Do-it-yourself niche under the window in the kitchen

"Winter refrigerator" Khrushchev's apartments - options for using a niche under the window

Moving to a new apartment has always been a joyful event for people.

And when, in the 60s, our compatriots began to actively move from their dilapidated wooden houses or densely populated "communal apartments" to separate apartments with central heating, they felt as if people were moving into palaces.

And none of them even thought of a desire to criticize their precious square meters and call them the offensive word "Khrushchev".

Moreover, in each of these apartments there was a lot of good things. For example, a niche under the window in the kitchen is a seasonal kitchen refrigerator.

We must pay tribute to the designers: the walls in the brick houses of that period were built very massive.

Accordingly, the window sills were also immense, which the residents, unfamiliar with the word “design”, tried to decorate by placing pots of flowers on them.

Particularly convenient was the wide window sill in the kitchen, which, despite its small size, allowed the housewives to use the window sill as an additional work surface.

A beautiful kitchen is, among other things, beautiful curtains. How to decorate a kitchen window with curtains, choose the right fabric for curtains, curtains - you can read about all this here and here.

Almost until the 70s of the last century, a refrigerator was considered a rarity and was not in every kitchen.

Given this circumstance, the architects used a niche under the kitchen window to create a kind of refrigerator.

True, such a refrigerator was suitable for storing perishable products only in winter, but, for lack of a better one, it was quite suitable for the residents in the Khrushchev.

Times have changed. Today, the presence in the kitchen of modern household appliances, including a real refrigerator, no longer surprises anyone.

Therefore, the need to put products in a niche under the window has disappeared by itself.

But every housewife wants to make the most of the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe small kitchen in the "Khrushchev", using the niche of the seasonal "refrigerator" as an additional cabinet for placing a wide variety of kitchen utensils in it.

A refrigerator niche is quite suitable for storing a small supply of vegetables and pickles. To do this, it will need to be insulated, that is, to close up a through hole in the wall.

Popular drywall is not suitable for these purposes, since condensation will certainly begin to accumulate between the sheathing and the outer wall. In the future, this will lead to the appearance of mold and the destruction of the skin.

To close the hole, it is best to use brickwork.

The interior design of such a refrigerator will not be superfluous either: plastering, painting, neat design of the shelves, which can be done by hand or ordered by a specialist.

Another option: change the old windows to plastic ones - order from the “windowmakers” and the decoration of the winter refrigerator.

One of the options for using a niche under a window in a Khrushchev apartment is to install a heating radiator in it.

Moreover, among the owners of apartments there are many who prefer the increased air temperature in their home.

And although the alteration cannot be called small, the refrigerator niche in the Khrushchev kitchen is great for installing a battery in it, and such a repair will justify itself.

To begin with, you will have to close up a through hole in the wall using brickwork, then proceed with the direct installation of the radiator.

To avoid negative consequences, it is better to entrust this work to specialists who are well acquainted with the process technology.

After the plumbers install the radiator battery, it will be possible to proceed to the design of the niche.

Advice. The design and design of the niche must fully comply with the overall style decision of the kitchen.

It must be admitted that during the period of mass construction of the 60-70s, design was not a favorite of architects and designers.

Therefore, the interior decoration and decoration in the “Khrushchev” apartment did not differ in particular beauty and variety. The doors that closed the “refrigerator” under the window also looked boring.

From poorly polished plywood, covered with blue or gloomy green paint, complemented by a primitive handle and a rough latch, the doors of the “Khrushchev” refrigerator did not even try to look aesthetically pleasing.

Such a design, of course, does not suit modern residents.

And today there are many opportunities for stylish and varied design. Doors can be made of plastic and ordered from the same company that makes windows. Today their design is very diverse.

The doors can be regular or sliding, made in any color scheme that fits into the overall color of the kitchen.

You can choose the doors for the niche of the refrigerator in the style of the outer panels of the kitchen set, repeating not only the desired color and surface texture, but also the same handles.

Advice. Wooden or laminated facades can be purchased from specialized companies or furniture stores. At the same time, attention should be paid to the quality of the mounting hardware - it must be smoothly ground and not have cracks, notches and burrs.

In addition to the usual, there are many interesting ways to turn the "Khrushchev refrigerator" into a stylish object of the kitchen interior.

One of them is to arrange a car wash. At the same time, the interior space of the niche is perfect for placing water pipes.

Such sinks have a lot of fans - it's nice to wash dishes in front of a window, behind which trees grow, and you can see the blue sky.

However, before reconstruction, you should think carefully and weigh the pros and cons, because in this case, splashes and drips of soapy water will have to be constantly removed from the window panes.

Another non-standard solution is a device in the kitchen niche of a home safe. The depth of the niche will allow you to place a fairly large box of a safe in it, and the massive brick walls will make it possible to close up the external facade with high quality.

Another interesting option began to gain popularity, when all the brickwork from the niche is removed and a double-glazed window is installed in its place.

This option is relevant for apartments whose kitchens "facing" the windows to the north and need an additional light source.

In this case, the double-glazed window can be small, repeating the size of a niche, or have the shape of a circle (semicircle).

A large double-glazed window will add beauty to the kitchen interior if the kitchen window is “extended” to the very floor by removing the brickwork.

Such work cannot be done with your own hands and you will have to invite professionals for repairs - master finishers and window installation specialists.

A double-glazed window, as for a balcony door, some housewives will find it inconvenient, because it will deprive them of the window sill area. However, the problem is easily solved by installing a countertop that is the same as the kitchen set.

When renovating a kitchen, there are many questions. For example, what materials are best suited for flooring?

Which of the five ceiling options to choose for the kitchen? Read in this article.

What is decorative plaster and how to use it in the kitchen? The answer is here.

In conclusion, we can say that a small kitchen in "Khrushchev" is not a sentence.

It is enough to change the view to a more positive one, to think over and rationally use every centimeter, and a creative solution will definitely appear.

Since ancient times, people have had a need to keep food fresh and prevent spoilage. Actually, this led to the creation of such a necessary device in everyday life as a refrigerator. Long before the advent of the modern “rumbling” cupboard of the familiar look, all kinds of ways to preserve food were used.

A possible prototype of a refrigerator under the window is the storage of food in cool basements and cellars.

In Russia, the appearance of the very design of the refrigerator under the window can be attributed to the 19th century. Nobles in the heyday of tenement houses rented such apartments (prototypes of today's apartments). Representatives of this class, who, as a rule, owned country estates, but who also wanted to live in Moscow, had such refrigeration units under the window in the “lordly” kitchens. In the future, these buildings were converted into communal apartments and the presence in them of space under the windowsill compensated for the inhabitants of the devices for storing food that were inaccessible in the Soviet pre-war years.

In the houses of the so-called "Khrushchev" layout (as well as in many "Stalinka"), the builders left a niche under the window sill in the kitchen in order to further install batteries (heating radiators). However, many smart people used this space to install a winter refrigerator, and the battery was moved a little to the side.

The Khrushchev refrigerator, or rather a refrigerator under the window sill in the kitchen, is an integral part of many houses left in the heritage from the 50-70s of the last century. In those days, not many could afford a real refrigerator, and this was taken into account by designers and builders. A sufficiently large box under an equally wide and immense window sill allowed the people to store some of the perishable products in a cool and easily accessible place even in the winter season. It is about how to remake the Khrushchev refrigerator with your own hands that will be discussed further.

Many will agree that in the modern world such sophistication is no longer needed, or at least requires some refinement so that they fit into modern interiors. Although they are called "Khrushchev's", they also met in the so-called stalins.

Actually, in any such apartment, the layout does not allow enough to place everything you need in a small kitchen. And as an option, you can use the cabinet space under the windowsill for more applied tasks. And most importantly, it is clearly necessary to do something with thermal insulation, because now everyone understands that the better the house is insulated, the lower the cost of heating it will be. However, not everything is so simple with the possibility of altering or improving the Khrushchev refrigerator. It is important to take into account a number of very important points that are often forgotten by many homemade ones.

For the sake of order, we will consider the options for modifications that can be applied to the Khrushchev refrigerator and explain the especially important points in the implementation of the chosen method. It makes sense to think of four possibilities:

1. Completely or for the most part close up the space under the windowsill. This ensures a decent and high-quality thermal insulation. As a result, the wall will be leveled or a small recess will remain sufficient for installing a heating radiator.
2. Modify and properly insulate the Khrushchev refrigerator in order to use it for its intended purpose and store food and pickles in it. Even with the fact that no significant alterations are required, there is still a lot to be done in order not to leave even a chance for the cold to penetrate inside the apartment and not get a bunch of negative consequences.
3. This niche can be completely reoriented, for example, into a cabinet or under the installation site for equipment that is unpretentious to low temperatures.
4. Dismantle a thin half-brick partition outward and perform glazing in the style of a French window. The most radical decision.Perfect for cases where the kitchen window faces either the north side, or is closed from sunlight by buildings or trees, the amount of daylight coming through such a window will more than block the lack.

The simplest option is to completely seal the niche. This solves the problem of heat leakage through a half-brick wall and unreliable wooden doors. For residents of the northern regions, this is actually a very rational option. Because any other modifications of the Khrushchev refrigerator will require too much investment to do everything right.

The niche will be closed with a brick. This is the only way to create sufficient protection against external bad weather. You can use SNiP 23-02-2003 (SNiP II-3-79), which provides calculations to determine the required wall thickness. However, it is already clear that for reliable thermal protection it is enough to either simply level the niche with the rest of the wall or leave a smaller niche with a depth of no more than 12-15 cm.

Read and see how to lay bricks in apartment conditions here.

It should be noted that it is best to lay bricks. Plasterboard sheathing options using various heat insulators can subsequently go sideways. This is mainly due to the principles of building walls as such, vapor permeability, etc. If you do not go into details, then if you simply sheathe it with drywall with insulation, then condensation and frost will certainly begin to form between the sheathing and the outer wall, as a result, the wall will begin to bloom and collapse.

If a niche with a depth of 12-15 cm is left, then you can safely use it to install a heating radiator. Although the alternative would be to simply leave it unused, because the window sill, and it is simply huge, is often used as an additional countertop in the kitchen and it is better to leave space under the window sill for legs.

The very idea, albeit seasonal, but of a refrigerator under the window in the Khrushchev kitchen is very practical, it is quite reasonable to try to leave the niche in the same capacity. It is only necessary to bring it into proper condition so that it looks and looks according to the new repair and functions better. We list the main points associated with the Khrushchev refrigerator:

• The back wall is only half a brick, most often there is a vent for the entry of external cold air;
• From the inside there are only wooden doors that separate the interior from the cold of the street;
• Due to the ventilation holes inside the Khrushchev refrigerator, for the most part, outside air with a low absolute humidity outside gets in, so this saves from the appearance of frost and condensation.

So, it becomes quite logical that the main alteration of the Khrushchev refrigerator may consist precisely in replacing the inner door. It should provide maximum thermal protection, which is appropriate in this place. An excellent solution for this task would be to install a door with one leaf made of metal-plastic. It is better to make one sash due to the fact that the profile will be selected the same as on the door or for windows, and it is wide enough. As a filler, you can insert both a single-chamber double-glazed window, for example 4x10x4, and a sandwich panel.

It is better to choose accessories the simplest in terms of functionality. There is no need to add a fanlight system, especially since the overall dimensions will not allow inserting anything significant anyway. The metal-plastic door will be fixed with anchors on the side walls of the Khrushchev refrigerator. From above and below it is enough to seal the space with mounting foam. The resulting door will normally withstand the weight of the window sill on top.

Plastic hinged door option

The second option could be a sliders system with sliding doors. Again, it is better to order them from glazing manufacturers. In this case, the sliding door system will reliably isolate the apartment from the coolness in the niche.In fact, the result is a plastic Khrushchev refrigerator.

Having completed the lining inside of plastic, you get a good well-groomed appearance, not far from the same in a real refrigerator. The main thing is not to stint on the installation of a normal sliding door lock system with fine-tuning. Because such a system is significantly inferior in terms of thermal insulation to conventional hinged systems of plastic windows and doors. Not fully closed sash will lead to a strong draft of cold air through the legs.

And what about the inside of the niche? The hole to the outside, if there is one, is better not to close up, again, because at low temperatures, it is better for outside air to enter, rather than hot and humid inside. So you can be safe and prevent the formation of condensate in large quantities. It is enough to seal the hole with any vapor-permeable heat-insulating material, for example, mineral wool. Options such as foaming or plugging with foam will not work. The inner walls can be sheathed with both moisture-resistant plasterboard and plastic, or even plastered.

Advice: As an additional "bells and whistles" you can bring lighting inside. Again, given the specifics of this niche, it is better to use low voltage (12V, 24V) powered lighting using step-down converters.

A perfectly acceptable option would be to use the niche of the Khrushchev refrigerator as an additional kitchen cabinet. In this case, it is inappropriate to use its coolness in winter, so you have to insulate the wall and only after that proceed with the installation of drawers or shelves behind the door.

The reasons why you should not insulate the niche wall from the inside and explanations on this topic may take a separate article. Everything is tied to the dew point and the detrimental consequences after condensation will inevitably appear between the insulation and the outer wall, and subsequently it will be flexible and mold. You can learn more about this in articles on the topic of insulating the walls of the house from the inside.

So what to do? The best option is if the apartment is already insulated on the outside of the building with the help of cladding with polystyrene foam boards or mineral wool. Then the problem with the insulation of the Khrushchev refrigerator disappears by itself. It is enough to finish the Khrushchev refrigerator with drywall or tiles installed on the mortar, and proceed with the further installation of shelves or drawers.

Otherwise, if there is no external insulation, then the most suitable option would be to lay at least one more layer of bricks. At the same time, the hole for accessing cold air is sealed over the entire length with a mortar with brick chips, or blown with mounting foam.

Important: If any through holes in a residential building or apartment are blown with mounting foam, then the protruding foam must be cut off from the outside and plastered with a mortar layer of at least 3-4 cm.

On top of the sheathing, you can already install either a built-in cabinet, assembled separately, or mount shelves or drawer rails directly on the walls of the niche. In any case, the depth remaining after the back wall is insulated is quite enough to subsequently put a lot of kitchen utensils into the resulting cabinet.

Using a Khrushchev refrigerator to store kitchen utensils and non-perishable food

As an option, with any alterations of the Khrushchev refrigerator, one should not forget that it is possible to transfer the height of the window sill itself for one thing. For the most part, this concerns the window replacement process. Along with these activities, you can move the height of the window sill and equalize it with the height of all other kitchen surfaces. Often it turns out to combine the window sill with a single surface with the transition to the main cutting table. The result will be almost 1.5-2 square meters of usable area, and this will appeal to any housewife.It is also important to take into account changes in the size of the ordered windows.

You can do it quite radically. A thin partition that defines the outer wall of the refrigerator and, in fact, the side walls up to the edge of the window opening do not carry any load. Accordingly, these parts of the wall can be completely dismantled and glazed from the floor itself to the upper part of the window opening. The result is something similar to a French window. This will significantly increase the amount of daylight in the kitchen.

In a simple version, of course, there will be no room for a wide and comfortable window sill. However, this is also solvable. It is enough to divide the window space into two parts and still mount the window sill. A significant advantage will be an increase in the useful area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe kitchen. However, such redevelopment may not fit into any design solution. So you should think carefully and weigh everything before starting work.

Obtaining permits can become a significant difficulty in such a rework. Still, this is actually a redevelopment and, like any change in the plan of the apartment, this will require the design of the project and coordination with the authorities. In addition, this will affect the overall appearance of the building and the city authorities simply may not allow such extensive changes.

As can be seen from the proposed repair ideas, you can usefully use such a gift from the past as a Khrushchev refrigerator. It is important to take into account those moments that can affect the comfort in the apartment or thermal insulation, in everything else you just need to show a little imagination and provide your kitchen with another useful element.

Khrushchev apartments are still relevant in the real estate market: the purchase of such an apartment is often very profitable, since their prices are very affordable. Khrushchev residents, and realtors, know one feature of these apartments, this is the so-called refrigerator under the window, which was built in during the construction of the house. Modern designers have come up with many options for transforming this usable area, which will be discussed later.

During the construction of Khrushchev houses, household appliances were an expensive rarity. Not every family could immediately buy a good refrigerator. In addition, the available models were very large and were not suitable for a small-sized kitchen in Khrushchev's new buildings.

The engineers found a way out: a refrigerator under the window in Khrushchev. For that time it was an ideal solution, although it had its own characteristics. Kitchens in Khrushchev were perfect for such a design; in winter, in the part where the refrigerator was located, it was cold enough to store food.

After some time, household appliances became more accessible to the population, manufacturers began to produce smaller models, and the need for a built-in refrigerator disappeared. But the niche in the wall remained, and the residents of Khrushchev's apartments often have the question of what to do with this element of the interior. There are two ways out: to repair the opening and use it as a refrigerator or a kitchen cabinet with a lower temperature, or to remake the Khrushchev refrigerator and use it for other than its intended purpose.

The main disadvantage of the space under the window is open ventilation and condensation. And modern repair and decoration of the refrigerator under the window, respectively, have the following goals:

• make the temperature difference on the walls less;
• keep a low temperature under the windowsill;
• make this element of kitchen design as aesthetic as possible.

There are two ways to maintain the desired temperature and eliminate condensation: using moisture-resistant and thermally insulating building materials or installing closed-type ventilation. Refrigerators and air conditioners for such a small space are difficult to find and installation will require serious costs.The easiest way is to insert a small fan into the vent: it will not only allow cold air to pass through, but also prevent it from stagnation in a small space.

However, it is even easier to insulate the outer wall, and use heat-insulating materials for decoration: plastic, polystyrene, polystyrene foam, polyethylene foam. The tile keeps the cold best of all, but condensation forms on it, so tiling will require the use of special thermal insulating additives in glue or cement, and ventilation must be of very high quality. As a heater, you can use mineral, glass or foam, heat-insulating concrete or the same foamed polyethylene.

It is important to completely prevent the exchange of air between the refrigerator and the kitchen, for this you need to make tight-fitting doors. Ordinary wooden ones are not very suitable - they must be adjusted very precisely so that there is no heat leakage. Plexiglas or plastic doors are ideal. Sliding metal and plastic double-glazed windows are also hermetically sealed, which can be made to order in companies engaged in glazing apartments and balconies.

However, the glass in such doors will be very cool and reduce the air temperature in the kitchen. To avoid this, it is necessary to order double insulated double-glazed windows or replace the glass in them with transparent plastic.

Since almost no one needs a refrigerator with open ventilation and cooling at present, the opening under the windows can be converted into a kitchen cabinet. In this case, ventilation is no longer needed - the hole can be sealed with mounting foam or concreted. The outer wall can not be insulated if the condensation on it is weak, or a thin insulation with high thermal insulating and moisture resistant properties can be used.

To reduce the likelihood of condensation, the doors must be made airtight, as in the case of a refrigerator. If you order double-glazed doors, then you can make a backlight inside the cabinet, it will be practical and beautiful, especially if the glass is made translucent or stained glass. You can also use mirrors instead of glasses: there is little practical value in such doors, but this option will visually increase the space of a small kitchen.

An alternative to doors can be a cabinet with drawers - this is no less practical, but this option will reduce the thermal insulation of the opening, since it is quite difficult to choose hermetically sealed drawers.

If the owners of the apartment are most concerned about the temperature in the kitchen, you should refuse to use the opening for storing food or kitchen utensils. Instead, the opening can be completely or partially sealed and a second heating radiator can be built in, or a larger one can be installed. To fill the opening, you will have to perform a neat brick laying, then plaster and putty well. You may need to replace the window sill.

Many people dream of having a real fireplace in the house, and the opening under the windows in Khrushchev allows you to fulfill your dream. The outer wall of the opening will also have to be insulated and finished with materials with low electrical conductivity and moisture resistance - and you can put an electric fireplace there that imitates a real fire.

But if it is not the appearance of the electric heater that is more important, but its power, then an oil heater or a stone quartz heating panel can be built into the opening. But reflectors and fan heaters are not recommended to be used in the opening - they require free air exchange, which will not be in such a small space.

Such a kitchen design will require the creation of the correct wiring and grounding scheme.

A sink in a small kitchen takes up a lot of space. Moreover, a problem arises if the tenants need a dishwasher. And the opening under the windows will save usable space. Washing by the window will require altering the sewer and water pipes and replacing the window sill in order to build a sink there.To finish the opening, moisture-resistant materials and insulation will be required to avoid condensation on the walls and pipes.

To install a dishwasher, it will be necessary to change the kitchen power supply scheme. In the same way, a washing machine can be installed under the window.

The window opening in the Khrushchev kitchen is very small and gives little light, especially if the apartment is located on the north side of the house. In this case, natural light can be increased with a French window. The main difficulty lies in the dismantling of part of the outer wall. For such work, not only qualified builders are needed, but also official technical permission for redevelopment.

The French window can be supplemented with a classic balcony: it does not require a special concrete platform, it is very narrow and built into the wall. But you can get permission for a modern French balcony, which requires a concrete platform no more than half a meter wide. Such a platform can also be partially built into the wall. Railings for such balconies are usually made of wrought iron and are very beautiful.

From the above, we can conclude that even a refrigerator under the window in Khrushchev's apartment can be used if you approach this issue wisely. There are many options for its use, the main thing is to choose your own.