Buildings related to functionalist architecture, erected as temporary housing for the working class in the USSR, began to be called “Khrushchev buildings” from the time of their construction. Most apartments in such buildings are one- or two-room. Their key features are the absence of architectural frills and the small area of the rooms. In Soviet times, the owners of such apartments practically did not experiment with design or possible alterations. But today, thanks to the improvement of construction and design technologies, it is possible to turn a standard, small-sized two-room Khrushchev apartment into a work of interior art.
Most owners of small old apartments put off home renovations for fear of destroying already fragile surfaces (side surfaces, ceilings). Fear can also suppress the desire for possible changes in the interior: what can be made cozy and attractive from this? But, using the advice of specialists - architects, designers, you can transform the “Khrushchev” premises beyond recognition.
The first thing you need to do is create a plan for future work, from dismantling old coatings and structures to decoration. You can do this yourself or with the help of a designer. The designer's help will also be needed when choosing the style of the rooms. Then you need to calculate the amount of construction and finishing materials, buy them and begin remodeling.
Think ahead
Make a plan first
Differences between the Khrushchev two-room apartment and other apartments
Khrushchevkas were the first multi-storey buildings of mass construction. During the Soviet era, apartments in them were distributed almost free of charge, which solved the problem of an acute housing shortage. A small area, walk-through rooms, and inconvenient placement of doors distinguishes them from “Stalin” and other houses. There are other, no less significant drawbacks: low sound insulation, low ceilings, small hallway and kitchen, lack of a balcony on the ground floor. In the current market, such real estate is of little value.
Despite the obvious disadvantages, there are also advantages here. Each dwelling from the time of N.S. Khrushchev has storage rooms. The bathroom is usually combined, which saves space. And the design options for such rooms are endless. Why buy standard furniture and sacrifice a large bathroom, if even in a Soviet two-room apartment you can implement any ideas?
Methods for zoning space in different ways
Sometimes you don’t want to tear down walls or make a global restructuring. After buying an apartment, a young family wants to quickly move to a new house and start settling down. Below are the fastest zoning options.
Wall decoration
This is the simplest option that you can handle even on your own. It is recommended to look at photos of completed projects that indicate the main features.
By combining wallpaper, you can highlight accent areas and highlight the features of the interior.
Furniture arrangement
Since in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings there are often “passing rooms,” properly placed furniture will help divide the space into several zones. This is usually done using modules and sofas.
A simple shelving unit will divide the space into functional zones without obscuring the back part of the room.
Using mirrors on ceilings, doors and walls
The use of mirrors has a number of advantages. Firstly, the room is saturated with natural light and visually appears larger. You can familiarize yourself with zoning techniques in the presented photos.
Mirror surfaces can be present on walls, ceilings or furniture
Screens and mobile partitions
They were mentioned at the very beginning. Movable and mobile partitions will solve a huge number of problems. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with examples in finished projects.
A thick curtain on a ceiling cornice is the simplest solution for dividing a room into zones
Finishing
Any designer will call the use of light shades an effective way to visually increase space. But this statement cannot be taken literally, otherwise the renovation in a 2-room Khrushchev house from the photo will resemble a hospital ward. The same applies to 1 and 3 room apartments. A successful combination of colors will lead to a successful renovation of the interior.
Floors
The only strict requirement for choosing flooring is the taboo on dark shades. In small homes, the floor is a background for other objects and should not attract attention. The best colors: gray, beige, milky. It is also appropriate to imitate the texture of wood or the natural material itself. Laminate, parquet boards, linoleum, carpet, tiles - any coating will effectively complement the design if the color requirements are taken into account.
Ceilings
The brighter the lighting in a small room, the better. In addition to the chandelier, spotlights located around the perimeter are recommended. The tension version will help hide all the unevenness and defects on the ceiling. A multi-level top looks no less advantageous.
Walls
Before you start finishing the walls, in 9 cases out of 10 they will have to be leveled. In panel houses, like brick houses, the difference in height or slope of different walls reaches 2-3 cm. Even if the curvature is not noticeable, it will create big problems during repair work. The surface is leveled with putty or drywall. Upon completion of preparation, the room is decorated with wallpaper, for example:
- non-woven, vinyl, acrylic with a vertical pattern;
- photo wallpaper with a city landscape or nature;
- liquid seamless wallpaper.
- Have you bought an apartment in a new building? We are doing renovations!
Apartment interior trends in a modern style: the most current ideas from designers (70+ photos)
- Design of a toilet in an apartment: the best ideas and useful tips (60+ photos)
The color of the walls should be in harmony with the intended design of the Khrushchev building, consisting of 2 rooms. The rule “the higher the price, the better” does not always work. Even the most expensive silk-screen printing is not suitable for every interior.
Types of original layout with improvement options
The basic layout of a 2-room Khrushchev apartment is determined not only by the size of the free space, but also by the nature of the arrangement of living rooms. There are several options in this regard, and we will go over the most popular of them - with a very specific proposal for radical transformations for each.
"Vest"
Living rooms of approximately the same area (16-17 square meters) are located on the left and right sides of the hallway and are isolated from each other. Between them there is a bathroom and a small kitchen of about 5 square meters. meters.
What can be done:
The weakest link in this scheme is the modest kitchen, and it can be expanded at the expense of one of the rooms.
The layout of a vest for a 2-room Khrushchev apartment looks like one of the most successful solutions, as it allows you to get by with a minimum of effort spent to give the apartment space a more modern look.
"Book"
The two living rooms are adjacent - they are separated by one long wall. A kitchen of 4-5 square meters and a bathroom are located on the left-right side of the corridor.
What can be done:
- enlarge the kitchen by combining it with the adjacent room;
- extend the corridor and make the entrance space freer.
Mini-improvement
2 living rooms are isolated from each other. The entrance to each is through the hallway. There is a living room with an adjacent balcony - approximately 20 square meters. meters. The second room is smaller, 10-11 square meters: behind it there is a very small kitchen. This layout of a 2-room Khrushchev house occupies a total of 45 square meters. meters and is recognized as one of the best among Soviet-type apartments.
What can be done:
- make the kitchen more spacious by combining it with a small room or hallway;
- remove the partition between the living room and the balcony;
- combine toilet and bathroom.
Tram
The hallway in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings of this type is crowned by the entrance to a large living room, which is adjoined by a second adjacent room of similar size. To the right of the hallway there is a separate toilet and bathtub.
This is a very advantageous layout, since the kitchen with this layout has quite comfortable dimensions.
What can be done?
You can extend a fairly small hallway - due to the living room adjacent to it.
Where to provide storage systems
Khrushchev must be equipped with furniture for storing all kinds of things. It is possible to make a full-fledged dressing room from a closet, even if its size is only 1 by 2 m. All free space is used - below and above. Cabinet furniture would be inappropriate here; it is better to install several open shelves, hangers, and hooks.
Leaving the space under the bed empty is irrational, as is using a deep closet without pull-out rods and a pantograph. Multifunctional furniture is the optimal solution for a small two-room apartment with an unsuccessful layout.
Lighting planning
Massive chandeliers in small rooms with low ceilings are completely out of place. As basic lighting, it is better to use soffits, sconces, and floor lamps with warm, diffused light. Auxiliary light is necessary in the work area in the kitchen, bathroom, nursery, office. Table lamps and pendant lamps can handle this task. Decorative light is not necessary, but in some interiors it serves as an effective addition.
Properly organized lighting hides flaws and highlights the advantages of a home.
- How to choose the right door to your apartment?
- Kitchen design in Khrushchev: useful tips for those who have a small kitchen (100+ photos)
Which laminate to choose?
Most Popular Ideas
Of course, it is quite difficult to immediately list all the possible ideas for planning a 2-room Khrushchev house, which in one way or another will help you make its design much more interesting and attractive. However, it is quite possible to dwell on the key ones.
Studio apartment
Removing all (or even most) partitions in an apartment is a bold decision that will definitely require coordination with special services. However, the advantages of this decision significantly outweigh all possible documentary hassles: the apartment will acquire a bright, modern look, and due to the placement of two windows in a single room space, it will also be noticeably lighter.
In such a studio you can let your design imagination run free and even try to decorate a real loft.
Separation of adjacent rooms
There are two completely working and full-fledged options:
- reduce the area of the second room by moving the partition deeper - works well if the rooms are located one after another;
- completely demolish the partitions and replace them with columns, screens or any other camouflage option - relevant for Khrushchev-era buildings, where the rooms are located lengthwise.
The most popular material for the construction of new partitions is gypsum plasterboard sheets. If desired, additional sound insulation can be provided to make the environment in each functional area more comfortable.
Combined bathroom
To place all the necessary items in the bathroom and use them comfortably, you cannot do without creating a single bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building. This is a solution that suggests itself, especially since the wall separating these functional rooms is not load-bearing.
This will free your hands when choosing a bathtub for installation: you may prefer more convenient rectangular options.
However, it is still optimal to focus on shower cabins. Not even full-fledged boxes - an ordinary corner without a tray will be enough, and the water drain can be arranged through a floor drain.
Combining a living room with a kitchen
This type of layout is relevant in the case when a small kitchen is adjacent to one of two living rooms and persistently requires expansion. The load-bearing wall is not affected, so no difficulties should arise with the approval of such repairs.
An example of a real project.
And its direct embodiment.
Combining a kitchen with a balcony
And this method is good for those apartments where the kitchen has access to the balcony. The idea of destroying the partition and uniting the two zones suggests itself. Moreover, such a move significantly expands the cramped kitchen space and allows you to use some tricks to increase the free space.
For example, you can move the refrigerator to the balcony. Or decorate the dining area. Of course, first you need to think about insulating the balcony using modern materials that do not put an increased load on the supporting structure.
Niche and wardrobes in the bedroom
Due to the specific layout, it is often possible to equip a quite spacious niche in Khrushchev-era buildings for storing various things. It does not seem practical to use traditional hinged doors when space is limited. But stylish sliding compartment doors are fine. In addition, they simply look perfect in a room intended for relaxation.
How to use the balcony area
There is a balcony in all apartments from the Khrushchev era, except the first floor. Rarely used items or all sorts of rubbish are stored there. Practical housewives dry food and hang out laundry. But additional square meters can bring much more benefits: a 2-room apartment with an area of 44 square meters. m will easily become a 3-room apartment. The balcony will make an excellent office or relaxation area. The main thing is not to spare effort and money on good insulation.
Saving room layouts
If you want to save two isolated rooms by increasing their area, simply move the walls. So you can make a kitchen with an area of up to fifteen square meters.
The existing wall will need to be demolished and then a new wall installed, moving it as far as you need.
Color accents and decor
To make a room seem larger, you don’t need to use exclusively light shades. The main thing is that they are a priority. Color accents will not only “revive” and decorate the room, but will also help make it more voluminous. The brightest element must be placed in the most visible place, but as far as possible from the front door. It will attract attention, creating the effect of increased space. This could be: photo wallpaper, a stylish sofa, a decorated wardrobe, etc.
Choosing a style direction
Selecting a designer style is important to create the appropriate atmosphere in a renovated apartment.
The most popular style of converted Khrushchev buildings:
- Modern style. Practicality and rationality of ideas, both in the arrangement of furniture and decorative elements. The rooms are decorated in light colors.
Beige, light grey, cream, pale yellow and other pastel shades are the most popular in all modern styles.
- Classic style. When arranging furniture, a prerequisite is compliance with the rule of symmetry. The tones of the rooms are usually the same: light classic, dark classic, golden classic, etc. The predominant color is always the same. Together with it, the simultaneous use of two more classic colors is allowed. Very elegant and respectable style.
Both rooms and the kitchen must correspond to the same style, be in the same color scheme and correspond to the time period.
- High-tech style. All modern household appliances are used in the creation: from high-tech kitchen appliances (processor, dishwasher) to liquid plasma panels and climate control systems. The interior is dominated by black and white tones. A bright element in a different color is allowed: a yellow chair, a green aquarium. Several bright elements disrupt the basis of the style.
Lighting should be well thought out, preference is given to simple geometric shapes of lamps.
- Minimalism. In the conditions of a small-sized two-room apartment, it presupposes an ascetic lifestyle for the apartment owner. It is impossible to cram a large volume of things into small Japanese cabinets, and large and heavy objects will not support hanging shelves. But the miniature size of the furniture (except for the bed) allows you to free up as much space as possible for meditation and yoga.
Light shades, light curtains and a minimum of decor - all this creates the effect of expanding the space and has a positive effect on the human condition.
- Industrial style (loft). All elements must immerse a person in the atmosphere of a frozen field of work in an industrial building. The factory loft imitates unpainted brickwork on the walls, replicas of protruding water pipes and wires. An office loft, with its elements, imitates the administrative room of a large industrial enterprise. It relieves the head from heavy thoughts, and is also considered a cure for laziness and subconsciously encourages a person to take active action.
Flooded with light, with aged brickwork and original furniture, an industrial apartment will look like a stylish space, not a Khrushchev-era apartment.
Techniques for visually enlarging a bathroom
Unlike the kitchen, living room and bedroom, only light shades are welcome in the bathroom. For contrast, dotted color decor is allowed, but in very limited quantities. To improve the ergonomics of a room, a non-standard approach to organizing a storage system is required. Shelves above the sink, toilet and even above the door will allow you to place all the necessary little things.
Selecting furniture
Furniture of standard sizes, designed for standard apartments, is a relic of the past. Modern design of a two-room apartment of 44 sq. m requires original, stylish and bold solutions. Compactness and multifunctionality are the key qualities that wardrobes, beds, and furniture should have. Other equally important recommendations:
- put the largest objects in the farthest, dimly lit corner;
- use glossy, light, glass facades for cabinets, chests of drawers and bright rich colors for upholstered furniture;
- choose sleeping places with internal compartments for linen;
- give preference to open shelves on furniture walls and free-standing shelving.
Transformable furniture is considered the most practical. A wardrobe combined with a bed or a sofa with a desk is not inferior in functionality to its simpler counterparts, and at the same time takes up a minimum of space.
Due to limited space, Baroque, Rococo or Empire styles are rarely found in Khrushchev-era buildings.
Design ideas for the bedroom
Rest, sleep, relaxation - most people associate the word “bedroom” with these words. Many people draw a parallel between cozy apartments and wide space, but in Khrushchev it is difficult to get a lot of free space. To arrange your bedroom comfortably and functionally, you can resort to different techniques.
- White stretch ceiling with a glossy surface, which increases its height and diffuses light onto other surfaces.
- The bed is located along the side surfaces - this will make it easier to move around the bedroom.
- Textiles in light, solid colors or with small patterns.
- Lighting fixtures should be limited to a small chandelier or a lampshade near the ceiling and wall sconces.
- A bed on a podium - thanks to this solution, there will be a place to store bed linen and pillows (storage compartments can be built into a stand).
It is better to replace the standard wardrobe in the Khrushchev bedroom with a sliding wardrobe, tables and chests of drawers should be replaced with wall shelves. The table shows the best color combinations for a small bedroom where shades of pink are the key color.
White colors can visually expand the boundaries of the room
If the bed is high, you can store linen under it
Table 3. Pink base for bedroom decoration.
| Trendy (primary) color | Combinable colors | Accent |
| Pale pink | Ivory, moray eel | Verdepeshevy |
| Dark salmon | Yellow-peach, puce | Chamois |
| Carmine | Purple, brick | Blue steel |
| Red eggplant | Orchid, dove blue | Sapphire |
See alsoThe concept of architecture and interior design of residential interiors
Frequent mistakes in repairing a two-room Khrushchev house
When performing repairs in a two-room Khrushchev house, mistakes are inevitable. Before starting work, it is worth considering the most common ones to avoid wasting time and money.
Complex suspended ceilings
The height of ceilings in old houses usually does not exceed 2.5 m. A pile of parts in the upper part of the room will visually make them even lower. It is not recommended to make complex, multi-stage designs. “Grandma’s” large chandeliers have the same negative effect. The best alternative is a flat lampshade or built-in soffits.
Small number of sockets
In order not to make a mistake with the location of outlets, you need to think in advance where household appliances and lighting fixtures will be installed. It is better to make 1-2 points more than to face a shortage. Electrical extension cords will save the situation, but will instantly ruin the situation.
Combining the kitchen and living room in gasified houses
Combining a kitchen and a living room is one of the most popular remodeling methods. But if the house is gasified, this cannot be done. The ban is due to the minimization of human and property losses in the event of an explosion. It is prescribed at the legislative level, so it is impossible to obtain permission to demolish the wall.
Rules for redevelopment
Redevelopment of a room involves making changes to its configuration, most often by adding or demolishing internal partitions. Redevelopment and reconstruction of apartments must be carried out in accordance with the requirements specified in Article 26 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (according to SP 54.13330.2011 ).
Housing Code of the Russian Federation
To carry out redevelopment, you need to obtain a permit, for which you need to provide a set of papers to the MFC or directly to the approval body:
- application in the prescribed form;
- title documents for housing (original and notarized copy);
- design documentation for redevelopment;
- registration certificate for the apartment (from the BTI);
- consent of household members;
- conclusion of the relevant authorities on the admissibility of carrying out work if the premises or house are classified as architectural monuments.
After receiving permission, repair and construction work is carried out, the reconstructed facility is inspected by a commission, an acceptance certificate is signed and an updated passport is issued at the BTI.
The procedure for remodeling an apartment
Important! If you carry out redevelopment without approval and obtaining permits, there is a high probability of receiving a fine and instructions to bring the premises to its original condition.
