A spacious apartment with lots of rooms remains a dream for many. Sometimes in our home one room is forced to combine the functions of a kitchen and a living room, or a bedroom and a nursery. The need to divide space into several zones or even separate rooms often arises among residents of one-room apartments or studios. Thanks to the achievements of design, the allocation of personal space for each family member and a comfortable stay in the same room is possible even without redevelopment and the construction of blank walls.
Zoning facilities
To divide a room into two functional zones use:
- stationary cover;
- sliding partition;
- furniture;
- screens;
- design with curtains;
- arches;
- dropped ceilings;
- catwalks;
- different finishing materials.
You can emphasize the characters of the zones using:
- paintings;
- household appliances;
- additional lighting;
- furniture;
- decorative coatings.
Features of area division methods
In modern design projects, many solutions and ideas for space zoning have been found. Let's briefly consider the most popular types of partitions and other means used to delimit living space.
Separation by fixed partitions
Prerequisites for the construction of an immovable interior partition: the presence of a large room with several windows and the need to get two isolated areas of space. A blank wall will create the effect of separate rooms. It is good to divide a narrow and long room in the middle in this way: 2 small rooms will have a more harmonious shape. For the construction of such floors, brickwork or a frame made of a metal profile, sheathed with plasterboard, OSB, plywood, is used.
If the shared area is small and there is only a single window, the resulting rooms will be quite cramped, and one of them is devoid of natural light. This option is only suitable for arranging a separate office or dressing room - in these rooms you can get by with artificial lighting.
Using a sliding partition
To create sliding partitions, two guides are used, installed on the ceiling and on the floor. As a material for creating a structure similar in structure to compartment doors, the following are used:
- glass (transparent, frosted, mirrored, patterned);
- drywall;
- tree;
- plastic.
Advantages of such a partition: lightness, mobility, small area of the occupied space.
Disadvantages: low visual and sound insulation compared to a stationary structure.
Dividing a room with a screen
Screens as a means of zoning have proven themselves in cases where you need to separate part of the room for a short period of time. Using such a partition, you can easily enclose a dressing area, a crib or a desk for solitary work.
You can make a screen with your own hands. The frame is made of wooden planks or a metal profile, fabric is used for decoration. For a folding version with sashes, hinges are additionally needed.
Screens are usually light in weight, which makes it easy to move them around the room, clean and re-install in the right place. A beautiful screen, standing against the wall, can serve as a spectacular decor element.
Zoning with curtains
The use of fabrics to create partitions will give the room comfort, and the purchase of materials will not require serious financial costs and expensive repairs. More often, the economical option of separating with curtains is used in living rooms and bedrooms; this option is not suitable for delimiting a kitchen area in a room: the fabric will absorb odors and quickly get dirty.
To create a partition from curtains or curtains, you will need:
- Ceiling cornices.
- Guide rails.
- Fabrics.
- Tacks.
- Accessories.
As a material for curtains, dense textiles (taffeta, jacquard) are often used, which is combined with thinner, translucent and airy fabrics, tulle. On the sides, you can attach tiebacks made of twisted cords or ribbons, which will beautifully support the curtains while they are open. The color and pattern on the fabric should overlap with other elements of the interior of the room.
A canopy is used to separate the bed from the rest of the room.
Furniture as a means of space zoning
Properly placed furniture in the apartment is also used for differentiation. For example, to separate the kitchen from the living room, many people prefer to install a bar counter, which plays the role of a separator and can be used as a table or additional work surface.
The method of visually dividing a room using sofas is often used.
Another practical way to delimit space is to install cabinets or shelving. For such a partition, as in the photo, additional fasteners are not needed, and on the shelves you can lay out things or arrange decor items.
Dividing a room into zones using an arch
To minimize the loss of area, arched structures are used. The advantage is that they do not take up floor and wall space. Sometimes arches and semi-arches are made in such a way that things can be stored inside - it turns out a kind of mezzanine.
The arch is a universal means for delimiting space that will fit well into the design of a room of any size.
Multi-level ceilings and podiums
A podium is a structure using a metal or wood frame that allows you to raise the level of the floor. The height usually ranges from several tens of centimeters to a meter. They try to make the podium in small rooms as functional as possible; for this, drawers or even small beds are built into it, as in the next photo.
Multi-level ceilings are usually used in situations where the use of other separation techniques is inappropriate. Various lighting systems will become a spectacular addition to a plasterboard suspended ceiling.
Combination of materials and colors
In a small room in Khrushchev, even compact partitions, podiums or screens will clutter up the space. In this case, there is only one way out - to zone the room visually by combining materials. You can combine both the same type of finish in different colors, and different coatings. It can be:
- wallpapers of different tones or with different textures;
- paint of various shades;
- artificial stone, decorative plaster, painted walls, tiles in various combinations;
- monochromatic finish and photo wallpaper.
Color zoning is often used in combination with other room division techniques.
Actual tasks and ways to solve them
The choice of partition wall type or zoning method depends on:
- room area;
- assignment of allocated spaces;
- the number of windows;
- door locations.
Consider the most common options for combining the functions assigned to the premises and requiring its division into two zones.
Children's room for several children
A growing child needs his own, even a very small, territory, a personal corner where his things will be stored and where he can calmly solve lessons and go about his business. Unfortunately, not so often parents have the opportunity to provide each of the children with a separate room. It is highly undesirable to put any type of partition in a common children's room, because this area should be as light and spacious as possible, not limiting children's activity.
The best solution would be visual clipping: using the color of the wallpaper, different finishes, as well as podiums and suspended ceilings. However, if we are talking about a common room for children of different sexes, you need to consider a more secluded option with a screen or curtains. The following photo shows a good way to divide a nursery for a boy and a girl.
Living room + bedroom
In the case when the room is planned to be used simultaneously as a bedroom and a hall, the furniture used for relaxation can become a criterion for choosing a partition. If the sofa plays the role of a bed, then you can delimit the area with a beautiful arch. Multi-level ceiling and floor, different colors are also very appropriate. In the case when there will be a bed in the sleeping space, a more serious separation will be required. As a space delimiter, you can use:
- stationary partition - it does not have to be located from wall to wall, it will be enough to hide a place to sleep with it;
- cornice with curtains;
- sliding system.
Nursery and adult bedroom
The need to distinguish between a room for children and for adults is also not uncommon. Here the key factors will be age, gender, degree of relationship. For example, in the case of division into zones for parents and small children, the room is partitioned off with an open shelving or plasterboard structure with niches. They will not look bulky, and you can beautifully lay out toys or place literature on them for reading. This division of the room will allow you to create a piece of personal space, but at the same time leave the possibility of control. If, for example, it is necessary to place an elderly woman and a teenage boy in the same room, it is desirable to design a closed soundproof partition.
Living room with kitchen
In order to highlight the functional areas in the living room combined with the kitchen, you can use any type of partitions, except for curtains and screens - in this situation they are not very practical, as they will be saturated with the smells of food. Of the pieces of furniture that can separate the kitchen space from the rest of the room, the best fit:
- spectacular and multifunctional bar counter;
- stylish and comfortable kitchen island;
- a dining table that simultaneously serves as a dividing and unifying element of both zones.
Study in the bedroom
When combining a bedroom and a workplace in one room, a rack will be an excellent solution, which will visually delimit the space and neatly place documents.
The room is divided into two zones by different methods, the choice of which should be guided by personal preferences and capabilities. In addition, the imagination of designers does not stand still, and they constantly come up with new original solutions.