Design of a kitchen-living room with a bay window: layout, zoning

Bay window is an architectural multifaceted or rounded protrusion on the facade of a building that has windows. It is done in almost any room, sometimes significantly expanding its space. The original design of the kitchen-living room with a bay window is created by hand or with the participation of invited specialists.

Kitchen-living room design with bay window.

What is a kitchen with a bay window?

A kitchen space with a bay window ledge almost always has an “irregular” shape, which allows you to create a unique design. The bay window has three or more windows, this element is usually part of the original architecture of the building, less often a glazed balcony or loggia turns into it. He most often performs in houses belonging to the P-44T series, less often – in buildings he created with his own hands. The shape of such a part is trapezoidal, round, triangular, quadrangular, polygonal, etc..

Kitchen with bay window in P44T buildings.

Kitchen-living room interior with bay window

In the interior of a modern kitchen-living room with a bay window, there is enough space to fit everything that is necessary for a comfortable rest, cooking, and eating. This place makes it possible to equip the following functional areas:

dining room – with a table, several chairs, armchairs, a corner sofa;
a working area that involves cooking – then there will be a sink, stove, cutting surface, storage cabinets;
a corner for working at a computer, laptop, handicrafts, reading, drawing;
the space of the “winter garden”, which will house a collection of various plants;
a children’s area – ideal for a mother with a baby, allowing you not to lose sight of him while cooking.

Kitchen-living room interior with bay window with island.

Pros, cons of a kitchen-living room interior with a bay window

The kitchen-living space, which has a functional architectural ledge, has many positive qualities:

the room has at least two to four square meters more space than the usual one;
the room looks beautiful, very unusual;
such a kitchen has a lot of natural light, which saves on electricity;
the possibility of arranging an additional area for work or leisure.

The disadvantage of decorating the bay window can be considered the acquisition of a special form of cornice.

When designing a bay window, you will have to face some difficulties:

installation of electrical appliances, installation of water pipes, other communications will have to be coordinated with design organizations;
a set, a sofa, any other furniture mounted in the space of the ledge will have to be made to order, which will increase the total cost of the repair;
hanging cabinets, making full-fledged shelves here is almost impossible;
this place will have to be additionally insulated, due to the presence of many windows.

Design of a modern kitchen-living room with a bay window.

Layout options, zoning

In any apartment, the layout of a large or small kitchen with a bay window looks very original. The kitchen area is always multifunctional, the bay window allows you to conveniently place an additional area – a place for cooking or dining, a working mini-cabinet or a recreation area, a sofa, a sports area, a children’s playroom.

Bay window zoning with a ceiling.

Zoning is done here using:

different colors of flooring, walls;
a podium in which storage sections are located;
lower or higher ceiling;
folding screen;
sliding doors;
bar counter;
curtains fixed to a cornice hidden in the ceiling;
elegant shelving;
false columns.

Interior design of a kitchen-living room with a bar.

The zoning screen is made dense or purely symbolic – from a frame, with threads stretched over it, hand-woven in the macrame style. The same goes for curtains. Separation with flooring also looks interesting: it can be two different colors of ceramic tiles, a combination of tiles and laminate, parquet and boards, linoleum and painted fiberboard. When there is a children’s or “sofa” area in the bay window, carpet is often placed there, which is not acceptable for the working area. Wall decoration with various materials is also very popular: the combination of wallpaper and decorative plasters, various types of paint and wall panels allows you to create an original design.

In the design of bay windows, special attention should be paid to the choice of curtains.

Working area in the bay window

The cooking area is organized differently here..

A simple cutting surface can be easily built into a small bay window, while the refrigerator, stove and sink are located in the room itself, which violates the principles of the “working triangle”.
In an extensive bay window ledge, a horizontal refrigerator is placed under the tabletop, on one side of it, but not closer than half a meter, a gas or electric stove is placed, on the other – a sink. The complexity of the arrangement consists in conducting communications here – electricity, water supply, gas. For such a redevelopment, you will have to obtain permission from government agencies..

U-shaped kitchen with bay window.

Advice. An island kitchen is often equipped in a spacious bay window, but in this case it is necessary that nothing impedes free movement around it.

Bay window dining table

The place for eating in the bay window is designed with a built-in or free-standing table of a suitable shape. This allows you to admire the view from the window while eating food. If desired, a semblance of a bar counter is equipped here – it is often combined with an extended window sill.

Advice. If the bay window is located on the “hot”, sunny side, for greater comfort it is advisable to arrange it with curtains or blinds.

Decorating the dining area in the bay window.

Recreation area in the bay window

The bay window will be a great place for rest and relaxation. Here they place a couple of armchairs with a coffee table, a mini-greenhouse, which is pleasant to contemplate while sitting on a gymnastic rug during morning meditation, a sports corner, etc. When a leisure zone is planned in this space, it is necessary to provide convenient places for storing handicrafts and relevant literature. This is convenient for those housewives who are used to doing something else in parallel with cooking – sewing, knitting, drawing, etc..

Decorating a seating area in the bay window.

The organization of a “winter garden”, a miniature “vegetable garden on the windowsill” requires the creation of acceptable conditions – the convenience of watering the plants, the movement of the one who will take care of them. Due to the large amount of light that penetrates here all year round, the flowers will grow well, delighting the owners, revitalizing the atmosphere, and purifying the air. Installation of the aquarium is also permissible, but not on the windowsill itself, but on a special stable stand, which allows not only to contemplate the object from all sides, but also to live comfortably for all its inhabitants. Such a transparent design practically does not hide the space..

Advice. If this “corner” of space is planned to be separated from the main room, its purpose is taken into account. It makes sense to separate the mini-office with a sliding screen, the winter garden with transparent doors..

Coffee table with armchairs in the bay window.

Sofa area

The sofa in the bay window is made independently or under an individual order. Built-in furniture of this type is very popular, which has convenient storage places in the lower, side parts. A small coffee table, suitable in shape and style, is placed in front of the sofa, and in order to get up from it it was as comfortable as possible – they put a mat of a suitable size.

Sofa area in the bay window of the kitchen-living room.

Window decoration in the kitchen bay window

Curtains are designed to hide the tenants of the apartment from prying eyes. Bay window windows facing the sunny side are draped with thick curtains on a special round cornice. For large spaces, lush, multi-layer curtains are purchased; roller blinds or blinds are more suitable. If the bay window is facing the dimly lit north side, dense tulle is quite enough. There are cases when the windows face “the forest” – there are practically no other buildings, often walking people here and you can do without curtains at all.

Living room interior with bay window without curtains.

Rules for choosing lighting, color scheme

The bay window is an independent zone, isolated from the rest of the room, therefore individual lighting is done in it. Depending on the chosen style, it will be a massive ceiling chandelier, a lamp on a rail, several compact sconces, and spotlights. This ledge is sometimes decorated with decorative lighting, launched along the perimeter of the floor or ceiling..

Lighting in the bay window can be organized using a massive chandelier.

When it is planned to do writing work, do needlework, work at a laptop in the bay window, the lighting should be as bright as possible. The same goes for the mini-nursery – light here must penetrate into every corner of the space. For the working area, bright white light is preferable, which practically does not distort the real color of the food being prepared, which is important when creating some “beautiful” dishes.

A feature of the described zone is that there are large windows and a lot of light, therefore almost any color combination is permissible – the choice depends on the planned interior style. It should be borne in mind that dark tones visually conceal the area of the room, light tones expand it..

Any combination of colors is allowed for decorating the bay window.

The most interesting options:

milky white with chocolate;
pale pink with blue;
tangerine with green-yellow;
saffron with thistle;
olive with zinc yellow;
rusty brown with sand;
fir green with fiery gray;
apricot with lime green;
woody green with dark brown;
platinum gray with fir black;
neon carrot with woody red;
pearlescent orange with golden;
chestnut with light blue;
pastel purple with emerald;
coral with pear.

Bay window design with red and white curtains.

Advice. When highlighting with color, it is necessary to do this without violating the style of the room, while maintaining its integrity.

The nuances of arranging the bay window space

Experts do not recommend cluttering the bay window with tall furniture such as shelving, any cabinets, hanging shelves. One of the most important points when planning a kitchen is to maintain the integrity of the space, but at the same time carefully zone the room. It is separated from the rest of the room by a thin curtain or folding screen, a step or fake columns, a bar counter or a couple of plants in flowerpots, placed so that they are not too easy to touch and knock over. At the same time, the entire kitchen is decorated in the same style – classic, oriental, provence, loft, high-tech, art deco, any other.

Kitchen design in the bay window in purple tones.

Design Tips

When planning a kitchen-living room with a bay window, professional designers recommend the following:

zoning is made quite clear, but at the same time the space should maintain maximum integrity, a single interior style;
it is not advisable to bring a large amount of little-functional decor to the bay window, cluttering it;
if you want to symbolically separate the area from the rest of the room, a drywall arch is made;
when the ledge is used as a dining room, it is advisable to select the table itself according to the shape, the size of the available space;
if the ceilings are high enough (more than three meters), the bay window is placed on the podium;
when designing a workspace in a bay window, you will have to transfer communications – if there is a battery here, it will require high-quality ventilation;
the best option is a tabletop, converted from a window sill, with a decorative ventilation grill that ensures air circulation in the space.

Kitchen-living room with a bay window in light colors.

Conclusion

The presence of an architectural ledge makes the room unique – there are a great many options for its design. The bay window makes it possible to arrange an additional logical zone, increasing the total area of the room. The variety of ideas and projects allows you to design such a kitchen room, including one combined with a living room, in any of the existing interior styles..