Can you merge the gallery with the living room or kitchen?
Yes, if the wall between them is not load-bearing or the structure is reinforced by calculation, and the gallery glazing is brought up to the necessary level of insulation. Merging gives a bright dining area, a study or an extension of the kitchen, but three issues must be settled: structure, heat and permissions.
The Eixample gallery is a thin glazed strip 1 to 1.5 m wide along the courtyard facade, where laundry used to be washed and hung. The wall between it and the room is often a facade and load-bearing wall, and the glazing is single glass in a timber frame. So you begin not with furniture but with a survey of the wall and windows.
Do you need permission to change the gallery windows?
Almost always. The windows and gallery face the block's inner courtyard, but they are still the building's facade, and replacing them is agreed with the comunidad. Sometimes city permission is needed, especially if the building is protected or the courtyard facade has a unified look.
General rule: the outside appearance must not change. The profile, colour and glazing pattern must match the other galleries in the courtyard. A thin timber frame can be replaced with aluminium or thermally broken timber, but repeating the original colour and division. So the first step is to read the building statutes and consult the planning office, not to order windows. We have a separate article on the rules for changing windows.
How do you insulate a gallery?
Start with the glass and the frame. Single glass in an old frame loses several times more heat than modern double glazing, and gaps let in cold and noise. Frames are replaced or restored, with double glazing and seals fitted. If the facade rules allow only the inner layer to change, a second glazed line is added inside.
Next, thermal bridges. Heat escapes through concrete floor and ceiling slabs, metal elements and window reveals, and damp and mould appear in the corners. For that you insulate on the inside with a thin layer, create a thermal break and ventilate so condensation does not build up. Underfloor heating, a radiator or a convector in a niche under the window completes the picture. In summer blinds or external roller shutters help: the gallery heats up like a greenhouse.
How do you protect the gallery from heat and from being overlooked?
You need sun control and privacy. External roller blinds or awnings if the comunidad allows, interior roller blinds with solar fabric, pleated blinds and curtains that diffuse light. They protect from the sun and from neighbours' eyes across the courtyard.
For privacy without losing light, frosted or fluted glass in the lower part of the window, a diffusing film, slim tilting slats and linen curtains all work. With motors and automation you can create scenes: open in the morning, closed at midday. For the evening you want warm, diffuse light, not ceiling spotlights: at night the gallery turns into a glass showcase and everything can be seen from outside.
Where does the laundry go when it leaves the gallery?
Into a closed cupboard or a utility room in the bathroom, store or corridor. A modern washer and dryer are stacked in a column in a niche with doors, with water, drainage and power, and a condenser dryer is given a drain. Laundry is dried in the dryer or on a pull-out rack.
If you want to keep drying in the gallery, hide it behind a sliding screen or a cupboard with a rail, not left on show. Hanging a rack on the courtyard facade is usually forbidden: building statutes often ban it. In a luxury flat the main thing is that the laundry moves to a separate room with ventilation and acoustic insulation. More in the article on laundry and drying.
How do you use the gallery once it is integrated?
Popular uses: a dining area next to the kitchen, a study with a view of the courtyard, a reading nook, a winter garden with vertical planting, an extension of the kitchen with a bar. A strip 1 to 1.5 m wide suits a bench with storage, a work desk along the window and indoor plants very well.
A single floor material with the adjoining room works well, so the boundary disappears. If levels differ, the height is evened out. The opening between the room and the gallery is made wide, with sliding glass doors that can be closed in winter. That gives one bright continuous space in summer and saves heat in winter.
How does BCN YARD work with galleries?
We survey the wall and the glazing, check the building statutes and the courtyard restrictions, propose an insulation solution and prepare the estimate. We run the project in Russian and Spanish: our own crews and trusted subcontractors, one person responsible for the project. Send photos of the gallery and the plan and we answer within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Can you merge the gallery with the living room?
Yes, if the wall is not load-bearing or is reinforced by calculation and the gallery glazing is insulated. The wall is often a load-bearing facade wall, so a technician's survey comes first. Three issues: structure, heat and permissions. Start with a technician's survey of the wall.
Do you need permission to change the gallery windows?
Almost always: the windows face the courtyard, but they are facade. The change is agreed with the comunidad and sometimes the city. The outside appearance cannot change: profile, colour and glazing pattern repeat the other galleries in the courtyard. Read the building statutes first.
How do you insulate a gallery?
Replace or restore frames, fit double glazing and seals, add an inner layer of insulation and a thermal break and ventilate against condensation. Underfloor heating or a convector in a niche under the window and sun control for summer complete the solution.
Where does the laundry go when it leaves the gallery?
Into a closed cupboard or a utility room in the bathroom, store or corridor: washer and dryer stacked in a niche with water, drain and power. A drying rack on the courtyard facade is usually forbidden by building statutes. A condenser dryer needs a drain.