Why there are no halls in Europe

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

The second reason for the lack of entrance halls is the high cost of heating. Europeans freeze in the winter - in the truest sense of the word. Save gas. Many houses have fireplaces that partially save the situation, but you cannot heat a large area with a fireplace.

There is another, rather strange reason for the traditional absence of hallways in European houses. It’s much cleaner than ours. You come in clean shoes that do not even require a rug at the entrance. And why are shoes getting dirty and dusting less than ours? The mystery, however.

In Russia, the hallway is an integral part of housing. No way without it. So it has been for centuries. The canopy is the same hallway. They were needed so as not to chill 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 if there is a spacious entrance hall or hall in it.

Even in budget apartments, at least a tiny entrance hall is required. Here they use literally every free centimeter 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-playing" products that do not require a refrigerator. Typically, these cabinets have mezzanines, where seasonal things are stacked.

Reference! Owners of vestibules for several apartments often use them, for example, to store large bags on wheels. Some put in the vestibule lockable chests with ... But let this remain the secret of the owners.

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

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 to a large lounge-lounge. Sometimes there is also a kitchen.

If there is no built-in wardrobe, usually a coat rack is placed right at the door. In my common-law husband’s apartment, the galoshnik stood in the bathroom, and it was very convenient. Although, of course, at first it was unusual to go through the whole living room right in street shoes to change shoes in the bathroom.

A soft leather sofa, a coffee table, and a piano were placed in the lobby, where the children learned to play.

A fairly spacious kitchen was in the same space and did not separate from the hall.

All our free time we spent in this space and loved this spaciousness, in comparison with which the rooms seemed cramped, restricting 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 pass, whether someone goes down from the upper floors, does the door slam in the entrance, or does the cleaning woman wash the floors - all this is heard in detail.

Sometimes neighbors may accidentally see you in negligee at the open door. Still, you are in your kitchen, and they are in the stairwell. Gradually, I replaced the housecoats with more civilian clothes. Habit is second nature. So I still go, although now a hallway separates me from the staircase.

Below is a photograph 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 rather large storage room. Here are two spacious shelving and galoshnos. But there is not enough space for clothes, we hang them on hooks nailed from the back of the door. This disadvantage is more than compensated by the presence of spacious wardrobes in the rooms.

In the arch there is a table with a lower shelf. This is an ideal place to store the necessary papers, prospectuses. On the table we put the keys to the apartment, notes with urgent matters, current accounts.

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

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