Choosing furniture for a modern kitchen
For such a multifunctional room as a kitchen, the choice of furniture is an extremely important and responsible task. Furnishing of the kitchen space will be how practical, convenient and easy to care for, the level of comfort in this room for you and your household will depend. At the same time, one must not forget about the environmental friendliness and ergonomics of the purchased furniture, color combinatorics with decoration and decor, stylistically solutions.
Before heading to the store or across the endless expanses of the Internet in search of furniture for the kitchen, answer yourself a few questions, especially the answers to which will affect your choice:
- how many people will use the kitchen and how actively;
- if the growth of the hostess or the owner (the person who will mainly be engaged in cooking) is very different from the average, then it is better to leave your choice to custom-made furniture (too low or high countertops will lead to fatigue during long-term work in the kitchen space );
- the shape and dimensions of your kitchen, the number of window and doorways, the presence of design features that can affect the number, size and location of furniture;
- the presence or absence of a separate room for the dining room - this will determine the need to install a dining group in the kitchen room;
- if elderly people are constantly living in an apartment or a private house, then it may be necessary to replace the traditional dining group with a couch;
- habits of the hostess (owner) in matters of the location of work surfaces - some prefer to do all the kitchen work on the countertops of the kitchen modules, for others they need a table or island;
- how many household appliances you need to integrate into the kitchen and what arrangement of appliances seems most convenient to you;
- the location of the kitchen relative to the cardinal points (the choice of the color palette of not only the decoration of the space, but also the kitchen furniture will depend on this);
- stylistic, color and texture solutions adopted for the design of the kitchen space.
An integrated approach in the selection of kitchen furniture will help you make a successful purchase, which will delight you and your family with its attractiveness, practicality and comfort.
Features of the layout of the kitchen as a factor in the choice of furniture
In addition to your personal preferences in the color, texture and styling of kitchen furniture, the layout of the room itself and the design features of the room play an important role.
Single row layout
The kitchen set, located in one row, is a frequent design solution used for small kitchen spaces in which it is necessary, among other things, to establish a dining group. Also, such a layout harmoniously fits into the room, which, in addition to the kitchen, has a living room and dining room, combined with an open plan.
Corner layout for kitchen spaces
L-shaped or angular layout of the kitchen set allows you to place the maximum number of storage systems, work surfaces and household appliances in the smallest possible area of the kitchen. If the kitchen space allows, then with such a layout, it is possible to install a kitchen island or a dining group. A similar arrangement of the furniture ensemble harmoniously looks in medium and large rooms, just the number of modules can be increased.
Island layout of furniture and appliances
As the name implies, with this arrangement, a module, called a kitchen island, is installed separately from the headset. For many housewives (owners), such a design has become an integral part of kitchen furniture, without which it is impossible to do for a comfortable and convenient implementation of kitchen processes. But for such designs, it is necessary that the dimensions of the kitchen be larger than the average indicators that were adopted during the construction of apartment buildings in the last century.
Parallel layout
The arrangement of furniture and household appliances in two rows parallel to each other are suitable for walk-through rooms, narrow but long. With this arrangement, it is possible to place a sufficiently large number of storage systems and work surfaces. It is important not to forget about the "working triangle" - the location of the stove, refrigerator and sink at the vertices of an imaginary triangle while maintaining the distance between the elements no more than two steps from the hostess (owner).
The choice of facades for modern kitchens
The image of the entire kitchen depends on how the facades of kitchen cabinets look. Classic facades give the room a traditional look, glossy smooth cabinet doors bring a touch of modernity to the interior. Light facades significantly expand the size of the headset and the entire room, bright colorful colors bring a festive mood and keep in tone all who are in the room.
Smooth glossy facades in bright colors are one of the most common design options for a kitchen set. In addition to the fact that such an ensemble looks fresh and easy, light glossy surfaces significantly expand the space. Moreover, such planes are easy to care for, on light facades there are no signs of drops of water.
Facades from a wooden lining of a natural color are a wonderful option for creating a warm and homely cozy design of the kitchen. This design will harmoniously look in any of the variations of country style.
Facades with smooth lines and curves will not only save you from collisions with sharp corners, but will also add originality to the interior of the kitchen. When using smooth lines, the whole atmosphere of the space becomes more peaceful, calm and harmonious.
Kitchen facades with frosted or clear glass inserts give lightness to rather massive sets. This is especially true of the upper tier of cabinets, located up to the ceiling. Glass inserts not only allow you to see the contents of the cabinets, but also visually facilitate the design, which means the whole image of the kitchen becomes more airy.
For a classic interior and neo-classic style kitchens, glass inserts in the cabinet doors add variety and lightness to the image of the room. Glass with crosshairs in the manner of French windows will add uniqueness to the kitchen space, not to mention the fact that in such cabinets you can display the most beautiful and beloved dishes of the family.
The color palette of furniture for the kitchen space
Obviously, a large part of the furniture in the kitchen is occupied by the suite and the whole color palette of the kitchen will largely depend on what color decisions will be made for its execution. If the kitchen is located on the shady side of the building, then designers recommend using light colors for the facades of the kitchen. A sun-drenched kitchen, on the contrary, can be made in darker, deeper tones. But in this case, you should avoid dark glossy surfaces - there may be glare from sunlight that will spoil the entire appearance of your furniture ensemble.
If you are fighting for a decrease in appetite, then it is better to give preference to facades in blue, blue-green tones (light turquoise, mint, pistachio and menthol colors will not provoke you and your family to increase your appetite). Conversely, if you need to monitor constant weight gain or if someone in your household has appetite problems, bright colors (red, orange, lemon) can wake up a passion for food.
Neutral pastel or gray shades of kitchen facades are suitable for an interior in which other design elements are chosen as an accent - decoration features or original household appliances in bright colors.
Contrast furnishings - dynamic kitchen interior
Black and white combinations in the execution of the kitchen set - not only the dynamism and uniqueness of the interior, but also the ability to visually resize the furniture and the entire room. No less spectacular ensembles are obtained using combinations of white, black and wood shades.
The use of a dark color for painting the lower tier of kitchen cabinets and white for the execution of the upper row - allows you to visually create the impression that the room is higher than it actually is. The black and white ornament on the kitchen apron will reconcile two opposite colors.
Black and white interiors of kitchen spaces look very modern, stylish and original. But it’s important to understand that for white facades, a glossy finish will not add to your cleaning worries, but the performance of similar surfaces in black will add time for cleaning.
Snow-white kitchen - a light and clean image of the room
Perhaps the most popular color scheme for the execution of a furniture ensemble in any style is white. And the reason for this is not only the universal possibilities of white color to be combined with any color options for decoration and decor, but also the visual expansion of the space, which is not unimportant for most kitchen spaces in multi-apartment buildings.
White color helps to hide the imperfections of the architecture, especially the layout of the room and blemishes. It is enough to dilute the snow-white set with the bright design of the kitchen apron to get the kitchen interior that is attractive in appearance and practical in terms of care.
Natural tones - cozy atmosphere of the kitchen
Natural shades in the execution of kitchen facades create an incredibly cozy and comfortable atmosphere in the kitchen space. Woody shades look especially impressive against the background of a light, snow-white finish.
To decorate the kitchen in a country house, the natural woody shades of the kitchen facades are a great opportunity to design an interior in a country style or any other style close to rural design in spirit.
Choosing a dining group for your kitchen
If the space of your kitchen allows, but there is no separate room for arranging a dining room in the household or apartment, then it would be logical to set up a dining group within the kitchen space. Depending on the composition of your family, the number of children or older people, you can choose a dining table and chairs for it. In addition to your stylistic and color preferences, the choice of a dining set is also influenced by the amount of time you would like to spend at the meal. If chairs with a back and soft seats, then you will be at the table longer, while stools or hard chairs will help to reduce the time for meals. This must be taken into account for those who are often on a diet or vice versa suffering from a lack of weight.
For those who do not want to spend a lot of time at meals, you can offer the option of a bar counter or even a simple console, which is attached to the wall and rests on one leg. This design is most often used for breakfast and other short meals, but it can also become a place for lunch and dinner in a family where there are no children and elderly people.
A round dining table is an ideal option for a family in which there are small children or elderly people - neither one nor the other will come across sharp corners. In addition, you can always invite a guest to such a table by simply placing a few chairs and establishing an additional seat.
A beautiful table for the whole family and comfortable mini-chairs with soft and comfortable upholstery will transform even the most ordinary kitchen interior. But when choosing soft chairs or small chairs for organizing a dining group within the kitchen space, it is important to remember that you will have to take care of upholstery more often than if they were in a separate dining room.
The original performance of the dining ensemble will not only diversify the furniture of the room, but will also bring uniqueness to the interior of the kitchen space. For example, the installation for each family member of his chair, different in design and even the material of manufacture, can be an original design decision.
A round dining table with a glass top and plastic transparent chairs will be an excellent option for organizing a dining area for a small kitchen. The dining group seems to dissolve in space, adding lightness and airiness to the image of the room.
In a really spacious kitchen, the extended table top of the island can serve as a dining table. If the area of the kitchen room allows, then the original design of the central module and the neighboring dining group will become a highlight of the interior.
Cupboards and display cabinets - to be or not to be in a modern interior?
A display cabinet is not a required piece of furniture for a kitchen or dining room. But no one will argue with the fact that it is such furniture that gives us the opportunity to put beautiful dishes, old dinner sets and the family's collection heritage on public display, but at the same time place everything in the storage system. Such furniture will be relevant in a traditional setting, when designing a kitchen in country style, shabby chic and vintage. But there are many modern models among display cabinets that will harmoniously integrate into high-tech or loft styles.
An old buffet, inherited from your grandmother or found on the expanses of flea markets, can become a highlight of the interior if you organically fit it into a modern setting. Of course, to place such additional furniture you need a sufficient amount of space, which is most often possible in private houses of a suburban or urban type.
Modest kitchen furniture
As a rule, in small kitchen spaces there is no possibility of placing a dining group, and the choice of furniture is limited to the purchase of a kitchen unit. But it is in small spaces that it is more expedient to order the manufacture of furniture, the rational arrangement of which will allow the most practical use of all square meters reserved for storage systems and work surfaces.
Obviously, for a small kitchen room, the snow-white facades of the headset are the most successful option not only to visually expand the space, but also the opportunity not to focus on the shortcomings of the modest quadrature of the room.
The angular layout of storage systems, work surfaces and household appliances will allow rationally placing maximum furniture in a small area of the room. As a place for short meals, you can use the compact console, which is attached to the wall.
U-shaped layout of a kitchen set is rarely used in small rooms of kitchens. In this case, there is definitely no room for installing even the most modest dining set, sometimes you have to partially abandon the upper tier of kitchen cabinets so as not to burden a small space to the heaviest from the point of view of the psychological aspect of the household staying in it.
A small kitchen in the cupboard is ideal for a studio apartment or living room, which serves as a kitchen and dining room.Snow-white storage systems, compact household appliances and small work surfaces located behind the doors of a large cabinet can very well replace a large full-fledged kitchen.