Why there is no hallway in Europe: the front door leads to the hall-living room

The absence of hallways in European houses and apartments is not only a tribute to tradition. Lack of space for construction makes it necessary to come up with the most economical housing options. And this is the main reason.

The second reason for the lack of hallways is the high cost of heating. Europeans are freezing in winter - in the truest sense of the word. Save gas. Many houses have fireplaces, which partially save the day, but a large area cannot be heated by a fireplace.

There is one more, rather strange reason for the traditional absence of hallways in European houses. It's much cleaner there than here. You come in clean shoes that do not even require a rug at the entrance. And why do shoes get dirty and less dusty there than ours? A mystery, however.

How our hallways look like

In Russia, the hallway is an integral part of housing. You can't do without her. So it was from time immemorial. The canopy is the same hallway. They were needed so as not to chill out the house, not to bring dirt into it. Outerwear and shoes were left here. In addition, the canopy simultaneously served as a warehouse, a barn and a refrigerator.

It is no coincidence that in our time the cost of an apartment increases significantly in the presence of a spacious hallway or hall in it.

Even in budget apartments, at least a tiny entrance hall is required. Here literally every free centimeter is used for hangers, galoshes, mirrors. If the architecture and area of ​​the apartment allow, in the hallway they make built-in wardrobes for clothes and even for storing "long-lasting" products that do not require a refrigerator. Typically, these cabinets have a mezzanine, where seasonal items are stored.

Reference! Owners of vestibules for several apartments often use them, for example, for storing large bags on wheels. Some put in the vestibule locked chests with... But let it remain a secret of the owners.

But the happy owners of large halls often combine the hallway with the living room in the hallway, installing floor lamps, comfortable armchairs, coffee tables and even sofas there. And in this they approach the inhabitants of Europe, who traditionally did not have a hallway at all. Clothes are usually kept in closets, either built-in or ordinary. Shoes are put there.

Italian houses and apartments with a hall-living room

I'll tell you about Italy, because I lived there for many years and saw everything with my own eyes.

In Italian apartments, as in houses, there are rarely hallways. Usually you go straight from the street into a large hall-living room. Sometimes the kitchen is also located here.

If there is no built-in wardrobe, usually a hanger for outerwear is placed right by the door. In the apartment of my civil husband, the shoe was in the bathroom, and it was very convenient. Although, of course, at first it was unusual to walk through the entire living room right in street shoes to change shoes in the bathroom.

A soft leather sofa, a coffee table and a piano, on which the children learned to play, were placed in the hall.

A fairly spacious kitchen was located in the same space and was in no way separated from the hall.

We spent all our free time in this space and loved this space, in comparison with which the rooms seemed cramped, limiting freedom.

I must say that it is not very convenient to live near the front door. Any noise from the stairwell is heard. Whether neighbors are passing by, someone coming down from the upper floors, a door slamming in the stairwell, or a cleaning lady washing the floors - you can hear all this in detail.

Sometimes neighbors can accidentally see you in negligee through an open door. After all, you are in your kitchen, and they are in the stairwell. Gradually I replaced dressing gowns with more civilian clothes. Habit is second nature. I still walk like this, although now the entrance hall separates me from the staircase.

Italian houses with hallways

Below is a photo of a typical Italian apartment with a small entrance hall. A large kitchen is hidden behind a glass door. To the right of the front door is a fairly large storage room. There are two spacious shelves and a shoe cabinet. But there is not enough space for clothes, we hang them on hooks nailed on the back of the door. This disadvantage is more than compensated by the presence of spacious wardrobes in the rooms.

There is a table with a lower shelf in the arch. This is an ideal place to store the necessary papers, brochures. We put the keys to the apartment, notes with urgent matters, current accounts on the table.

As you can see, Italians are also gradually coming to the conclusion about the need for a hallway, which significantly saves space. Compared to such a hallway, the living room-hall requires much more square meters. And now we spend our free time in a large kitchen-dining room, where there is a comfortable sofa.