Effective techniques that will make a cramped hallway comfortable
The problem of a narrow corridor is a common story for an apartment. Many people believe that we can only come to terms with this. However, the designers claim: a long narrow corridor is very promising, both literally and figuratively.
So, what to do with such a corridor and is it necessary to do anything with it at all? Redevelopment or renovation? Our tips will help you solve this problem.
Remodel 1: Moving the wall
Let's start with surgical intervention - redevelopment. Important point: walls can only be moved if they are not load-bearing and the redevelopment has been agreed upon. Otherwise, it will not be possible to expand the corridor.
Increase small corridor possible at the expense of the living room. It is enough to “move” the wall by 1-1.5 meters so that the most functional part of the corridor - the hallway - becomes wider. In this case, the room will not suffer much, and the apartment as a whole will only benefit.
By the way, doorways can become a wonderful decoration for an apartment, you just need to give them due attention. And since the wall has been “moved” and the entrance to the room must be formed from scratch, then it’s a sin not to get creative, isn’t it?
scope of work
Complete demolition of the wall.
Construction of the entire wall with a doorway.
As a result: we got the ideal option - long corridor with a wide rectangular hallway that fits everything you need. Plus you kept the isolated room.
Remodel 2: Combining the corridor and living room
Having parted with the wall between the corridor and the room, you will get a huge common space, which you can delimit as you please.
The conditional boundaries of the corridor can be designated using upholstered furniture, bookshelf, a wardrobe, an aquarium or shelves with flowers, but not with assorted floor coverings. The floor should be monolithic, emphasizing the overall space. Please note that in the case of such a redevelopment, all visitors will have the opportunity to view the room directly from the threshold, so the height of the stylized wall is of great importance. If you want to completely hide a small piece of the room from prying eyes, then the wall should be blank and high. The sofa back won't save you, but open shelving Perfect for lush plants.
scope of work
Complete demolition of the wall.
Overall: Huge bright space, storage issue resolved outerwear- coats and hats are hidden in the closet in the room. The corridor is no longer a secondary room, but a full-fledged hall, the design of which will bring you real pleasure.
Rework 3: Moving the entrance
In the case where the hallway is adjacent not to the living room, but to the kitchen, you can “move” not the wall, but the entrance to the kitchen. The kitchen is combined with the adjacent room and forms a dining-living room, which in itself is not bad, and in the hallway there is a blank wall instead of an interior door.
scope of work
Demolition of a wall or part of it for a door.
Organization of a new entrance group.
Closing the former doorway.
As a result: you got a functional wall in the hallway and placed a mirror on it, and also put an ottoman or a rack for shoes. An additional plus is a cozy kitchen-dining room, where you can have evenings with the whole family and gather together. big company for the holiday.
No alterations
There are difficult cases when the layout does not allow anything to be rebuilt. For example, when the corridor is adjacent not to a living room or even to a kitchen, but to a bathroom, there is simply nowhere to “move” the walls and door. Khrushchev or a private house, built according to individual project. It also happens that a person is not ready to demolish and build walls in his apartment. How to arrange a narrow corridor in this case? In fact, this is not that difficult to do.
Surely, you have already read that “light colors visually expand the space” and covered your corridor with beige or mint wallpaper, and laid linoleum of the same tone on the floor. But for some reason, all this design from the Middle Ages does not work - the corridor is still the same narrow and dull. And all because it lacks daylight, without which any wallpaper is equally colorless. We invite you to adopt more modern and effective life hacks for small rooms without natural light. So, the interior design of a narrow corridor...
Life hack 1. Multi-level ceiling
The best option is multi-level ceiling with hidden backlight, and its most high level must be made of a reflective surface. Glossy surfaces and mirrors will not only visually expand the hallway-hallway, but also give it an expensive look.
Life hack 2. Mirror floor
Of course, you don’t need to cover the floor with mirrors, but you should with a glossy coating. The light will be reflected, which will create the impression of a wide corridor.
Lifehack 3. Lighting
Firstly, the light in the corridor should not be dim, otherwise all your tricks will disappear in the twilight. Secondly, the light must be uniform. Thirdly, it should not dazzle, so save powerful lamps for other rooms. Optimal solution- spotlights or linear lamps. With this lighting, both colorful three-dimensional panels and black and white photos on the walls will look very beautiful.
designer advice
Colored LED bulbs will turn the most ordinary corridor into a fairy-tale road.
Life hack 4. Lighting in the closet
Choose closed cabinets with lighting, and very soon you will catch yourself thinking that they are very pleasant to use and much easier to maintain order. This solution will make your hallway more comfortable and cozy.
Life hack 5. “Weightless” furniture
Furniture, cabinets and storage systems are the “pain points” of all non-standard or small size. There is no place for bulky wardrobes in a narrow corridor. It’s better to hang elegant cabinets for storing corridor small items (combs, bills, etc.).
Replace bulky hangers with hooks - both stylish and functional, and does not take up space.
When every meter is precious, furniture should “hang in the air” and not “stand like a chest.” In other words, choose ottomans, benches, tables with legs.
designer advice
When arranging furniture, remember: the minimum width of the passage should be about 80 cm.
Lifehack 6. Occupied corner
And don’t ignore the corners in the hallway. A variety of corner shelves are the “artillery” that will help you win the fight for free space. Useful and cute little things will fit perfectly on them and decorate the corridor.
Life hack 7. Reflection with an object
A corridor should not exist without a mirror. To optically enlarge the space, hang a mirror opposite a shelf with a figurine, painting or indoor plant.
The advantages of a narrow long corridor: a child can ride a bicycle, you can arrange a photo gallery or your own author’s exhibition. In a word, there is room to run around in the literal sense.
designer advice
Don't place mirrors at both ends of a long corridor. The result is an endless mirror tunnel.
The main problem in many apartments remains narrow corridors
. In today’s article, we’ll look at some tips for visually increasing the space of corridors in apartments with a variety of layouts.
Until now, the main disadvantage of old apartments (it should be clarified that in new layouts such corridors are quite rare) with narrow and long corridors is insufficient lighting, as well as dark walls, concealing space.
We offer five tips to help visually increase the space of a narrow corridor:
Tip #1. When choosing a paint color or wallpaper, you should pay attention to light shades . The ideal choice for a narrow corridor would be to choose white for the walls; it will help to visually expand the space and “brighten” it. The disadvantage of white is that it gets dirty very quickly, and if there are children or pets in the house, then such walls will not last long, so when choosing the main tone, you should pay attention to saturated colors with a high white content. Suitable options for the design of a narrow corridor there will be colors such as blue, coffee with milk, light green, pale lilac.
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Tip #2. Properly selected and designed lighting plays a big role in the interior of the corridor. Good lighting is usually universal solution for narrow dark corridors. To make a narrow corridor look more spacious, you should install several ceiling lights. These can be chandeliers, lamps, floor lamps or sconces. To achieve the desired result, one light source is usually not enough.
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Tip #3. When we're talking about about the design of any long and narrow rooms, the main rule to remember is that avoid longitudinal stripes , since they not only emphasize the irregular shapes of the room, but also visually distort them, narrowing and stretching them even more. A narrow corridor will seem more spacious if the floor and walls are kept in light colors. Ideal option there will be a glossy floor that reflects rays of light and at the same time makes the space wider and more voluminous. Caring for a light-colored floor is, of course, much more difficult, but you will gain in volume, since a light-colored floor visually significantly increases the space. If we talk about carpets and runners, then two or three rugs with wide stripes or a clear graphic design will visually decorate and expand a narrow corridor.
Tip #4. A noticeable visual expansion of the corridor is achieved thanks to mirrors
located on the walls. A mirror is an integral part of the design of any apartment and it does not have to be huge; a small one, at eye level, will be quite enough. And a mirror becomes a real lifesaver in those parts of the apartment where you need to visually expand the space, for example in a long narrow corridor.
They will also look good various decorations walls in the hallway, such as photographs, paintings or posters.
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Tip #5. Hooks and hangers perfect solution for placing things in the hallway. All kinds of sliding wardrobes are now at the peak of popularity, but if the corridor is very narrow, then there is simply nowhere to put such furniture, and things need to be hidden somewhere. Hooks and hangers do not take up much space, but you can still hang outerwear on them.
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Instructions
In order to visually expand the space of a narrow corridor, decorate it in light colors - beige, coffee, all shades of pastel - light pink, light blue, peach, light green, light olive, turquoise, etc. If you are not afraid of frequent cleaning of the apartment – you can finish the floor and walls of the corridor in white. This will give a special freshness and abundance of light to your narrow hallway. You can dilute this bright accent on the end wall - for example, a panel or vinyl sticker. Or cover part of the wall with wallpaper with a rich print on a white background. This technique will attract attention in a bright spot and distract from narrow walls.
To visually expand a narrow corridor, paint the walls with glossy paint or plaster. The reflected light will create the effect of a wider space. Mirrors and photo wallpapers with images of perspectives can also perform the same function.
Carefully consider the hallway lighting. A bright light flux will make a long and narrow corridor visually wider. A spot shot is best here. ceiling lighting And additional sources lights on the walls - sconces or LED lamps. If you choose a sconce, choose flat lamp options.
Another successful trick for a narrow hallway is to break its length into parts. A long and deaf corridor has a depressing effect on many people, even depressing and frightening. Therefore, it is best to place several perpendicular landmarks in the hall or use the fragmentation technique - i.e. break the entire corridor space into parts (fragments). This can be done using furniture, arches, color design space. For example, paint part of the wall a different color, change plain wallpaper to a bright print, hang a floor-to-ceiling mirror on part of the wall, change the lighting.
For a long and cramped corridor, the main thing is strict organization of order, i.e. a minimum of bulky furniture and loosely hanging wardrobe items. Even in a very narrow corridor, you can build a compact wardrobe with mirrored doors, having it made to order according to your dimensions. By putting away all the items of clothing and other accessories (for example, umbrellas), you will get a clean, albeit small, space without cluttering with details.
If possible, use the end wall, niches and corners to place furniture as much as possible. This way you too can win valuable centimeters. If a full-fledged closet does not fit into your narrow corridor, organize a dressing room in one of the rooms, but under no circumstances hang clothes on open hangers in the hallway. This will create visual chaos and clutter that will eat small space.
In most apartments, and even in some private houses, you can find a long narrow corridor. It is often gloomy and does not attract attention at all. A dull atmosphere in a narrow corridor is created by dark walls, visually reducing the already small space. Poor lighting also adds gloom to this room. Let's look at how to beautifully decorate a narrow corridor and visually expand it.
If you solve the problem of insufficient lighting and dark walls, the narrow corridor will immediately change dramatically. You can add a new perception to such a room by changing the design of the flooring and additional decoration of the walls.
Wall color in a narrow corridor
When choosing wallpaper or paint for the walls of a narrow corridor, it is better to give preference to the lightest colors. If there is no external lighting in a small room, the best option for wall decoration can be White color. It creates the effect of visual expansion of the room, as it has the ability to reflect light. But if there are small children or pets in the apartment, the white walls of the narrow corridor will quickly get dirty and will have to be constantly washed or tinted.
In this case, the main tone of the walls of a narrow corridor should be a slightly saturated color with the largest amount of white. Colors such as light green, blue, pale lilac or coffee with milk are perfect. The walls of a narrow corridor can also be decorated in a light beige pastel tone, as in the photo below.
Lighting a narrow corridor
Good lighting of a narrow corridor will visually expand it and relieve gloom and dullness. Previously the corridors of all standard apartments were illuminated by two or even one lamp, the light from which was absolutely not enough. To create a spacious perception of a narrow corridor, you need ceiling lamps. Depending on the chosen design, these can be spots, lamps or chandeliers. The number of lighting points depends on the power of the light bulbs, on which it is extremely undesirable to save.
The following photo shows a long narrow corridor, quite bright due to the large amount of lighting built into the ceiling and white walls.
If there are two powerful lamps in a narrow corridor, but there is still not enough light, it is worth trying to double the lighting, that is, install two more of the same kind. Perhaps this will achieve the desired result. Narrow corridors are sometimes illuminated with sconces, but in this case it is important that their rays are evenly distributed.
Floor in a narrow corridor
People make a grave mistake when they decorate the floor of a narrow corridor with a covering with longitudinal stripes. Such a floor visually stretches and narrows an already narrow corridor, distorts and emphasizes its irregular shapes. It is not recommended to make the floor of a narrow corridor too dark and lay a carpet on it with a parallel pattern along the edges.
It is better to choose floor coverings for a narrow corridor in neutral, light shades. This way the corridor will visually look wider and more spacious. It is better to replace the carpet with several small rugs. It’s good if they have clear graphic designs or wide stripes. But plain, bright rugs will also fit perfectly into a narrow corridor, especially if the corridor design is decorated in a modern style.
The next photo shows a fairly light corridor, but the floor is decorated with a dark covering. It looks beautiful, but if you mentally replace the dark floor with a light one, the picture would change for the better.
A light wooden panel will allow you to visually expand the narrow corridor a little more. flooring, mounted in the transverse direction, for example, parquet boards.
Narrow corridor wall design
First of all, mirrors are used to expand the narrow space of the corridor from wall decor items. If several mirrors having different shapes, place opposite to each other, the result will be impressive.
The next photo shows a not too narrow corridor, one wall of which is shorter than the other. Long wall decorated various mirrors. If you imagine for a second that the second wall looks about the same, you would get a wonderful visual expansion of the room with the help of mirrors.
Very often the walls in the corridor are decorated with paintings or photographs. An example in the photo below.
But too much narrow room frames protruding from the walls can interfere with movement along the corridor. This problem This can be solved by recessing the picture frames a little into the wall. True, such decor of the walls of a narrow corridor requires effort and time. To prevent frames with photographs from being touched when moving along the corridor, they can be hung higher. But here you won’t be able to use large pictures.
Another corridor design option can be seen in the next photo. Here the width of the room is slightly larger than standard apartments. That is why a compact shelf with decorative items fit into this corridor. An example of this design can be taken into account by those who have a “moderately” narrow corridor in the house.
The most practical and modern instrument decorating narrow corridors are vinyl wall stickers. Firstly, they are inexpensive, and secondly, they absolutely do not interfere with movement along the walls. In addition, decorate the walls vinyl stickers as easy as pie. And the most important advantage is that the alternative to them is exclusively handmade painting.
A small hallway is not a reason to despair, because there are a lot of interesting techniques for expanding it, some of which I will share right now.
The theater begins with a hanger, and the apartment... also with a hanger. More precisely, with a hallway, the function of which is not only to store clothes, but also to welcome your appearance everyone entering, in order to create a favorable first impression. Therefore, it is extremely important that the design of this room is rational and does not create the impression of an obstacle.
Typically, a hallway is a small space through which people try to get deeper into an apartment or house as quickly as possible. Making it as comfortable and spacious as possible is a difficult task at first glance, but, as it turns out, it can be done if you apply a few of our tips for visual enlargement.
Method 1: Remove huge furniture
As has already been said, the hallway is a small room, so bulky furniture will immediately become an obstacle. Therefore, large cabinets, massive bedside tables and decorative soft chairs not needed here. To store clothes, it is enough to hang several hooks or arrange an open wardrobe, which, due to its heterogeneity, gives new facets to the space.
Method 2: Closet
If the layout allows, then a closet is the best way to store all your clothes, shoes and other important things. The main thing is that it is in a niche, the doors of which are flush with the wall. Visually, nothing is lost; on the contrary, when you open the door, the hallway increases in size in your eyes.
Method 3: Mirrors
The most obvious and effective way visual expansion space. One or more mirrors, depending on the size, will add a certain amount square meters. And if this mirror covers the entire wall, from floor to ceiling, then the hallway will become exactly twice as wide. Behind it you can place storage systems, and on the opposite wall - a painting, an artistic pattern or a figured hanger to level out the effect of empty space.
Method 4: Lighting
By playing with the intensity of light and the number of devices, you can achieve radically different effects. With the help of small lamps the room will look more spacious. And light surfaces will always reflect any amount of light. The same goes for mirrors. Important: if you have a closet, there must be light inside it.
Method 5: Color scheme
No dark colors in the design! The walls should be as light as possible, use milky, coffee or cream tones. For contrast, it is worth painting some part in bright color. And for the ceiling, they mostly choose white shades, which gives the hallway additional volume. As an option, you can make a glass or mirror ceiling.
Method 6: Special floor
Using a special layout of floor tiles or parquet, you can achieve visual expansion. You can also lay tiles and laminate, as they are wear-resistant and quite easy to maintain. As another visual deception, we can recommend the following: make the floor (through covering or carpet) so that it smoothly transitions from the hallway to the room. The eye will catch on large area gender, and this illusion will be difficult to change later.
Method 7: Texture on the walls
Volume and, accordingly, visually wide space can appear with a special texture of the material. For example, liquid wallpaper. Or wooden panels. Yes and regular wallpaper will also fit - certainly with an interesting pattern. Checked: the mesh pattern really gives a feeling of the width of the hallway.For a small hallway it is necessary to select small interior items, but their number should not visually clutter the space. Small shelves for phones and watches, a spoon hook, a key holder or an umbrella dryer are not that big, but, in general, irreplaceable things.
