Today, the popularity of studio apartments with a free layout is gaining momentum, where instead of a small isolated kitchenette in the common space a full-fledged kitchen zone and other functional zones are equipped. Free planning of apartments is not only in modern new buildings, many owners of small apartments in old houses of the “Khrushchev” series also strive to make it.
What a kitchen could look like in a studio apartment for maximum comfort of the residents, how to create a kitchen studio in a small apartment on your own, and what points to pay attention to when planning and renovating this important functional room.
We study the advantages of the kitchen-studio in the apartment
The layout of the apartment with a kitchen-studio has its advantages:
- arrangement of the kitchen area is convenient for large families;
- the woman does not feel isolated from the family doing the cooking;
- visually expanding the space of the entire apartment or living room, if the kitchen is combined with only one room.
Create a studio kitchen: where to start redevelopment
To implement this idea in an old apartment, you first need to demolish the walls enclosing the kitchen. Only then will it be possible to divide the resulting space into zones. This is the main difficulty of reconstructing small apartments.
Important: before the wall is demolished, it is vital for you to have permission for this action to be sure of safety.
The total space of the studio apartment must be divided into zones with different functional loads: kitchen area, recreation area, work area. The kitchen area in the studio apartment should be planned especially carefully, as it will be a place of concentration of noise from the operation of electrical appliances, various odors, high temperatures and humidity that accompany the cooking process.
5 tricks kitchen zoning in a studio apartment
Zoning a kitchen-studio in an apartment or room can be done in different ways:
1. Lighting
You can, for example, separate the kitchen area from other functional areas using different lighting. To illuminate the living room, designers recommend using a single light source, such as a chandelier or a composition of several lampshades in the center. In the kitchen, it is better to use spotlights or single lamps to illuminate this area in different ways.
2. Flooring
The floor of the kitchen can be laid out with porcelain stoneware or ceramic tiles that match in color and texture with a common flooring in the apartment. This will create a feeling of a single space.
3. Podium
Another technique for separating the kitchen is to place it on the podium, that is, on a slight elevation above the main floor. True, this method takes 10-15 cm from the height of the room, so it is not suitable for apartments with low ceilings.
4. Ceiling
Using a stretch ceiling or plasterboard ceiling structures located below the level of the main ceiling, you can also visually isolate the kitchen area. But this technique is only good for rooms with high ceilings. To highlight the kitchen space in low apartments, you can use ceilings of the same level, but with different textures, for example, make a glossy stretch ceiling in the kitchen, and a matte one in the adjacent area.
5. Bar counter
The most successful option for separating the kitchen area is the use of a bar counter equipped with a worktop, built-in drawers and coasters. The bar counter will work harmoniously to close the kitchen space and, at the same time, carry a functional load.
Arrangement and design of the kitchen-studio in the apartment: practical recommendations
When equipping a kitchen in a studio apartment, it must be equipped with a good hood over the hob or stove, so as not to inhale the smells of cooked food in all corners of the room and protect furniture from particles of soot and grease. They also try to choose low-noise household electrical appliances, because it is not very pleasant to fall asleep to the loud hum of the refrigerator or read a book to a child under the roar of a food processor.
We hope you will find these tips for arranging a kitchen in a studio apartment and a photo of several planning examples presented in this review. Beautiful design and cozy kitchen-studio in your apartment!