The living room is a room where there are mass events, receptions of guests, holidays and simple gatherings with the whole family in the evenings. The hall should be comfortable for everyone, so its design is selected on the principle of universality. Rooms with an area of 18 square meters. m are considered a "golden mean": they are not too spacious, but they can not be categorized as close. In such a room, you can independently locate the main functional areas in such a way that they do not interfere with each other. The design of the hall is 18 square meters. m is the first stage from which a full-scale repair campaign begins. Such rooms are found, both in private houses, and in typical apartments in Khrushchev's or panel nine-storey buildings. Such a footage is more typical for houses built in the Soviet era. Now, under the living room, the rooms are more spacious. The interior of the hall of 18 square meters will be composed of the following aspects:
Such a mistake was often made in the interiors of Soviet times, when one side had a sofa and chairs, and the other - a "wall" with a TV. If the room is a passage, the furniture should be placed in such a way that there are no obstacles for free movement. Also, distract attention from the doors, because the guests at a subconscious level will lose the feeling of security in the "through" living room, where the apertures stand out against the background of the walls.
The central composition will have to be abandoned. When the balcony adjoins the room, which is often found in old Khrushchevs, such a chance can not be denied.
The additional room is cleaned of old rubbish, which is usually stored there, insulated and combined with the living room. For owners this is a real chance to increase the useful area of an apartment in cramped conditions. Now here you can equip a library, a greenhouse or a corner for a quiet rest over a cup of tea. In the design it is advised to avoid complex shapes and frame structures. Do not complicate the interior of the room, which can not boast of extra square meters.
Also, do not put too much furniture apart from each other. The free space between the elements will resemble passage corridors. They strongly spoil the aesthetics of the interior.
Decoration Materials
In the choice of finishing materials for the living room there are no such strict limitations as for the kitchen or bathroom. In budget versions, the floor is covered with linoleum, laminate. In more expensive apartments, a parquet board is laid. If the owners decided not to stint, then use a heavy-duty bulk floor. It is desirable that the surface of the material mimics the wood of light shades. Walls can be wallpapered, painted, decorated with brick or masonry light colors. In the loft, their surface is generally permissible to leave in a pristine "concrete" form. Provence uses light veneer or white plaster.
Actual application of the combined method, when the room is zoned using two different finishing materials, differing in color and texture. The ceiling in the living room should be light and as simple as possible. It is better to stop on ordinary plaster. Do not complicate the interior rack, cassette, tension options. Complex designs of drywall also heavily land the ceiling, which will create an unpleasant feeling of falling on the head of the arch.
Style matters
The right choice of style is the key to the success of the entire design campaign. Especially this applies to cases where the repair of the room is done by oneself. Do not choose fancy directions with a lot of decor. Even the classical style is difficult to translate into such a compact space without compromising the perception of the room. The abundance of stucco and elegant elements can greatly clutter the living room, making it too variegated.
Professional designers recommend choosing one of the suggested directions:
| Japanese | Style is a light version of the minimalism that this country gave to the world. In the Japanese direction, they rely on natural materials, only the necessary items of furniture and quiet colors. |
| Modern | This style welcomes any home appliances that will emphasize the relevance of the interior for our time. The color range is dominated by white, black, gray and contrast blue, red, purple. |
| Scandinavian | The direction has gained popularity in recent years, and before that it was used only at home. It showed all the best features of Scandinavian peoples: uncompromising, strict, love of simplicity. In the "northern" interiors, which experience a chronic deficit of heat and sunlight, use white surfaces that contrast with blue, green and blue. Decorate the room with natural décor and wood. |
If the soul still lies to the classics, then a compromise variant will fit, which took an intermediate position between it and a series of modern styles - Art Nouveau. In this direction create cozy interiors that do not seem so pretentious, but at the same time managed to preserve elegance.
Of course the above is not an exhaustive list of styles. Now popular chalets, provence, loft. The firm brick wall for the latter is better done in white, which visually increases the space.
Choice of color palette - visually change the room
A lot depends on the choice of color. The stylish decoration of the room with expensive furniture will fade if the combination of shades will be picked up tastelessly. For living rooms of 18 square meters. m recommend to choose your choice in light colors: blue, gray, white, beige or light brown. Such a palette not only increases the area of the room, but also blends easily with other colors due to its neutrality. You can play on accents: green pillows, a cherry upholstery of a sofa, a lilac carpet. Also, when choosing colors, they repel the location of the apartment relative to the sun. If the windows face the sunny side, then the room will look good in the cold scale. In cases where the side is shadow, this move will make the room even darker and "colder", so choose yellow, orange, pink.
See also: Design of a combined kitchen-living room 18 sq. M. m +50 photo 
Designers recommend adhering to the rule of the three components of the color composition. For registration choose three leading tones: two neutral tones and one accent. It is this combination that will look organically and unobtrusively.
Choosing the right furniture
The standard living room furniture set includes:
- TV. It is better to choose a flat model that can be hung on a wall, thereby saving space.
- Sofa. Straight, wide, angular, unfolding - the choice of model depends on the location and the intended use.
- Cabinet or "wall". In the living room not only take visitors, but also store things that do not fit in the bedroom or hallway. If the shape of the room is far from the standards and there is a niche, then it is fitted under the built-in wardrobe.
- Coffee table. Usually it comes complete with a pair of pouffes or chairs. This piece of furniture is isolated from other areas, as it is a separate functional area - a cozy reading corner or table games.
In some interiors there are such atypical for modern living things, like a piano or a fireplace. The first is useful only if someone from the family knows how to play music and plans to arrange small home concerts. The fireplace will certainly add a unique color and cosiness, but in a small room it is recommended to use its bio-version. It is compact and completely safe to use.
Curtains and lighting
Curtains not only protect the room from the looks of curious neighbors or passers-by. This piece of interior creates coziness in the room. If the ceiling is low, then the options are floor-length or panel blinds. They visually extend the room. In the loft from the curtains are refused at all, or use practical blinds. In more classical directions, Roman models are used, which look luxuriously on wide, large windows. As for lighting, then with him in this room is not so easy. In the halls of a square form hang a central ceiling chandelier, which is complemented by a lighting around the perimeter.
If there is a separate zone for reading, then it must be provided with local lighting in the form of a lamp or sconce. For rectangular rooms and rooms of complex shapes, the ceiling zone is divided into several areas, each of which has its own conditional center - a chandelier. Thus, no corner will not remain deprived of light, and at the same time the interior composition will look finished.
See also: Living room in brown tones: design and interior 
Zoning the hall
If the premise is combined, you will have to work hard to distinguish the two main zones from each other. In one-room apartments, the living room is more often adjacent to the bedroom. To share them is recommended conditionally, since furniture or a decorative wall will fragment an already small room even more strongly. If we are talking about a combined version of the hall-kitchen, then the ideal frontier post will be a bar counter. However, in the living room there are also separate zones.
There are two standard ones:
- Reading or working at a table;
- A platform for communication and watching TV.
These zones can be complemented by a full-fledged workplace, a mini-library, a corner for active games. To delineate these areas in rooms of 18 square meters. m is recommended with the help of light, color palette, mobile screens or light furniture. In the latter case, we are talking about sofas, armchairs or tables, through shelving. Avoid using cumbersome, massive furniture for these purposes.
The choice and value of accessories in the visual expansion of the room
Accessories and decor obey the principles of the chosen style. In one direction, an abundance of interior decorations is used, and in others there is a minimum. If the situation is too restrained, then recommend to apply a couple of bright decorative accents. These can be pillows with ornaments, rugs with long nap, a series of paintings on the walls, neat statuettes, vases, family or author's photographs. Since the area of the room is not too large, a large amount of decor will make it even smaller. For this reason, the issue of accessories should be carefully thought out and guided by the principle of "not quantity but quality". The decor emphasizes the individuality of any interior, so decorations are chosen for themselves. In the classics, for example, it can be elaborate caskets, figurines, bowls. For hi-tech, there is no better accessory than a technique. Provence does not do without antiques or artificially aged things. In any style necessarily add a couple of green strokes - houseplants.
Conclusion
As the classic said, the apartment issue spoiled the modern person. Perhaps, it has never been so acute as in our time, when real estate prices have reached sky highs. Owners of their own apartments always want to create in them a unique, incredibly beautiful and cozy interior. You can handle this task yourself. The benefit now is easy to find any information that will be useful for amateur designers. The living room is a special room. It should satisfy the needs of all family members and at the same time not look too home-like before the guests. With good reserves of patience, a little imagination and even a modest budget in this room, an elegant, light, fanciful or mischievous interior can flourish to match the character of its owners.
