How to choose the perfect kitchen without the help of a designer: a complete online guide.

The question "How to choose a kitchen and design a kitchen room?" excites every hostess (owner) who wants to make it functional, ergonomic and stylish. This can be ensured by properly selected or custom-designed kitchen set in combination with well-chosen household appliances, plumbing and professional decoration of walls, floors, ceilings.

What is a modern kitchen made of?

The frame of the furniture to which the facades are attached, the countertop. Cabinets are almost always made from chipboard. This is a fairly wear-resistant and durable material with an affordable price.

Headset doors. A decorative piece of furniture that defines its primary color. Materials: wood, chipboard, MDF. The latter are coated with plastic, Alvic Luxe, films, enamels.

tabletop

The working surface of the tables, into which the sink crashes, the hob. It is made of plastic, artificial or natural stone. Much less often - from wood, tiles, stainless steel.

A decorative element of the headset that covers the wall between the work surface and wall cabinets (shelves). It happens from ceramic tiles, glass, countertop material (plastic, stone).

accessories

Handles, legs, hinges, latches, fixing / lifting mechanisms for furniture from different manufacturers are presented in a wide range, it is very important to make the right choice. The functionality and service life of the entire furniture set depends on the quality of the fittings.

Appliances

It is divided into built-in and conventional, freestanding (the first option fits harmoniously into any design, the latter is more economical). The list of the most common household appliances for the kitchen includes a stove (hob), oven, microwave, refrigerator, extractor hood, washing machine.

A must have in any kitchen. It can be laid on or integrated into the countertop. It is made of stainless steel, plastic, artificial stone.

How to choose the right kitchen, what to look for Special attention when selecting the above elements, our experts will prompt you. This article will give answers to many questions regarding the arrangement of the kitchen space, will reveal the main aspects of the competent choice of furniture.

In order to choose the right kitchen without regretting the decision later, it is important to pay attention to the following aspects: the manufacturer, the material of each element, color, style, layout, equipment, and the cost of the kitchen.

How to choose a kitchen color

One of the most important aspects of kitchen interior design is the choice of color for kitchen furniture. It should be done based not only on personal preferences, but also on the style orientation of the interior, lighting, room size, color scheme of its decoration. If you are at a loss what color to choose for the kitchen, pay attention to the most popular color shades of kitchen sets:

A fairly common choice for creating many modern interiors in a classic style, hi-tech, minimalism, modern. It goes well with white and red colors, metal, glass. Requires a competent lighting device with indispensable illumination of the working area.

The white color of the kitchen surfaces will expand the space of a small kitchenette and make it brighter. But at the same time, it will look boring, even sterile, if it is not diversified with bright accessories, color accents, and contrasting elements.

Brown (wood color)

The color most often found in the design of this room. Kitchen facades made of wood or wood-like make it home-like, conducive to easy communication. Versatile, almost a win-win option.

A spectacular, exciting, very aggressive color, which is more often chosen by people who do not bother with daily cooking and do not spend a lot of time in this room. Keep in mind that the rich red color will stimulate your appetite!

Depending on the chosen shade, the blue kitchen can be made calm and cozy or fashionable and dynamic. Too dark blue is not recommended for rooms suffering from a lack of sunlight.

Calm, relaxing after a busy day, the color of the furniture will restore your peace of mind, set you up for cooking and a pleasant evening at home. Light green facades will help expand the space.

When choosing the color of the facades, keep in mind: too bright, contrasting or dark tones can negatively affect the psychological state of the household, quickly tire the eyes and visually reduce the area of ​​​​the room. Therefore, if you have a small / poorly lit kitchen, or you spend a lot of time on it, light pastel shades will be more appropriate, visually expanding the space and guaranteeing psychological comfort to people - peach, beige, cream, pink, blue, pistachio. Diversify this color scheme can be bright accessories, decorative elements.

1. Be sure to consider the level of natural light in the room. If its windows face the shady side, choose light or bright cheerful colors. Otherwise, the lack of light will be felt even when the lighting is on.

2. Remember that the light surfaces of cabinets and facades (especially white ones) will not only visually expand the space, but will also require especially thorough cleaning carried out at high intervals. And on dark glossy surfaces, fingerprints are perfectly visible.

How to choose a style for the kitchen?

If ready-made headsets are presented mainly in common styles, then custom-made interior design solutions cover literally all the variety of existing styles: hi-tech, classic, modern, country, minimalism, Provence, loft, techno, art deco, etc. To choose from there is only one of them, it is important to decide on your preferences. Consider some of the most popular options:

Classic

A style that remains relevant at all times. A kitchen made of solid wood or its imitation, designed in a classic style, is ideal for people who seek stability and comfort. Due to its massiveness, it looks best in spacious rooms with large windows and high ceilings. Distinctive features– wood color, carved elements, stained glass windows.

The most common style in modern kitchens. Differs in the maximum functionality, thoughtfulness of details. Represents a wide field for design creativity and experimentation due to the huge variety of shapes, colors, materials of manufacture.

The most avant-garde style based on the use of complex shapes, designs, contrasting colors, synthetic materials (glass, metals, plastic). It is obligatory to have the most modern built-in technology, the absence of trifles cluttering up the space. Minimalist solutions are welcome.

This cozy and democratic design style, often called rustic, is characterized by natural colors and materials (stone, wood). Wicker, wooden, metal furniture, wooden facades with elements of artistic forging, hidden or brass-decorated household appliances, etc.

Many styles are used to decorate the kitchen interior, so first of all you should decide which one will be most comfortable for you. Remember that the more avant-garde design solutions, the more likely the interior will quickly go out of fashion.

How to plan a kitchen?

When deciding which kitchen to choose, planning the placement of furniture, it is important to consider the following points:

Existing furniture arrangement options when planning a kitchen space: corner (L-shaped, L-shaped), linear / two-line, U-shaped, island, peninsular. The choice between them depends on the shape, size of the room and the preferences of the owners.

When contacting a specialized company for the manufacture of custom-made kitchens, the designer will take into account these data and offer the best solution for placing furniture, based on your budget and available conditions. If you decide to plan the kitchen yourself, placing the furniture at your discretion, we recommend that you follow the following order:

fridge

working surface

working surface

washing
(under the sink is a trash can)

Such a sequence of jobs optimally corresponds to the sequence of actions of the hostess, allows you to make fewer unnecessary movements, and speeds up the cooking process. Ideally, the distance between food storage, cooking and washing areas should be no more than two outstretched arms. The most convenient location for the microwave and oven is at chest level. Dishwasher, washing machine built under the countertop.

When planning on your own: even if you have carefully thought through everything, it will not be superfluous to consult with the designer of the company in which you order the production of a headset. Moreover, in most specialized companies, drawing a design project is free of charge!

Which kitchen is better to choose: materials of manufacture?

Today, quite a lot of materials are used for the manufacture of kitchen furniture, among which the main ones are wood, chipboard, MDF, glass, aluminum, stone (often artificial). To improve technical and decorative characteristics, MDF is covered with special facing materials: plastic, laminate, PVC film, enamel, special varnish.

You can get acquainted with the pros and cons of the main body / cladding materials used for the manufacture of kitchen furniture, facade sets, countertops, aprons, sinks, as well as the characteristics of fittings of various production in the tables below.

When choosing between glossy and matte colors, pay attention to the fact that fingerprints are more visible on glossy facades, water is more visible on matte ones. When choosing between dark and light colors, remember: pollution is more noticeable on dark facades.

1. Do not combine materials from different price categories. Cheaper kitchen items age faster.

2. You can improve the performance of furniture by choosing more practical and high-quality coating materials for the body, countertops and facades: the long service life of such materials in the future provides significant savings. For example, if the headset body is always made of chipboard, then for MDF facades, enamel or plastic coating is preferable to film.

3. Particular attention should be paid to the selection of material for the countertop, it must be of high quality, since this surface can withstand the main workload.

How much does a kitchen cost?

As you already understood from the above, the main points that affect the final cost of the kitchen are.

The kitchen is the most fabulous place in the house. Real miracles are happening here - meat and vegetables turn into tasty soup, from white powder is obtained tasty pie, and besides, here you can have a secret with a friend and have fun with colleagues. But miracles are possible only if the kitchen is beautiful, clean and comfortable. But it largely depends on what is there. How to choose a kitchen so that everyone is comfortable and well? Let's try to figure it out.

Where to begin?

You started a global reorganization of the apartment and do not know how to choose a kitchen set? It is necessary to start not with him, but with an assessment of the conditions and opportunities. Think first:

1. What exactly is your kitchen designed for - is it just for cooking or for something else.
2. Do you intend to allocate separate corners for some other purpose - for example, a small workshop, a tool cabinet, etc.
3. Are you going to change absolutely everything or would you like to leave some of the furniture, decoration.
4. What household appliances do you already have and what do you plan to buy.
5. What “non-kitchen” appliances will be in this room.

Estimate the dimensions

Quite often, "Napoleonic" plans for reorganization are broken into reality. You have planned that in the kitchen there will be a washing machine, and a corner, and cabinets for dishes, and a refrigerator, and two tables. And what a bad luck - the furniture has already been ordered and paid for, but it is not included. To prevent this from happening, accurately determine the size of the space that you have to fill. To do this, all you need is a tape measure, a piece of paper and a pencil.

You need to measure:

• the length and width of the room;
• height;
• parameters of doorways - width and height;
• parameters of windows, and if there are several of them, then the distances between them.
• parameters of kitchen equipment that is already available, and built-in wardrobes if you are not going to get rid of them.

We draw up a project

Agree that knowing the purpose and dimensions, repairs are much easier. The next step is drafting a project. Yes, it will be a real project, although you are not going to order it from an architect and designer. But do not be afraid, everything is very simple. In order to choose the right kitchen in the future:

1. Take a sheet of paper.
2. Draw the boundaries of the room on it - it is better to do this on a scale (for example, 10 cm on paper correspond to 1 m of the kitchen).
3. Draw sewer pipes and ventilation.
4. Apply objects that are already there - stove, sink, built-in wardrobe.

Now you can experiment a little by determining the number and shape of items that still need to appear in your kitchen. A very convenient option is to cut out squares from colored paper, each of which corresponds to a specific subject, and try to place them on the “floor”, that is, on the plan. When you like the arrangement, you can make the final version by circling the patterns on the sheet. Such rough plan can be done on every wall. If the kitchen is small, it is especially important to correctly distribute the hanging cabinets and, if possible, use all corners.

Important! For such plans, a double sheet of school notebook, but it is best to take a sheet of graph paper.

Define the style

It is impossible to give unequivocal advice on how to choose the right kitchen, because all people have different ideas about beauty. Very often it is not possible to reach a consensus even in the family. Therefore, you just need to know what styles of kitchen furniture can be. It may very well be that your household members are simply frightened by the words “country” or “baroque”, and they will really like the furniture in this style.

In stores and catalogs you can see kitchen furniture in styles:

• modern;
• classic;
• ethno;
• retro;
• high tech;
• eclecticism;
• minimalism.

The list is not exhaustive, as each year brings new trends, and it is possible that in the near future there will be new styles of kitchen furniture - and furniture in general.

Classic

This style is perhaps the most practical. Classic kitchen with wooden or plastic furniture, decorated with traditional “kitchen” patterns. The advantage of such a kitchen is that such an interior indicates a strong financial and social position. In addition, the classic never goes out of style.

Modern

Art Nouveau style is pretentious forms, up to the most fantastic. When you get into such a kitchen, you seem to travel back in time and find yourself in a room a century ago, when the first household appliances were just invented. The complexity of designing in this style is that it is quite difficult to find the right design for a stove or a washing machine.

Retro

The style of the 50s and 60s, dear to the heart of many, with round tables, knitted or embroidered napkins and curtains, wooden stools, antique refrigerators. It turns out a cozy, but not always comfortable kitchenette.

Ethno

Ethno style is a great opportunity to show imagination, since ethno is actually a lot of styles:

• country;
• provence;
• Scandinavia;
• Russian folk;
• exotic.

Why not? Wooden benches or wicker chairs, heavy oak, or vice versa - light Provencal, a table, wicker or knitted rugs, Zhostovo trays, Khokhloma-style doors. Environmentally friendly, functional, moreover, in full accordance with the traditions of various peoples.

Minimalism

The name speaks for itself. Nothing extra. Everything is extremely functional. Very convenient style, especially for small kitchens. However, it is also popular with owners of large apartments - it’s very convenient, hygienic, when there are few objects, there are practically no decorations that can collect dust, dirt, and you can safely get to each item with a rag.

High tech

Highly modern kitchen, sometimes reminiscent of a cabin spaceship. Metal and plastic. Any colors are appropriate - from traditional white or beige to black. Scoreboard, panels, sensors - convenient and effective.

Eclecticism

Perhaps the most popular style - or rather, the lack of a specific style as such. The advantage of eclecticism is that you can use existing items, including your grandmother's favorite chest of drawers, an old but faithful and reliable dishwasher. Any form and materials. Ideal style for a family with not very big income. the main problem is that things different kind, any color somehow harmonized with each other.

Something about the main

Having dealt with styles, consider a few more points. The kitchen, of course, must be beautiful. So stylish design is not the last thing. However, in addition to it, it is necessary to take into account a number of points:

• durability;
• functionality;
• convenience.

You choose a kitchen set not for one day. It is desirable that he served for ten years, or even more. So when choosing, pay attention to:

• on the material;
• on hinges-locks-latches;
• on fasteners.

Important! As for functionality, make sure that everything that your family will use fits into kitchen cabinets and shelves. In addition, you must know exactly what this or that item is intended for and where it is better to put it.

The kitchen should be comfortable, otherwise cooking, cleaning will not be a joy. The modules should be such that you can cook, eat, open cupboards, and just walk around the kitchen without inconvenience.

materials

What should the kitchen be made of? Facades, aprons, countertops, cabinet walls? This is an important point, because in this room there is always high humidity, temperature fluctuations, other adverse factors. Therefore, it is impossible not to pay attention to the material when choosing a kitchen.

Most often for facades are used:

• plastic;
• metal;
• glass;
• Chipboard or chipboard,
• wood;

Important! It is very rare that the entire headset is made of the same material. As a rule, combinations are used - wood or chipboard with glass, metal with plastic.

Pay special attention to materials:

• countertops;
• apron.

In addition to the listed materials, from which both facades and countertops are made, the following can also be used:

• stone - both natural and artificial;
• ceramic tile.
• the apron can be with a mirror coating.

The main criterion in both cases is wear resistance.

What will be in the lockers?

Determine what should be in the cabinets in order to choose the right kitchen set - a dryer, a bar, a carousel basket. Manufacturers offer a lot of options. All sorts of drawers will make your life in the kitchen more orderly and comfortable.

Color

White is not the only possible color for kitchen furniture. It can be gray, beige, bright red, even black. However, keep a few things in mind:

• kitchen dimensions;
• the style you have chosen;
• the tastes of your household.

Useful tips on how to choose a kitchen:

1. A small kitchen will look smaller if it is painted in dark colors and put dark furniture there.
2. On the contrary - light walls, light furniture visually increase the size of the room.
3. A one-color kitchen is not the best solution. It is better to choose a combination of different shades. Of course, the color scheme should appeal to all family members.

Appliances

You have already determined where the dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator and everything else will stand. Now it remains to decide where and how you will buy them - or leave the ones that are already there.

You can buy household appliances:

• together with a headset in the same salon;
• separately in the hardware store.

Important! The first option is more convenient in the sense that in the store you can easily pick up suitable items not only for their intended purpose, but also for design. But the second option may be more budgetary.

Let's go to the store

Having decided on the goals, objectives, materials, location, we go to the store. One of the most popular is IKEA. There you can find kitchens of German and Italian manufacturers, relatively inexpensively. But Italian kitchens are most often designed for large rooms.

Russian kitchen sets are cheaper than Italian or German ones. Their advantage is that they can be designed for a small kitchenette. However, there are more expensive models for large rooms. They are designed for economical people who will not follow the vagaries of fashion and change furniture every year.

1. Once it was believed that the sink, stove and countertop should be on the same level. But designers and kitchen owners eventually came to the conclusion that it is better when the hob, countertop, sink are at different levels.
2. Absolutely all items in the kitchen must be accessible.
3. Choose a material that is easy to care for. For example, if we compare wood and glass or tiles, then wood in any form loses significantly. Even plasty will be less practical if it is of inadequate quality.
4. Do you need draperies in the kitchen? - Without light curtains, of course, it is difficult to do. But do not hang heavy fabric curtains. If you really want to completely close the window, choose light blinds - metal, bamboo, plastic, depending on the design of the kitchen.

Before you finally decide, wander through specialized sites. Perhaps it is there that you will find interesting solutions - and you will certainly be able to determine the prices. We hope that now you have a clearer idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow to choose a kitchen, and you will be able to successfully complete it so that the set will please you for several years.

Sooner or later, people think about buying a new kitchen. It is not difficult to do this, the market is full of interesting offers. The huge variety forces people to look for the answer to the question: how to choose a kitchen. After all, furniture should combine comfort, beauty, aesthetics, convenience and practicality.

The kitchen is an important part of the home. Here family members communicate, have breakfast, talk over a cup of tea, discuss important matters. A man loves the kitchen, because delicious food awaits them here. Women view this space as a workshop where they can demonstrate their culinary talents.

Detailed action plan

If you are buying a new kitchen, approach the task responsibly. Think carefully and discuss the subtleties with loved ones.

I will share the instructions for choosing kitchen furniture, which I use myself and recommend to friends.

1. Measure the walls, the height of the ceiling, the distance from the floor to the window sill.
2. Make a plan. Get together with your family and discuss the points: the amount of kitchen furniture you buy, the placement of the kitchen set in the room, the purchase of household appliances and equipment.
3. Create a kitchen design. On a sheet of paper, draw the scale of the room and place the sink, gas stove, furniture. If the kitchen is small, try to use the corners as much as possible.
4. Decide on a style. Find the sweet spot in design and functionality.
5. Visit furniture sites, look at online stores. Look at the options and prices offered.
6. Decide on a budget. On the sites you could see the cost of furniture per linear meter. These numbers are provisional. Sometimes the cost of furniture does not include the filling of cabinets.
7. Go around furniture stores. Check out the range and prices. Consult with consultants and designers. Based on your dimensions, they will create a sketch of the future kitchen in a computer program.
8. In addition to furniture, consultants often offer additional shelves and filling for cabinets. Consider if you need kitchen scales, baskets, drawers, shelves.
9. Pay attention to the purchase of household appliances. Take your time, read reviews and reviews.

How to choose a custom kitchen

Modern furniture manufacturers provide an opportunity to purchase a custom-made kitchen.

1. Decide on a budget if you are not a millionaire. Firms operate in different price segments. The cost of furniture directly depends on the originality of design, fittings and materials.
2. Look at accessories and home appliances. If the family is large, an ergonomic and functional kitchen will be required. If there is no time for cooking, you can choose more additional appliances. If you don’t like cooking at all, you can bet on beauty.
3. Choose a style. In most cases, we are talking about classics, modern or country.
4. If you have decided on a price range, contact representatives of several companies. During the conversation, ask to calculate the cost of the kitchen.
5. In most cases, there is no charge for face-to-face consultations. On site, a specialist will create a kitchen project, taking into account the layout of the room and your wishes.
6. Decide on the material. Kitchen furniture is made of solid wood, chrome, glass, MDF and chipboard.
7. Ask for information about fittings and accessories. For example, shelves, handrails and all kinds of baskets can come in handy. Let the manager calculate the cost of all options, and you will choose the best one.

Video tips

How to choose a kitchen so as not to overpay

Many live in small apartments with small kitchens where the family gathers daily to eat or chat. Therefore, people strive to make this room as comfortable as possible.

If there is not much money, in order not to overpay, you will have to buy an economy class kitchen. Such a headset is distinguished by its low cost, acceptable quality and the ability to combine elements.

What to pay attention to?

1. Materials. Inexpensive kitchen sets are made of MDF and chipboard.
2. Chipboard - a board based on sawdust impregnated with glue. Advantages - ease of processing, water resistance, strength.
3. MDF is a board made up of wood shavings. They are made from dry wood fiber using a special connecting agent. After forming, the board is pressed under high temperature.
4. When choosing inexpensive kitchen furniture, pay attention to the design. Difficulty affects the final cost.
5. An important point in choosing a cheap kitchen is the number of drawers. Even cabinets of the same size cost differently.

In any city there are many shops selling economy class kitchen sets in a large assortment.

It makes no sense to buy an expensive kitchen for a summer residence, because it is visited only on weekends and during holidays. The ideal solution for a summer residence is inexpensive furniture.

We decided to choose inexpensive furniture made of chipboard and fiberboard for the country kitchen. These headsets are inexpensive and great for giving.

1. Chipboard. The cheapest option. For the manufacture of chipboard, crushed wood chips are used, which, after mixing with the resin, are pressed. Synthetics are used in the production of plates, so such furniture is slightly toxic.
2. Fiberboard. A headset made of this material is a little more expensive. Fiberboards are made by pressing dry wood fibers. Then they are covered with a film for the sake of giving a beautiful appearance. The level of toxicity is much lower.
3. You can save money on buying kitchen furniture. To do this, you need to buy lockers 0.8 meters long. Two cabinets of 0.4 meters will come out more expensive.
4. You can reduce costs by abandoning patterns, metal and glass decorations.

We select the design of the kitchen

Choosing a design is a fun activity. The design of the kitchen must be selected, guided by the color used in the apartment. I will consider important points regarding design selection.

1. The kitchen should consist of three functional parts: the passage area, the work area and the dining area.
2. Free zone . Should allow you to move freely around the room. A person should have quick access to all points of the kitchen, getting to them without touching anything.
3. Work zone . In most cases, it is done along the wall. It is a working line, which includes a washstand, a sink, a gas stove and a work surface.
4. Canteen . In this part of the kitchen, a dining table is traditionally placed. For small spaces, a folding table is an excellent solution. It does not take up much space and can grow in size.
5. The lower part of the work surface is most often represented by cabinets for storing dishes. Cereals, spices and kitchen utensils, including kettles, mixers and toasters, are stored in the upper part.
6. In spacious kitchens, the work surface can be placed in the center of the room.
7. L-shaped work areas are suitable for small kitchens.

It is easy to choose and buy a kitchen set in our time without even leaving your home. By visiting the online store, you can choose the cuisine, color, design and location.

When choosing, you should be guided not by bright external impressions, but by the results of an expedient and productive analysis. The durability of furniture directly depends on right choice.

Looking to freshen up your furniture after a renovation? It is not known how to choose a kitchen set? Below you will find 8 helpful tips.

Add to list important elements includes decoration, accessories, furniture. Since this room is affected by a titanic load, the choice of a kitchen set should be approached seriously and slowly.

In order for the kitchen to fully meet the needs and serve for a long time, it is worth considering the manufacturer, material, style, color, functionality and convenience. Let's take a closer look at these factors.

1. Manufacturer . A proven company with many years of experience and warranty service will help save time and avoid unwanted problems.
2. Material. Kitchen furniture is made from various materials. The base of the cabinets is natural wood or chipboard. For the manufacture of facades, MDF is used. Doors can be ordered in aluminum or solid wood.
3. Color. Strive to match the color of the furniture with the room. With the help of color, you can expand or reduce space, affect appetite and mood.

Interior style

Decide which of the interior styles you like the most.

1. Modern. Kitchen, modern style, comfortable, no frills, littering the space. Suitable for lovers of functionalism, modern built-in appliances and stylish accessories.
2. High tech. Modern small kitchens with excellent filling, built-in appliances with a wide range of functions.
3. Country. Suitable for fans of simplicity and comfort. The style is considered rustic and very romantic. The highlight are cute accessories, beautiful curtains, dried herbs, bunches of onions and clay pots.
4. Provence. Style is considered an excellent option for sophisticated ladies. Wooden furniture goes well with carving and hand forging. True, the cost of such pleasure is exorbitant.

Choosing a headset is a crucial moment, as it will last for many years. Don't skimp on buying furniture. Even if you want to buy a standard solution, be sure to pay attention to all the little things.

Video expert advice

I dedicate the last lines of the article to the assembly of a kitchen set. Only expensive furniture of the factory is produced in assembled form. Ordinary headsets have to be assembled on site. If skills permit, you can assemble it yourself. If not, professional assemblers will quickly and efficiently complete the work for 10% of the furniture price. Assembling a kitchen is a lengthy process that can take up to 8 hours.

When drawing up a design project new apartment at a certain stage, the question inevitably arises of how to choose the right kitchen. The question is considered one of the most difficult, since this part of the apartment, being on the one hand a place for cooking, must contain production equipment, and on the other hand, this is a place where people spend a lot of time and receive guests, so it must be “on a level” .

Issue price

Choosing the right kitchen is best to start with the budget that you are willing to spend on a set, and then bypass furniture stores or browse catalogs and understand what kind of style you need. Very often, apartment layouts have rooms that differ from the correct parallelepiped, and therefore the next step will be a thorough measurement of the room. You should have a plan of the room with the designation of the dimensions of each of the sides, and if there are angles other than straight lines (90 °) in the room, then it is advisable to indicate the exact angle. In any case, after you have chosen a kitchen, you need to make a full-fledged order for it in a furniture store, after which all measurements will be taken by the measurer. He will take into account all the subtleties and nuances of the size of the room, as a result of which the headset you need will be installed, ideally tailored to the size of the room.

When answering the question "How to choose a kitchen", you also need to check the following points:

- its bodies must be made of laminated chipboard furniture board; unlike ordinary furniture board, laminated board is heat-resistant and moisture-resistant, it is very easy to remove stains of various nature from the laminated surface using household reagents;

- it is very important that the ends of the body parts are treated with PVC-based edging material - this will not only give the product a more aesthetic appearance, but also prolong its service for a long time.

Material

As a hull material for the production of kitchens, they are used (in descending order of price) wood, multiplex, MDF and chipboard. More than 40 types of wood are used for furniture production. It is carefully dried and treated with special compounds to protect it from environmental influences.

The natural multiplex material has also proven itself well - thin layers of wood of various species glued in different directions. This material is less exposed to water than solid wood and does not deform.

Most often, modern chipboard, MDF and other types of plates are used for the manufacture of kitchens. If funds allow, it is better to prefer MDF as more durable and environmentally friendly. pure material. When buying a chipboard kitchen, ask the seller for a hygiene certificate, which should indicate the level of formaldehyde emission.

Get ready for the fact that almost all manufacturers have a frame made of chipboard (the exception is author's designer kitchens or the most expensive elite models). But don't let that discourage you. Modern chipboards have nothing in common with chipboards soaking at the ends, which are familiar to us from a past life. In Europe, over the past three years, weighted chipboards with excellent moisture-resistant impregnation have been produced. They have an increased density and are 15% heavier than usual ones, since they contain twice as much paraffin and 45% more glue. And German manufacturers also process chipboard in vacuum plants, additionally compressing them. The standard thickness of the plates is 16-18 mm, there are also especially strong ones - up to 21-24 mm thick.

Facades, that is, the doors of cabinets, drawers and shelves, are also often made of chipboard coated with melamine or laminate. Depending on the processing of the edge, two methods of coating are distinguished - postforming and softforming. Postforming is a processing method in which finishing material smoothly transitions from the main plane to the ends. It is clear that such a coating is more expensive and better, because, unlike softforming, it has no seams.

MDF (wood dust pressed on an adhesive basis) is considered more perfect than chipboard. This dense, non-deformable material surpasses even natural wood in strength. It is also good because it is very flexible in production: MDF boards can be molded, giving them any of the most intricate configurations. From matte, varnished or laminated MDF, kitchen facades are often made with various decorative borders. MDF is more expensive than chipboard by about 13-15%.

An even more expensive material for kitchen facades is solid wood. It is 10-25%

more expensive than MDF. If your choice fell on solid wood furniture, we advise you to interrogate the seller with particular predilection what exactly is made of wood. Usually, only the door frame is made of solid wood, and the panel itself is laminated under a tree or MDF veneered. The fact is that completely wooden doors are sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature and are often deformed. That is why most factories, fearing complaints, produce only a frame from an array. If the kitchen is completely wooden, as they like to do in the Scandinavian countries, the array undergoes an expensive treatment with special impregnations, including antiseptics, and is covered with a special varnish.

Facades made of type-setting wood look attractive and unusual: the doors are made of multi-colored beech, walnut, oak, acacia, cherry blocks. Experts say that the type-setting facade is very strong and less susceptible to external influences than those made of solid wood. The facades are also made of wooden frames with glass, smalt, tiles, and wickerwork. The latest trend is stainless steel doors. True, fingerprints from such a surface are rubbed off with difficulty.

AT recent times metal is becoming more and more common in the production of kitchen equipment. On the front panels, incl. cabinet doors, softer, compared to steel, aluminum with an anodized coating (which increases its wear resistance) is more common. And brushed steel gives the kitchen a spectacular look, but requires careful maintenance. Cabinet doors and shelves are made of modern high-strength glass, because furniture glass can withstand not only big weight but also blows.

Color and style

Get ready to be dizzy with variations and combinations of colors and styles. But we are not afraid of difficulties and choose slowly. Let's start with styles.

Classic. Timeless and timeless classic. Wood furniture, heavy, carved, beautiful, as natural as possible. Of course, not everyone can afford a tree. But if your kitchen has high ceilings, large windows, then classic is your style. The calm and solid atmosphere of such a kitchen will make it your favorite place in your apartment.

Modern - one of the most popular styles. The main thing in such a kitchen is convenience. All the details are thought out to the smallest detail, the mass of conveniently placed built-in household appliances and the absolute absence of unnecessary trifles. Art Nouveau kitchens are not bright, they are open and bright. Sometimes it seems that in such a kitchen there are no corners, they are all gently smoothed. Modern and not flashy, calm and functional interior.

Country also a popular style, one might say, "rural". Everything here is natural: both wooden facades and wicker furniture, bunches of onions and flowers in clay pots all around. You can save money and make furniture from MDF, which is cheaper than wood, but perfectly imitates it. Household appliances are hidden or decorated to look like brass (this is commercially available). A country-style kitchen is cozy and simple by definition, but at the same time convenient and functional.

High tech. Complete opposite country. This is a style in which metal and glass reign supreme. Chrome, painted facades and ultra-modern appliances and accessories - that's what matters. Try not to clutter up the space, "cute little things" are strictly prohibited. It should be beautiful and comfortable, light and spacious.

Style is no doubt important, but choosing it is only half the battle. A lot in the design of kitchen furniture plays color. Blue color brings peace and freshness; green - peace and harmony; yellow and orange improve mood and create a cozy atmosphere; red is annoying, so it doesn’t suit many people, it’s better to choose burgundy or pink color. Color affects not only your mood, but also your natural desire to eat. For example, a bright blue color can suppress appetite, while red, yellow and orange, on the contrary, enhance it.

The kitchen of one color loses in comparison with combinations of shades. For example, kitchen furniture looks very harmonious, in which delicate green is adjacent to soft yellow. This kitchen is cozy and uplifting. Any color combined with white increases the space and adds air to the room. So try experimenting with color combinations, sometimes the result can surprise you.

Advice. If your kitchen is small and suffers from a lack of lighting, choose furniture light colors e.g. cream, pink, lemon. They visually enlarge the space and add light. Blue, gray and green tones are very suitable for the kitchen.

Accessories

The creative process of creating your own kitchen is both exciting and time-consuming. Facades are just a form behind which the content is hidden, or rather the content of the kitchen - its true meaning and purpose. The composition assembled from the modules that suit you must be provided with the correct "stuffing", that is, internal and external accessories. We will only talk about some of the most convenient and ergonomic mechanisms and devices.

An entire treatise could be written about the internal structure of the boxes alone. There are drawers with a double bottom, with removable rubber mats, drawers with linear dividers, with vertical dividers, wooden and plastic cutlery trays. Retractable work surfaces are very practical: boards-tables, under which the same retractable cutlery trays are mounted. Add here a lot of corner retractable and rotating elements, "carousels", which allow you to use up to 90% of the space of the corner section. Many factories offer multi-container carouselnerami ("garbage sorter"). Another handy accessory is metal meshes of various sizes, which are usually stuffed into retractable speakers.

Almost all manufacturers have special shelves and

whether shelves with nests for horizontal storage of wine bottles. Wall rails and railings are truly indispensable devices: you can hang on them and always have various small kitchen utensils at hand. It’s a good idea to add a metal pole-rack with rotating semicircular shelves to them for beauty and convenience. Completing the kitchen, pay attention to the showcases equipped with sockets or niches with shutter doors for toasters, coffee makers, mixers.

A useful mechanism is the "argument of the move" device. All "sliding" elements can be equipped with it: the last three centimeters of the way the door or drawer make themselves and close tightly. By the way, drawers are practical, which can withstand a load of up to 80 kg and are fully extended, and not 75%, as usual. These are most often found in German manufacturers.

Another interesting mechanism is the unbuttoned clip-on loops. They allow not only to easily remove the doors, but also to rotate them 180 degrees. So it is more convenient to take care of the facade. Have you heard about such cunning devices as an anti-drip groove on the tabletop, shock-absorbing and anti-dust profiles on the doors? Of course, all these "bells and whistles" affect the price of your kitchen.

table top

It is worth talking about the countertop separately, as this is a special element of the kitchen interior that requires personal consideration.

Countertops can be made of laminated MDF, typesetting board, stainless steel, natural stone, tempered glass(which is very expensive), as well as from ceramic dust pressed with rubber (velvet rubber). It is very popular today to use corian for countertops - a high-tech material created on the basis of acrylic resin, mineral filler and pigment. It is surprisingly strong and durable, chemical resistant, non-toxic. But marble and granite (the tops of which, of course, are very spectacular) are not the best choice. Both of them are sensitive to acids, fragile, can crack not only from impact, but also from spilled boiling water.

Many people like the angular placement of the countertop, in which additional seams cannot be avoided. To protect these seams from deformation and make them more durable, they came up with special "ties" - internal metal staples. They are widely used in Germanoh and Italian kitchen furniture.

In addition to the listed materials, natural, synthetic and artificial stones are also used as materials for work surfaces. Granite is strong and wear-resistant, little susceptible to acids; travertine and marble are heat-resistant, but have a porous structure, so stains from fats and wine often form on them. But the marble countertop can be chosen from a variety of colors.

Synthetic stones - crystallite, axilan, varicor, corian and others - are in no way inferior to natural counterparts, and often surpass them in practicality. The basis of artificial stones is sand, quartz, acrylic, glass fibers, bauxite and strong binders. Artificial stone is lighter than natural, easy to process, hygienic, durable and heat-resistant (can withstand heating up to 230 degrees).

Advice. You should not think that an Italian countertop (there are very few real ones) will last for centuries, and an ordinary inexpensive one is afraid of water and high temperatures. Buying furniture for the kitchen, as well as household appliances, is a kind of lottery - lucky or unlucky. Although, in order not to risk, choose materials from well-known and reputable manufacturers.

Kitchen layout

The layout implies various options for arranging the furniture itself.

The most popular is the L-shaped kitchen (corner). It is also suitable for small kitchens, and due to the very spacious corner cabinets it becomes almost “bottomless”.

In second place is the kitchen in one line. It is suitable for narrow spaces or for those who are planning a large dining area.

Fashionable options, but, unfortunately, suitable only for large rooms - island and

peninsular cuisines. In the first, an island (usually a gas stove) is brought into the center of the room; in the second kitchen, the bar counter most often acts as a peninsula.

There are also kitchen options in 2 lines (walk-through kitchen, does not provide for a dining area) and U-shaped (along three walls). Consider which option is right for you.

Increasingly, when planning living quarters, the owners are turning to the principles of harmony in the room according to the ancient oriental science of feng shui. Classical Feng Shui is in many ways akin to common sense. The kitchen area should be comfortable, clean and bright. During cooking, nothing should interfere with you, you should not feel constrained due to inconvenient layout and unnecessary items in the kitchen. It is not allowed to hang bulky shelves and beams overhead during cooking. Consider your kitchen's placement of outlets, vents, plumbing, and odd corners and ledges. With attention to the needs, lifestyle and preferences of family members, a kitchen of any size and layout can be turned into a world of home warmth and comfort.

As a rule, the dimensions of the kitchen are quite small, the most common square is 5-7 meters, which makes the layout of the room quite complicated. The most acceptable option would be to buy kitchen corners in bulk, it will turn out cheaper. This piece of furniture combines not only soft comfortable sofas, but also a dining table. Most importantly, such a corner assembly saves a lot of space.

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