How to Coordinate Apartment Reconfiguration: Designers' Experience

When we review implemented projects by designers, questions sometimes arise: is it possible to get this approved? And most importantly, how? Today we talk about the most popular changes in kitchen layout.

Kitchen in the Hallway

To increase the number of rooms in an old apartment, designer Tatiana Bezverkhiya moved the kitchen cabinet to the hallway and joined the passage area with the living room. A large kitchen-living room with a workspace, dining table, and relaxation area was created.

How to get approval?

Moving the kitchen can be approved, as the hallway is a non-residential space. However, in older buildings, a gas stove was provided for. Therefore, to approve the reconfiguration, you have to 'put in some effort'.

You need to obtain permission for additional electrical power, prepare a project for new electrical installation, and complete several documents with the management and electricity companies.

At the same time, you must prepare a project for reconfiguration and re-planning of the apartment and get it approved with 'Mosgas'. The reconfiguration and re-planning must also be approved in the Moscow Housing Inspection. In the end, the apartment becomes more eco-friendly, and the electricity tariff will decrease by 30%.

"Everything is correct, the clients refused gas, approved additional power supply and installed an induction cooktop," — says Tatiana Bezverkhiya.

Layout with Furniture Placement

What else to consider?

When relocating the kitchen to the hallway, you need to plan the placement of utilities and install a pump for sewage. In some cases, you may have to raise the floor or create a raised platform. In this apartment, hot and cold water pipes were installed along the ceiling.

Kitchen-Living Room with Gas Stove

To turn a Stalin-era flat into a cozy family nest, a capital renovation and reconfiguration were necessary. First, designer Tatiana Kraskova created an opening from the hallway to the kitchen and joined the kitchen with the living room.

How to get approval?

"There is gas on the kitchen, so we provided a sliding door between the kitchen and the living room. It's clear that it's not used constantly, but it exists. We didn't hide the gas pipe behind false ducts (this is illegal), but painted it to match the tile on the cabinet. The gas valve was moved to the upper cabinet upon approval. We also decided to get rid of the waste pipe in the kitchen, which required additional approvals," — explains Tatiana Kraskova.

What else to consider?

If you want there to be no boundaries between the kitchen and the living room, you must replace the gas stove with an electric one. How to do it is explained above.

Practice shows that some apartment owners ignore the approval rules and designers' advice, choosing to save money by avoiding kitchen partitions with gas. They do this at their own risk and responsibility.

What are the consequences?

• Based on a neighbor’s complaint, people from the housing cooperative or management company may come to you. Seeing inconsistencies, they might ask you to pay a fine and approve the layout or restore everything to its original state. If you don't comply, you may be required to restore everything to its original condition by a court decision. This also counts as an administrative offense.
• Unapproved reconfiguration can be a problem when selling the apartment. The buyer might try to lower the price due to the layout not being approved.

Sink by the Window

The main task in creating a project for an apartment in a panel house was convenient and functional furniture arrangement. Architect Evgenia Lykasova positioned the kitchen cabinet so that the sink was by the window, and the remaining area fit a small fold-down table with chairs.

How to get approval?

You can move the sink away from the pipe along the wall without approval. However, moving it to the opposite wall or center of the room (with an island setup) requires approval. For that, you need to submit an application, project (sketch), copies of documents on the apartment, and technical passport to the 'Single Window Service' in the local housing inspection office. Approval will take 20–40 days.

What else to consider?

You need to plan the utility connections with metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes from the risers. For drainage, a slope is required, which means in some apartments, you may have to raise the work surface by the window. If the window is far from the riser, install a forced sewage pump: it pumps water from the sink and sends it to the riser.

Another point: to place the sink by the window, you must move the radiator to another wall or remove it — the possibility of removal in most cases is resolved with the management company. However, there is another option: "In this kitchen, the radiator was not moved anywhere; it's located in the niche under the window. For ventilation, we provided slots at the top of the countertop and at the bottom of the kitchen cabinets — they are located in the base and not visible at all. This helped ensure proper ventilation. In this case, additional approval is not needed," — explains Evgenia Lykasova.