The bedroom holds central importance in any home. After all, it is where we spend most of our time at home. Another part of the house that is equally as important as the bedroom is the living room. The living room offers space for dwellers and guests to relax and communicate comfortably. Therefore, it is important to create an interior that maximizes on the beauty and essence of these two rooms, i.e. the bedroom and living room.
Earlier on, designers combined the living room and bedroom because of limited space. Now, however, interior designers are adopting this combination as a fashion trend. Thanks to the use of modern technologies in construction, it has become possible to create rooms that maximize on this combination.
One of the most used methods in bedroom-living room combinations is the use of zoning. This method involves raising one section of the floor by 10-15 cm, painting the walls of the two sections in different colors and/or using different floor surfaces for the living room and bedroom.
Regardless of the kind of stylistic decision you make for your living room-bedroom, you must always remember one rule: Red objects or objects in bright colors should be used sparingly because they give the room an anxious vibe, especially if it is a bedroom. Such objects may appear as lampshades for the bedside lamp or for picture frames. This way, such objects decorate the room without necessarily dictating its aesthetic.
The role of furniture in the interior
Furniture plays a more important role than most people think. While furniture is essentially used for convenience and functionality, it also serves another important role, beautifying the home. While it is relatively easy to use furniture to improve the aesthetic of large interiors, it is particularly difficult to do the same with small interiors. To solve this, you need to clearly anticipate the type of furniture the interior will need and evaluate your options to find the perfect choice.
Bedroom-living room design: How to properly zone the space
There are not many rooms of the house that you can combine but luckily, the living room and bedroom combo is a remarkable exception.
NB:Living room-bedroom combinations happen more than we think. A few years ago the interior design of such spaces was pretty effortless. This is because most designs offered enough walls and a folding sofa, features that made living rooms stand out with all the charms of Soviet and post-Soviet designs.Of course, such an arrangement of items can be quite convenient. However, some people hate sleeping on folding sofas.
The zoning of rooms should result in two distinct regions:
- Private;
- Common.
In addition to the living room, the common area should have a cabinet or mini-cabinet. The private or sleeping area is better placed near a window because this leads to better ventilation of the bedroom zone. This arrangement is also much more comfortable, especially for a person who is used to sleeping in a well-ventilated room.
Important Rule
Zones should be arranged so that the bedroom is by not a passage. It is important to divide and allocate the two zones properly so that quiet relaxation periods in the bedroom are not interrupted by the living room occupants.
Tip: The sleeping area should be located as far as possible from the entrance to the room.
If the room is too small, then partitioning it seems pointless and ridiculous. In such cases, designers recommend using a BAMBOOK or TISSUE curtain for zoning. Also, with bead curtains, you can seal off the sleeping area without damaging the visual perception of the apartment. When choosing curtains, rely solely on your own taste and the chosen style of the interior. Depending on the style, a lightweight blind or a dense dark curtain can do the job.
NB
If you want to dissolve one zone into another, the best solution is creating a semi-partition or an extremely light, perhaps even transparent, partition. If you want to achieve the maximum effect of lightness, you can install special partitions, i,e., compartments made of plastic or translucent glass. Such a semi-transparent partition will not overload the interior, and its mechanism will provide an opportunity to change the width of the partition, provided that it consists of two or more panels.
If your goal is to create a closed and more intimate environment, then a transparent partition will create an unpleasant effect. As an alternative, you can opt for stained glass or modern tinted glass. This will make your apartment more stylish and less zoned.
Experts recommend that when choosing a curtain-septum, choose the same fabric as that used to decorate the windows.
Another yet popular mode of zoning the living room-bedroom is by dividing the space using a rack or cabinet. This zoning option provides the owners with two useful functions:
- The zones are perfectly fenced off from each other;
- Space is not wasted
Sometimes you can use individual “rack-bed” or “closet-bed” designs. These designs are usually more functional, but they are mostly made exclusively to order.
It is worth noting that if you choose a separate rack, then you can fix it in the room as it will be light. By the way, provided that the bed has a high headboard, it can perfectly act as a partition.
Even if there is no need for a partition, most designers are accustomed to allocating zones. For this purpose, various techniques can be used. In particular, it can be a combination of finishes, the equipment of a special platform (on it there can be a bed) or creation of a canopy that will cover the bed from all sides.
To economize on space it is better to place the TV on the wall.
Provided that you want to watch TV in both the bedroom and the living room, you need to allocate a place for it that is perfectly visible from both zones. Fixing the TV on a swing arm will give maximum convenience.
As for the bed, you need to choose one that is equipped with boxes for storage. If there is a catastrophic lack of space for bedside tables, you can find a bed with a headboard that is built-in with a cabinet, shelf and shelving.
Choosing furniture that can be converted to serve other purposes can also be an advantage. One such option comprises a podium and rolling out mattress bed, which can easily roll back under the podium. You can then organize a mini-cabinet or, for example, a dining room on the podium.
Lighting in the Bedroom-Living room
If you are aiming to accommodate a bedroom and living room in one room, you should get rid of general ceiling lighting as such lighting will not suit the needs of both sections at all times.
In this case, the best option is using individual light sources installed on the wall individually in each zone. For the living room, several light sources are ideal as they light up the room
Combining a Living Room, Bedroom and Nursery
Combining a bedroom, living room and nursery can be an extremely difficult task. The best solution is to divide the room with a wooden cabinet or a blind partition made of plasterboard. Alternatively, you can leave a small passage in the form of an arch, which will connect the two main parts of the room.
In addition, you can divide the room using:
- Decorative curtains;
- Doors.
Storage Solutions for Living Studio
For effective storage, you ought to pay attention to the vertical planes of the room. Ideally, you should use high furniture (the height can be right up to the ceiling), then create storage cabinets in the uppermost section.
Save space by using folding chairs and tables , which can be found in most furniture stores.
Bedroom-Living Room Style
Before repairing an apartment, first decide on the style you want to dominate. This decision is important to make since the dominant style dictates the design and décor a homeowner can use.
Classic Style Living Room-Bedroom
The classical style is universal, prompting many designers to choose it. Because of its universality, the classic style is perfect for any room.
Features of the classic style are:
- Functionality and practicality;
- Use of natural materials (wood, stone);
- Light shades in the interior.
For windows, designers are advised to choose thick curtains.
Modern style Combined Bedroom-Living Room
The modern style is the most popular in modern interior design, because it allows you to simultaneously save space, and attractively distribute furniture and accessories.
The modern style uses furniture without any extra elements, combining maximum functionality and elegance. As for color, it is advisable to choose natural shades, such as beige, white, brown and blue.
Provence-style Combined Interiors
In the last few years, Provence style has been gaining increasing popularity because it allows the creation of a cozy atmosphere. For a bedroom combined with a living room, use natural furniture (a light, pre-aged tree is perfect) and accessories made exclusively from natural materials.
Incorporating Hi-tech in the Bedroom-Living Room
In many ways, the hi-tech style is the most suitable for combined living spaces. In this style, superfluous elements do not exist, and as a result, the space is usually airy and decluttered, creating an appealing overall look.
Sample Photos of the Living Room-Bedroom
The room in the first picture has a functional recreational area. In such a room, everything should be functional, including furniture, which should ideally comprise a comfortable sofa or several armchairs. In some cases, it is better to use large flat cushions (decorating the room in the oriental style). For colors, warm pastel colors do the trick. If the owner of the apartment is melancholic, then the color scheme can be brighter, even if it’s red.
Freedom from conventions and platitudes – this is how you can describe the interior of this living room bedroom. The designer did not hesitate to incorporate visual zone splitting, rather than erecting interior partitions. Warm tones also infuse charm and romance into the room.
Here, air curtains have been used instead of partitions. A large red pouf replaces the traditional coffee table and a hanging swing stands in place of the banquet, making this room charming and beautiful. As a result, the room breathes freshness. The use of a carpet in stylized flowers and pineapples adds extra flavor.
White is the color of innocence, refinement and purity. The accent in the design of this room is made precisely based on the influence of the chosen range of shades. Wooden, white kitchen furniture, made under the antiquity influences, stands adjacent to a modern soft sofa.
Use of an aggressive red color in the decoration of the bedroom is eased by the fact that during sleep you don’t see the red wall because it is at the head of the bed. In the rest of the interior, red is used only as an accent, rather than as the basic color scale.