In small apartments of outdated layouts, the kitchen, as a rule, also has a small footprint, on which it is difficult to accommodate everything necessary. A good option could be a kitchen combined with a balcony. The balcony, which often serves as a storage for a lot of unnecessary things, can be a good help to increase the kitchen space. Before daring to design such an interior kitchen with a balcony, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the many nuances of this redevelopment in order to ensure that the final result is satisfying.
Kitchen, combined with a balcony: what you need to know before re-planning
The kitchen, combined with a balcony, has two types of pool. The first is partial, when windows and doors are eliminated, and the window sill is used to decorate, for example, a bar counter, a table top, etc. You can also demolish a window partition by installing glass doors. Thus, you will get a panoramic window that will add significantly more light to the kitchen.
The kitchen can be combined with the balcony in a second way, when the entire wall is completely dismantled, resulting in a single room.
It is obligatory to take care of additional space. First of all, this is, of course, glazing. It is best to produce it using special energy-saving packages or double-glazed windows with at least a double or triple profile. Warming of walls, ceiling and floor can be made using mineral wool or polystyrene foam, which has good thermal insulation and is not afraid of wetting. The organization of the underfloor heating system, which can be electric and water, is very popular. It will not be bad to organize a heating system with a partial removal of the battery, which will greatly improve the possibility of a comfortable stay in the winter.
The design of the kitchen, combined with the balcony, can have different solutions in the design of additional space, but, as it were, the wiring will need to be carried out for the arrangement of lighting and additional outlets.
All these nuances need to be known before work starts, as it will require considerable material investment so that the kitchen combined with the balcony is comfortable.
Combining the balcony with the kitchen: the pros and cons of the organization of additional space
As a result of the unification work, the kitchen acquires many advantageous advantages, namely:
- Increased living space, which makes it possible to design an additional functional area. The kitchen space becomes longer and more spacious;
- The original form, allowing to design an unusual design of the kitchen with a balcony;
- a large amount of light penetrating through the panoramic window;
- improved heat and sound insulation;
- the possibility of organizing an additional functional area.
If we talk about shortcomings, they relate to the process of forming a room rather than the result itself. The qualitative arrangement of additional square meters is a very tedious business and will entail quite large expenses, and for "buns" it is also a loss of the corner for the storage of all that is necessary and unnecessary, which, however, can appeal to other members of the family.
Kitchen design with balcony: rational use of extra space
The options for processing additional square meters, formed in the kitchen during the redevelopment, quite a lot. Consider some of the most applicable and popular because of its practicality.
Kitchen combined with balcony: additional dining area
Accommodation on the free territory of the dining area is a very advantageous option. Here you can set a dining table by the window, watching during a meal for what is happening on the street or admiring the scenery. If the panoramic view is not particularly successful, for example, when a kitchen connected to a balcony is located in the apartment on the first floors with windows facing the yard, you can install a soft sofa with puffs along the window. Furniture should not be very cumbersome, since the balcony room is designed for a certain load. The table is better to buy folding - then on ordinary days it does not take much space, and the guests who come will not surprise the owners and will be able to comfortably accommodate. The new space should be harmonized in decoration with the main design of the kitchen. In the role of the zone separator, the floor level difference may appear, as a result of which a step-podium will be formed.
Combining the kitchen with a balcony and bar arrangement
The decoration of the mini bar on the territory of the former balcony is a modern and practical way of using space, especially for young families. This is a place where you can get together with friends and have a get-together. You can arrange a bar counter in two ways. The first is to use for this purpose a part of the wall left after dismantling the window frame, and the second - to expand the window sill. Having installed high bar stools, you can enjoy a panorama of the evening city. A small kitchen with a balcony can turn into a comfortable mini-bar due to the design of the original built-in shelves in the side walls, where there will be drinks, glasses, glasses and other accessories. Especially effective will look such shelves, if you organize a hidden backlight for them.
Kitchen, combined with balcony: arrangement of the working area
There are fewer alternatives when the additional space is used for the work area. This option is beneficial for small apartments, where it is not possible to allocate a separate room for the living room. So it can be decorated, for example, kitchen design with a balcony of 9 sq.m. Here it will be appropriate not only a dining table with chairs, but a soft sofa, perhaps even with a bed for late guests late. In the room you can install a TV, shelves with decorative elements, a small coffee table with chairs and other desired items of interior.
Read also: Kitchen-living room with 40 photos - basic principles of planning and decoration
Combining the kitchen with the balcony with the organization of the working area, provides for the location on the additional territory of countertops, bedside tables, a refrigerator and even a sink, for which it will be necessary to lay out additional communications. Install on the balcony you can and an electric stove. It is worth noting that it is forbidden to take a gas stove on a balcony. Often, slabs and sinks are left in the kitchen, moving them closer to the border with the balcony, since the weight of all kitchen furniture and appliances can exceed the threshold of the permissible load on the structure.
The worktop can be placed along the window or it can be placed on the surface of the part of the wall left after dismantling the window. The design of the kitchen with a balcony-work area requires good lighting, in the role of which can come out point lights or spots that give directional light to specific areas. As curtains on windows, Roman or roller blinds are best.
Combining a balcony with a kitchen to equip an additional area for rest and leisure
The combination of a balcony with a kitchen suggests many options, and the choice of interior organization depends on the preferences of family members living in the apartment. If the apartment itself is small and does not have enough space for doing your favorite thing (handicrafts, sewing), then you can arrange for this additional space on the balcony. Having installed a small table with a chair, and having organized the built-in shelves in the ends of the side walls, left after the demolition of the window opening, you can get a pretty functional corner, which will please with its convenience and practicality.
If the room is intended purely for comfortable rest - you can put soft chairs or a sofa with puffs, a small coffee table, add soft light to the interior of the kitchen with a balcony, installing a floor lamp.
Sometimes the recreation area is made in the form of a winter garden with accommodation of flowerpots with various plants. This place will be the most suitable, since here comes a lot of light, heat from the sun's rays and a good airing system. In the winter garden you can also install small comfortable armchairs.
Kitchen design with balcony: general recommendations
- Before you combine the balcony with the kitchen, you need to decide in which style the room will be decorated. Perhaps, it will be necessary to build an arched passage, which is preferable to the classical style, or to equip the bar in a modern style - then it is worth leaving a fragment of the wall that was located under the dismantled window.
- Make out the combined space in such a way that the finish is harmonious. For this use identical facing materials. Such a reception will also visually increase the size of the kitchen.
- Curtains in the kitchen with balcony (photo can be seen in our catalog) can be different. In most cases, preference is given to blinds, Roman or roll blinds, which, due to their compactness, do not clutter up space. Long canvases can be drawn from one zone to another, and short, to the level of the window sill, a panoramic window. This technique will allow somehow to "raise" the ceiling level.
- The interior of the kitchen with a balcony suggests some allocation of different zones. To do this, you can apply different floor coverings, build an arch, a bar counter, decorate the porch podium.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about the styles. You can design such a unified space in any of the existing directions. In many ways, the choice depends on the overall design of the apartment and the personal wishes of the owners. The kitchen, combined with a balcony, in the classical version will require a beautiful decoration of the arch or decorative columns, light colors of decoration with possible golden blotches. Modern trends adhere to a laconic design, leaving only the necessary interior items. A graceful style of Provence will be preferable for those who love the rustic comfort with a lot of textiles in the interior, various floral ornaments and natural furniture.
