Modern designers recently began to use materials not quite for their intended purpose, for example, flooring - for decorating walls in residential premises. So, as a lining for the kitchen, you can use a laminate. This material has excellent decorative and practical qualities. Laminate on the wall in the kitchen with proper installation looks stylish and practical, not inferior to PVC plates and popular wall panels.
Benefits
This cladding has many positive properties.
- A quality laminate will instantly ennoble even the most simple design. The material has wonderful decorative properties.
- Keeping the finish clean is very simple. You only need to regularly wipe the surface with a damp cloth. And you can also use tools that prevent the accumulation of dust.
- Laminate is easy not only to care for, but also to lay (in the case when the basis for the material is not used).
- A rich assortment allows you to choose the perfect pattern for a specific design. An expressive pattern will give the design a special look. Some species replicate tree species, and the tree looks perfect in the decor of residential premises.
- Laminate is an affordable material that can be found in any hardware store.
disadvantages
Each item has a downside. Having considered the positive qualities of the laminate, the negative sides should also be identified.
- Even the most practical and reliable material has increased sensitivity to moisture and aggressive chemical components that make up modern cleaning products.
- Laminate is inferior to some finishing materials in environmental friendliness. In the process of coating production, brands use adhesives and resins. If violations were made during manufacture, artificial additives can adversely affect human health.
Finishing Features
Before using the floor covering for wall decoration, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with some of the features of the laminate.
- Texture, color and patterns. on the surface of the material should be plain. It is not recommended to use panels of too bright colors or with dark spots.
- Strength indicator not important, however it is best to choose a superior laminate. Such products will retain practicality and commercial appearance for a long time. Facing an apron or walls in the kitchen is always in sight. Even minor defects will be striking.
- Optimum lamella width - more than 200 milliliters. Products with side chamfers for wall decoration are practically not used. The wider the panel, the more uniform the finish will look.
Facing the furniture plane and kitchen apron
In the interior of the kitchen, an apron is of great importance. It should be stylish, as it occupies a central position, and wear-resistant.
If you want to try laminate flooring as an apron, select vertical slats. Canvases that copy the colors of alder, oak or walnut will look wonderful. Perfectly fit options with images of large fibers.
It is advisable to use lamels in thick and dark colors if the hinged furniture is painted brown with a red tint. This option will also be appropriate in the absence of hanging shelves or cabinets.
Laminate in a gentle and bright color fill the room with light. Such decor is desirable to use for compact rooms.
In the rich assortment of finishing materials you will find a wide variety of laminate in various colors.
If the apron is several tones lighter than the furniture, you get a contrast effect.
If you want all the elements in the room to harmonize with each other, choose an apron to match the color of the headset. Walnut shades and options with a yellow tint look perfect together.
A winning option is to choose a laminate for wall decoration, the color of which will match the flooring, countertops, shelves and hanging cabinets. All of the above items together will create a holistic composition.
Design solutions
If you plan to use a laminate for facing the main wall in the kitchen, be sure to read the recommendations of the designers.
- Material must be used in moderation. If you apply a laminate to facing all the walls in the room and floor, the interior will be boring and of the same type.
- Warm colors create a comfortable atmosphere in the room, which is very important for the kitchen.
- The color, texture and pattern of the lamellas should match the design of the room.
- The main wall, faced with a laminate, will look great with brickwork on the side wall. If the design is done correctly, the idea that the floor was used for the wall disappears.
- In some cases, designers completely cover the front wall with panels. The decoration is used in various shades and patterns.
- On the main wall in the kitchen, a laminate will look great, which imitates an aged tree, such as oak. Such a design technique will be especially appropriate if one of the walls in the room is faced with wood or wood material.
- In a room with handmade furniture made of solid wood, a wall with a rough wood effect looks harmonious. These products are characterized by massiveness and maximum naturalness. Sometimes some furniture items are not even polished.
Consider a few decorating ideas.
- If the laminate is used to decorate one of the walls, it is advisable to decorate the others with paint or decorative plaster. When decorating with a laminate ceiling, a maximum of what else can be draped with the same material is one side wall
- For finishing vertical and horizontal surfaces in the room, one type of coating is used. Otherwise, a layering effect may occur. In some cases, designers use several types of coating. This is a complex decorating technique that only a professional with both technical and artistic skills can handle.
- The effect of color zoning of the room with the help of lamellas looks good. The workspace where the furniture is located is lined with brown and other panels of dense and dark colors. To decorate the rest of the space, a wider and lighter laminate is used.
An interesting fact: over time, the laminate in the dark color will become even darker. This will give the material nobility and chic.
There will be a tinting effect, which is often used in the manufacture of wooden furniture. Light cladding will retain its color without changing the effect on the overall decorative picture. The result is two expressive and contrasting zones in one room.
Preparation and laying of slats
It should be noted that decorating the walls with laminate is more difficult than decorating floors with the same material. If you plan to lay the panels on a concrete wall, it is imperative to align. This is a complex and time-consuming procedure requiring additional costs.
In case of severe damage, the walls are sheathed with additional materials that reduce the volume of the room.
When decorating a spacious kitchen, experts recommend pre-placing special wooden bars on the wall to which laminate sheets are attached.
The disadvantage of this method is only that on the surface of the material hats of nails will be visible.
But you can also use "liquid nails." They are easy to work with and do not leave any marks on the surface of the panels. However, to use them you need perfectly flat walls. When dismantling the coating, there is a high risk of collapse of the plaster layer.
If you want to make an imitation of wood from a laminate, use the fastening method that is typical for this natural material.
How to choose?
To choose the right laminate for lining kitchen walls, you first need to decide what purpose you chose this decoration method for. If you just want to hide the walls covered with plaster, you can use almost any type of laminate. The main thing is that he be pretty tough.
In the case when the material is chosen to ennoble the room or create an amazing decor, the recommendations of specialists should be followed.
- Discard the lamellas with locks. The only exception is the design of a rounded bay window, but even in that case, the installation process will be very problematic.
- If you use a laminate of different colors, remember that even outwardly similar locks can loosely fit together. As a result, gaps will appear. Facing will look rough.
- The kitchen is a room with high humidity and temperature. The selected coating should have increased resistance to these indicators.
After you lay the panels on the wall, their thickness will increase. Be sure to keep this in mind.
If you plan to sheathe the entire wall from floor to ceiling, discard the use of thick sheets. Otherwise, there will be problems when decorating the upper edge of the slats.
Expert Advice
The underlay under the laminate should be used carefully. If there is a lot of condensation in the apartment, it is better to refuse it. This will negatively affect the appearance of the finish.
If you fasten the material to wooden blocks, you can apply building vapor barrier. In this case, during installation need to be guided by some principles.
- The lath is a membrane between the fastener and the laminate. This allows you to minimize heat loss, but the free space in the room will decrease.
- The kitchen must have switches and sockets. When laying the panels, prepare a jigsaw or an electric tool to make holes for them.
To learn how to make an apron from a laminate in the kitchen, see the video below.