The Soviet Union has long since fallen, but everyone’s “beloved” Khrushchev houses have safely survived all the political cataclysms and delight their owners with coziness and comfort as much as, of course, they are able to do so. However, the small size of the apartment should not serve as a limiting factor to your imagination. You can thoroughly think through its design and perhaps start with the hallway, especially since this room is a kind of face of your “home.” For inspiration, we offer you 35 real photos of the interior of a hallway in Khrushchev.
Rules for designing small hallways
- In the design of small corridors it is necessary to use light colors, which can be present both on the walls of the room and on the floor covering. Also, in the interior of small hallways, glass and mirror materials are often used against a background of light shades, with the help of which the hallway space visually increases.
- A beneficial solution in the hallways of Khrushchev-era apartments would be to use a minimalist style: fewer decorative elements that burden the room, more functionality.
- It is recommended to equip the space of Khrushchev's hallways with built-in furniture, since it occupies a minimum area and is very functional in use.
Below are photos of a hallway in a Khrushchev-era building using the above techniques for proper room design.
Arrangement concept
Instead of spending a long time choosing a shoe rack or a mirror for the future interior of the hallway, it is better to first draw up a plan for arranging the room itself. Experienced designers recommend observing:
- Light background;
- Wear-resistant materials;
- Minimum products;
- High quality lighting.
Adherence to these rules does not prevent you from creating classic and modern hallways in Khrushchev. In particular, we are talking about style. Although it must be admitted that the modern direction, in contrast to its classical counterpart, is more characterized by minimizing details.
Ideas for renovating a hallway in Khrushchev
The entrance area of a room, which does not have a large area or windows, can become gloomy and inconvenient to use without the use of special techniques in interior design. Therefore, you should consider ways to transform a small-sized Khrushchev-era apartment into a full-fledged apartment area, where all the necessary elements will be located.
- In order to increase the space of a small hallway you can:
- Avoid swing doors and decorate the openings with arched structures.
- If arches are not acceptable, the openings can be framed with sliding doors with translucent glass inserts (shock-resistant acrylic glass works well).
- The most time-consuming way is to replace the interior partitions with a built-in wardrobe from floor to ceiling. It will serve as both a storage place and a partition in a narrow room. Volumetric decorative elements should be excluded.
Furniture selection
Even if you have a small hallway, you want to get a cozy and comfortable environment. To do this, you should approach the purchase of furniture responsibly:
- A sliding wardrobe installed along one wall will house the entire storage system and save space thanks to sliding doors;
- If the first option is not suitable, a wall hanger, a rack with a rod or a corner cabinet model will come to the rescue;
- For a small space, a built-in furniture option is well suited, as it takes up less space and allows you to fit a large number of things. Don’t forget about a shoe rack or shoe rack, otherwise shoes will clutter up an already small space;
- You can visually enlarge the corridor and make it more functional using furniture up to the ceiling with glass facades;
- Another piece of furniture is a high bookcase. Roomy and compact, it is suitable for placing shoes and accessories on the top compartment;
- Since the area of the Khrushchev hallway does not allow for a sofa or pouf, it can be replaced with a low cabinet in which things and accessories will be stored;
- An open storage system looks less attractive, but is more compact. The hooks on the top are for outerwear, and the bottom ones are convenient for hanging brushes, keys and handbags;
- Manufacturers offer modern options for modular furniture, which are compact in size and allow you to arrange them at your discretion;
- If purchasing furniture is not part of the owners’ plans, you can get by with hanging storage shelves, under which you can place hooks for outerwear;
- A coffee table and shelves with wall mounting will help you place the necessary accessories and will not take up much space.
If you choose and arrange furniture wisely, then even a small area can become quite functional and comfortable.
Wall decoration
The walls should be decorated in warm or cool light colors. There is no need to use dark and colorful shades in the interior, which will narrow the space. If there is a need to combine contrasting colors, then it is better to arrange the color scheme from dark to light in the direction from floor to ceiling.
All dark designs, ornaments and decors should be placed in the middle zone, at the level of human height. The ceiling and ceiling area should always be decorated in light colors with the addition of additional lighting.
The design of the hallway in Khrushchev should begin with the choice of material. The walls in the hallway can be painted. You can use basic colors: white, beige; they go well with gold, yellow, silver, gray, green and woody colors.
To prevent contamination of the walls and an original combination of finishing elements, you can use tiled material or decorative bricks, which are usually laid on the lower part of the wall, in the corners of the room, or with the help of them one relief wall in the corridor is highlighted.
A narrow hallway in a Khrushchev-era building can also be decorated with PVC panels, liquid or vinyl wallpaper, which tolerate wet cleaning well. You should not use plasterboard structures for finishing, as it will only reduce the area of the already small hallway.
Lighting
Repair using corrective techniques for a small hallway includes the installation of proper lighting. For a small corridor, it is advisable to use one source of overhead lighting and several spotlights. Diffused soft light does not leave dark corners, thereby pushing the walls apart. You can add several sconces to these light sources, for example, near or opposite a mirror. Successful lighting ideas for the hallway are shown in the photo below.
In a narrow corridor, lighting should be directed to the walls, leaving the ceiling unlit. In a corridor with a low ceiling, on the contrary, the lighting should be directed upward. It is undesirable to install lamps at eye level - the result will be uneven lighting, leaving the ceiling dark.
If you illuminate the middle of a long wall, it will visually become shorter, and the shape of the corridor will become closer to a square. The main rule of the interior of a small hallway is the more light, the better.
Ceiling finishing
The best solution for finishing ceilings in Khrushchev-era apartments would be a suspended ceiling. It will hide all the unevenness and imperfections on the ceiling. If the ceiling is glossy, the effect will be enhanced: the room will become larger and filled with additional light due to mirror reflection.
A multi-level plasterboard ceiling would also be a good solution. The only disadvantage of this ceiling design is a reduction in height by 8-10 cm, but the use of additional lighting sources: spotlights, hanging sconces or LED strip makes this reduction unnoticeable.
Visual increase in space
In order to visually increase the space in a small hallway, you can use the following techniques:
- using a color finish on the transverse wall that is a tone or two lighter than the longitudinal one, as shown in the interior and renovation in the photo below;
- use of wide mirrors on opposite walls, mirrored doors, glossy ceiling or floor tiles;
- if there are niches in the walls, they can be illuminated, thereby deepening the walls;
- placement of lamps along a long wall;
- design using photo wallpaper with a receding perspective on one of the walls;
- use of upward lighting.
Design Ideas for a Corner Corridor
Since the arrangement of a corner hallway is somewhat complex, you should not make hasty decisions. The opinion of a design specialist will help you make the right choice and create the most comfortable atmosphere. And in this example, to save precious centimeters, it is important to install a corner cabinet in the hallway. Corner structures are usually made to order, take up little space and are multifunctional. One “but”, in this case you will have to abandon the shoe rack and wall shelves.
Increase door openings
In this case, we remove the doors and expand the openings themselves. You can make a gorgeous arch. This method allows you to fill the hallway with more light and visually expand the space.
There is one drawback to this method: kitchen smells will quickly penetrate into the living rooms. But if you install a more powerful hood, this problem can be avoided.
There is another option: choose a door leaf not made of wood, but fiberglass or opaque glass, which will visually add space
Why do you need a niche?
Probably, this question is most often asked by owners of large apartments, for whom the problem of a constant lack of free space is alien.
However, people who live, for example, in a Khrushchev building, are forced to consider all possible options for increasing the area of the premises.
Because it is much more difficult to equip a functional interior in a cramped hallway.
The most common way, of course, is redevelopment. You can demolish walls that are not load-bearing. And thus increase the area of the room.
But this option is not the best and can hardly be called optimal. After all, this will require a lot of money and time. In addition, you will need to enlist the help of builders and obtain permission from the relevant authorities.
It is much easier to simply equip a niche in the hallway in which you can store various things. Such a niche in the hallway of a Khrushchev building
will be very useful.
Decor for a niche
Any type of niche can be decorated. If the structure serves as a cabinet, then it must be additionally equipped with small shelves. It is convenient to place decorative elements on them.
Using the play of light, installing spotlights of different colors, you can create an amazing effect. But in this case, you can enhance it by giving preference to decorative elements with a glossy surface.
