Everyone knows that nicotine is a dangerous poison. And there are fewer smokers on the streets due to toughening laws. It is dangerous for them to smoke on the street, it is strictly forbidden in porches, parks and other public places. So there are loggias and balconies.
And if there is no willpower to abandon this bad habit, then at least make a suitable place for this - with a comfortable chair, a good ashtray, and surrounded by the appropriate paraphernalia.
Cabinet
The loggia in the apartment can turn into an excellent office, small but very comfortable. To do this, they waterproof it, insulate it and arrange a convenient workplace along one of the side walls - like a computer desk, with many upper shelves for small things and a comfortable chair for many hours of fruitful work.
Place for rest and relaxation
Arrangement of a loggia in an additional place for relaxation seems the most obvious and preferred option. It is suitable for those people who do not need to expand their living space, but who do not want to see their loggia as an empty piece of unrealized space.
Free space should be designed in accordance with your favorite style in interior design, for example, in classic, French, hi-tech or minimalist style. Furnish, and in order not to clutter up the space, make a folding table on the loggia, put a couple of comfortable chairs. Decorate the walls with your favorite pictures, old records, photos of relatives and friends.
It is certainly worth hanging cute curtains or blinds. The design of the curtains for the loggia should correspond to the general style of the interior, but, as a rule, too voluminous or long curtains are never hung in such a space.
Garden
The idea of arranging a loggia in a flower garden is not new. This was still done by Soviet women, although in those days on the loggias and balconies there was not only a mini flower garden, but also a small garden with delicious seasonal greens. If you need to break the flower garden, you need to carefully waterproof the entire space and only then order racks and shelves for pots.
If you need to make the garden winter, all-weather, then you will have to make more efforts - not only waterproofing, but also warming the loggia. And it will also be necessary to install sources of heating.
Association of loggias and apartments
Quite often, apartment owners think about the full accession of the loggia to the living room. Can this be done? In fact, this way you can increase the area of the apartment, but before starting work, you need to carefully study the following points:
- Not all houses can demolish part of the wall. And in any case, permission must be obtained for this redevelopment. In some cases, you will have to spend energy on strengthening the resulting opening - this increases the duration and cost of work.
- The financial aspect should be worked out. Redevelopment of this type is an expensive and multi-stage project. It includes the preparation of documentation and permits for redevelopment, partial or complete formation of a new opening, waterproofing and insulation of the loggia, battery transfer, installation of underfloor heating.
- It is worth calculating whether the game is worth the candle. Due to the insulation, a considerable chunk of the area will be removed, so that after all the work is completed, there will not be as much useful space as was seen at the beginning of the project.
Alternatives
Demolition of the wall during the accession of the loggia is not always possible. Therefore, alternative options may be considered. For example, from the old windowsill you can make a good bar, which visually separates the loggia and living space. Or install French windows - two wide glazed doors.
Panoramic glazing
The design of the panoramic loggia depends on whether this part of the apartment is connected to the living room. If the loggia is already connected, then glazing requires heat-saving double-glazed windows to minimize heat loss from the facade. If the space is separated from the apartment, heat-saving packages alone are not enough. For a comfortable stay at any time of the year it is necessary to provide heat sources - electric radiators or underfloor heating.
For privacy, hang blinds or order glass with one-way transparency.