Happiness is not in meters: the design of a small room

In modern projects of houses and apartments, a bedroom is considered to be small, less than 15 meters or a living room less than 25-30 meters. Numerous magazines devoted to interior design, being mostly translated, also often discourage readers by such "standards", but many still huddle in small-sized apartments with bedrooms less than 10 and living rooms less than 20 meters, and consider them normal. And even if they don’t consider it, they still have to live in such conditions. However, which room is considered small, the question is controversial. Here you can use the principle: if there is not enough space, then you need to change something. And if changing an apartment is an unrealistic option for the majority, then it is worth playing on the design field. The rules are quite simple.

The optimal for a small room is considered a combination of two or three colors. The first color (the lightest) is called the base color. This is the main tone of the walls, ceiling. It does not have to be white. Cold pastel shades are suitable for a well-lit room. blue, lilacemeraldgreen. For a dark room, it is better to choose warm and neutral shades: pale yellow, beige, pink.

Attention! Some colors have cool and neutral or warm and neutral hues. It is impossible to combine them with each other. For example, you cannot paint one wall with light emerald (cold neutral) and the other with pea (warm neutral) color. The same color principle applies when choosing the color of all other elements, furniture and textiles.

The second color is optional. This can be either a brighter shade of the base background, or a moderately contrasting color with it. Such paint can be painted one of the walls or part of it. In this design, large furniture and other significant interior details will look good. The complementary color serves to give the room depth and sets off the basic in basic details. The difference in tones makes the space voluminous.

The third color is the brightest. It can be a dark accent (up to black) or very bright, which is reflected in small details: vases, frames of photographs or paintings, rugs and other trifles. As a rule, these are small touches to a holistic picture of the interior, pleasing to the eye, but not attracting a lot of attention.

Oddly enough, they are the most moody elements in the design of the room. With bright details, it is very easy to overdo or place it incorrectly. You can take into service the main principle: large elements - in the distance and in the back of the room, small - on the side, at the entrance.

What can be done to visually increase the space of a room with the help of light?

• establish as possible big windows. A niche arranged in the form of a soft corner on the windowsill is an excellent idea for a compact living room;

• use mirror: if you hang it opposite the window, the amount of light will double, and simply mirrored shelves or cabinet doors will also create a good spatial illusion;

• area lighting: fight big bulky chandeliers in the middle of the room, yes - to spotlights above a sofa or an armchair, above bookshelves or at the head of the bed;
• spotlights located in a row not only highlight a particular area with light, they visually lengthen the room - this can also be used;

• modern laconic design of fixtures and lamps instead of pompous deliberate chandeliers - what you need for a compact room;

• glass furniture and objects: depending on the functional purpose of a small room, traditional wooden doors can be completely replaced with glass and even use transparent partitions.

• ceiling

It is unacceptable in a small room to make a multilevel ceiling or paint it in dark colors that absorb light. Optimal - a white or lightest color even surface. From contrasting cantics at the junction of the walls and the shelf is also worth giving up.

If there is a need to visually increase the height of the ceiling, then it can be painted in the same color as the walls. Merging into a single unit with the walls, the ceiling will seem higher.

Another traditional solution is vertical stripes (but not too bright and frequent). Wallpaper or striped curtains will successfully cope with this task.

In addition, if the ceiling is covered with glossy PVC film, it will also appear higher. Use this trick.

To avoid reducing the already small space due to improperly selected furniture, you need to follow a few simple rules.

1) Measure seven times - once buy. That is, before going to the furniture store, carefully measure the room, free space in it, calculate and think over where and what will stand. Furniture in a store does not seem as big as in an apartment, so it’s easy to be seduced and buy something wrong. It’s like a Christmas tree: it seems small in the market, but in an apartment you won’t get around.

2) For seven troubles - one sofa, or more simply - multifunctionality. An irreplaceable option for a small room is transformer furniture. The sofa, which is converted into a berth, is necessarily with a box for storing linen - that’s what you need. Or modular furniture in the form of a single design consisting of a table, a chest of drawers, comfortable shelves and a staircase leading to the second floor to the bed.

Alternatively, such furniture may be children's cubes, from which it is easy to assemble a bookshelf along the wall, and a table with chairs for guests.

Today, quite often in small children’s rooms a bunk bed is installed. And in fact, what could be better for modest square meters?

If something is difficult to find in the store, then you can always make it to order. Let it be an order of magnitude more expensive, but believe me, then you will appreciate the convenience of such furniture.

3) Simplicity. No monograms, carvings, excessive curvature and magnificent ornaments. Furniture should be as simple as possible (but not necessarily mediocre) form. Valid game with color. A sofa or chairs may well be contrasting, but not enough to attract all the attention to yourself. In any case, it is better to place bright furniture in the back of the room, away from the entrance.

4) Pillows - A great replacement for chairs. Hospitality in the house - first of all, even if the house is - well, a very compact apartment. And here, an excellent solution would be to take advantage of the idea from the east, when pillows and soft carpets replace spreading sofas and chairs. Surely dear guests will not remain indifferent after a mysterious tea ceremony on pillows around a cute tray instead of a table.

Thick covers of the original color, knitted patterned inserts on the pillows will bring their zest and originality to the interior of a small room. Fluffy brushes, funny pompons or just cute bows made of satin fabric can serve as additional decoration for covers. But where to hide such pillows? One way or another, they will need very little space, unlike chairs. Alternatively, you can attach decorative ribbons to the chairs or lay them on the sofa. Thus, even the smallest room will become a favorite and cozy corner for households.

5) Scrape through the gimbal. Look in all corners. If you can really look into them, then consider that a couple of meters of valuable space is lost in the room. Corner furniture: shelves, cabinets, tables, save space and place a lot of necessary things.

6) Naturalness.In a small room there can be not only little space, but also air. Natural wood furniture, upholstered from natural fabrics and materials, glass and metal - The best decision. Less plastic, primitive synthetics - and the space of a small room will be not only beautiful, but also healthy.

Textile elements in the interior of a small room can help make it more comfortable. The main thing here is moderation and a minimum of jewelry. Give preference curtains light shades, direct, flowing, translucent, without bows, lambrequins, ribbons, brushes and other "palace" decorations.

Good decision - roman or Chinese curtains. They are concise, fit well into almost any non-specific interior.

Covers choose plain, without a large pattern, frills and folds. The same goes for decorative pillows.

Carpets in a small room are not an easy question. If you can refuse them - that's good. If the carpet in the room is an island of comfort and warmth, and the owner cannot imagine himself without it, then you should carefully approach the choice. A small neat rug of an original form, texture and design, for example in the form of a flower harmoniously combined with the general interior, can become a real highlight of a small room. In a small room it is better to put a carpet of light shades, with a small and discreet pattern or without it at all. If the room is narrow, then you can pick up a striped rug and put it in stripes perpendicular to a long wall. This will visually expand the room.

You can create the illusion of a large space with landscapes that take you far away, or similar photo wallpaper. Such a picture takes us to another dimension, expanding the boundaries of the room.

If the mini-room does not have enough windows, the original and creative idea could be painting on the wall in the form of a chic window overlooking the sea or pine forest, for example. This technique is a kind of distracting maneuver from inconvenience and discomfort in a narrow room. The mesmerizing landscape on the wall can smoothly go to the door, turning a small room into a real work of artful design.

All unnecessary things at the moment should be laid out by shelves. And this, perhaps, is the main rule of saving space in a small room. Get compact beautiful drawers for storing little things or use boxes where shoes were previously stored. The latter can be decorated using decoupage technique or fitted with a beautiful fabric. An interesting and unusual solution is to glue the box with old family photos or photos of beautiful memorable places. For storage, you can also purchase cute wicker baskets or glamorous chests, which will also serve as additional decor. Thus, the interior of a compact room will sparkle with other colors, and the room itself will become much more spacious and convenient.

To save space, hide all wires in the room. Mount them in the walls or put them in specially designed boxes.

As for small items, photo frames, paintings, statuettes, all kinds of souvenirs randomly located on tables, shelves, window sills, it is better to single out one or a maximum of two special zones for them. Instead of many diverse photo frames and paintings, choose one of your favorite and most significant photo or landscape, or several unobtrusive paintings in the same style. Change accessories from time to time, but do not clutter up an already small room.

Observing these simple rules, your compact space will become a favorite place for relaxation and gatherings of dear guests and households.