Kitchen sets: types, selection and design

Despite the fact that the kitchen is among the non-residential premises, it is unlikely that at least one modern apartment is able to completely do without it. You may not cook at home at all, but still you need to have dinner somewhere, store at least a minimum set of dishes, and wash dirty dishes. A modern kitchen simply cannot exist without a headset, which is its main detail.

The concept of a kitchen set for each person can be different, but most often this term means a single, that is, an integral set of furniture that allows you to equip the kitchen with all the comfort. Roughly speaking, this is almost all kitchen furniture, which can only be useful in this room, although it may consist of separate elements, but made in the general style.

If you ask an ordinary person what the headset description looks like in his understanding, he will most likely indicate that it is a range of cabinets for storing various products and utensils. This technique of furnishing a kitchen room was not always used and this is understandable - in the old days the poor simply did not have an abundance of utensils, as well as money for good furniture, and most of the products were worth storing in the cellar, and not at home.

Because kitchen sets should be considered the norm only for the last two centuries - It was in the 20s of the century before last that relatively wealthy Americans began to furnish their kitchens. At first, of course, each sample was an individually executed order, but furniture factories that already existed at that time quickly caught the trend of popularizing the new-fangled invention and began to produce such structures by the factory method.

Even if you have a great taste and are able to pick up individual pieces of furniture so that they blend well with each other, it still makes sense to buy a headset, since it will be cheaper, and most importantly, it will ensure a 100% uniform appearance. The components of such a set are absolutely compatible not only in terms of design, but also in size, because all that is required is to have confidence that the set will fit into your particular kitchen.

Despite the holistic appearance, the kitchen set is by no means a single piece of furniture - on the contrary, it consists of a large number of parts, the individual selection of which allows it to fit perfectly not only into the dimensions of a particular kitchen room, but also into the customer’s personal ideas about comfort. The components of a typical kitchen set include:

• lower part in the form of cabinets, shelves and stands - this is the main detail, without which the kit cannot do, because it is with it that the assembly begins;
• upper part - hanging furniture, which are also found in almost every kitchen, they are closed cabinets with opaque doors or analogs with completely open shelves;
• pencil cases - special tall and narrow caseswhich can be used as vertical cabinets for utensils or as an additional “case” for appliances, for example, for embedding a refrigerator;
• mobile furnishings extremely important for cramped kitchens, they are usually multifunctional transformer tables, furniture on wheels, and in some cases even sliding partitions;
• independent furniture not integrated into the overall frame - primarily tables and chairs, as well as sofas.

When deciding on the choice of a headset, it is important to navigate not only in appearance, but also in certain operational qualities - it depends on how durable and practical your purchase will be.

There are not so many materials from which such furniture is made that somewhat simplifies the task of determining the best option, but it must be remembered that almost any set is made of two types of material - one is used to make the frame part, the other is used to make the facade, that is, the front part.

The frame is the main part of the headset, its body, which determines the strength and durability of the whole structure as a whole. While the frame part is held, the whole set is actually held, especially if the facade is entirely made of the same material, therefore special attention should be paid to the main raw materials.

For the manufacture of the frame using the following materials.

• Chipboard. Chipboards in recent years have often been criticized, nodding toward more modern competitors, however this option remains the most common and affordable.For kitchen conditions, in general, this material, which is shavings pressed under high pressure, will suit, depending on the manufacturer’s approach, these can be simple flat plates or more complex figured elements created specifically for the headset of a particular model.

Particleboard is quite durable, such a plate is not afraid of moisture or fire, it is also easy to decorate and does not cause installation difficulties.

• MDF. This is also pressed shavings, like chipboard, but these plates are made using a slightly different technology - there are much less harmful resins or even none at all. Higher strength and reliability is achieved through more thorough pressing and heating of raw materials.

Experts say that a good MDF is no worse than an array of natural wood, but at the same time the price is much lower, and the durability is even higher! As befits the headset material, such a plate is indifferent to changes in temperature or high humidity, and it is also well processed in order to give an unusual carved shape.

• Natural wood. Special honors are still given to this material in the furniture industry, and no modern materials can exceed the useful qualities of the array.

Wooden products cost a lot, but the high price is due to operational qualities: the furniture is very durable and completely clean from an environmental point of view. Himself the material is not afraid of any external influences and is considered to be elite, it combines perfectly with most popular design styles and with age can acquire even more stylish appearance than at first. If necessary, wooden furniture can be properly restored.

Nevertheless, there are also potential minuses, and it’s not only about the highest cost - so, under the influence of sunlight, the tone of the wood gradually changes, and since the sun illuminates different angles of one room differently, over time, the skew of colors will become obvious.

The above types of materials for the frame are relatively rarely visible from the outside: if we are not talking about natural wood, then the appearance of an unclad headset is unlikely to be outstanding. For this reason, manufacturers resort to decorative cladding, which not only gives the product aesthetics, but also allows you to make it individual, unlike other models.

As with the raw materials for the production of the frame, facade material directly affects not only the appearance, but also practicality, and durability, and the cost of furniture.

It is worth considering the available options as closely as possible.

• Film facade today it can safely be called the most affordable, and at the same time the most common. The demand is understandable, because the consumer is attracted not only by the low price, but also by the huge variety of the assortment of PVC film, which differs in color and texture, the presence of embossing and the possibility of subsequent repainting. Such a finish in factory conditions can be beautifully pasted even on a complex figured profile, but the material is environmentally friendly, and is not afraid of burnout and many other types of external influences and protects the frame material from them.

Almost any dirt from the surface of the film can simply be washed off, including with the use of detergents, but it’s not enough to start the finish condition and therefore should not be aggressively scrubbed - there will be scratches.

• Plastic facade It will cost the buyer a little more, but it is considered fashionable, because it looks stylish and bright. The variety of choices here is also worthy - the material is produced in sheets and in rolls, can be glossy or matte, while in any case, the plastic is heat-resistant and reliable.

• Veneered headset lovers of classic styles and natural woody interior will like it. Veneer is a composite coating of thin sheets of natural wood, each layer of which does not exceed 3 mm in thickness. Varnish is always applied over the veneer, allowing you to choose between a matte and glossy surface, as well as extending the surface's life.

The benefits of such a finish mass - this is all the same natural wood that is environmentally friendly and looks amazing, and at the same time, after scratching, the product can be sanded again, giving it a second life.

• Glass facades recently gaining unprecedented popularity, and all because of the endless possibilities for aesthetic decoration - here you just have transparent doors, and color, including stained-glass windows, and matte, and embossed, and even with photo printing. Thanks to such a variety of design, glass looks appropriate in any style, and sometimes it is simply irreplaceable in the interiors of techno and hi-tech trends.

Manufacturers produce several types of such material. Tempered and laminated options are in special demand, but in some cases it is more appropriate to choose triplex or acrylic glass. In any of the above options, the material is completely not afraid of moisture and does not absorb pollution, which greatly simplifies cleaning.

The set is inevitably tied to the walls, and yet even in an ordinary kitchen with 4 walls There are several alternative options for exactly how to place it. The convenience of staying in the kitchen directly depends on this, not to mention culinary exercises.

When choosing it is worth paying attention also to this detail.

• Linear option surely at least once in my life every person has seen - this is the simplest solution, in which all the components of the headset are located along one wall. It is generally believed that for cramped kitchen rooms this is the optimal solution, not cluttering up the space.

• Two-line headset is a direct answer to the question of how to organize the workspace in a very elongated room, and if the door and window are also located on opposite narrow walls, then this is a completely non-alternative solution. Furniture and appliances will take up space immediately at two parallel walls, and although you have to twist, in general it is convenient.

• L-shaped option In recent years, furniture has gained particular popularity, because it offers to fill one of the corners with furniture, creating a working triangle - a tiny space, in which you can reach anywhere in 1-2 steps. For such a layout, a long wall is chosen as the basis, along which cabinets and pencil cases are collected, a sink is often sent to the corner, and the shorter process is filled with what did not fit.

• U-shaped layout while it remains a rarity and is more suitable for studio apartments, where the transition to the living room suggests a missing wall, otherwise claustrophobia cannot be avoided. There will not be much space here, because 3 of 4 walls are occupied by the headset at once, and the designers advise each of them to give a separate function - food storage, cooking and washing. There is usually no full-fledged dining area in such a kitchenette, but you still should not give preference to such a layout in the smallest rooms.

• Island arrangement lately it can be considered a high fashion squeak, but here it is suitable only for those kitchens that are definitely not deprived by quadrature. The point is that the headset, traditionally located near the wall, is complemented by an island - a functional part, which is located just in the middle of the room, without contact with the walls. Anything can be taken there - most often for this purpose they choose a cutting tabletop or dining table, less often a bar or buffet, but the most desperate owners are not too lazy to even conduct communications to equip an island stove or sink.

If you don’t want to completely tear such an element away from the wall, make it a peninsula, leaning it against the wall with a narrow part (usually separately from the main part of the headset).

Choosing a complete set, in one fell swoop almost completely furnish your own kitchen, and once the stylistic unity of the furniture is respected, it makes sense to immediately arrange the entire room in a single style.

In combination with the correct finish of the floor, walls and ceiling, a concept will be created that allows you to make the kitchenette unforgettable, but for this you need to know the general rules for each direction and strictly adhere to them.

• Classic He appreciates the exact geometry, here all the lines are clear and correct. The linear layout of the headset, which in many respects is already a thing of the past, is still appropriate here, since all the alternative layout options appeared much later. At the same time, the rule that the linear headset is usually used in small rooms does not work here - the classic design in principle does not allow excessive crowding, it is designed for chic and, accordingly, plenty of free space.

• Country in many ways echoes the classics, this is a kind of old village in the best possible way. Accordingly, the emphasis here is also on natural products, especially wood, which has traditionally been the main material for the production of something in the countryside. Country is never new, because a specially aged design (or a real rarity) will be very appropriate, and colors, like materials, should be in harmony with nature as much as possible.

The facades of the rustic style headsets usually do not imply outstanding frills, they are quite simple and allow only the old decoration methods - woven carvings and glass inserts “a la vintage”.

• High tech designed to resemble the future, and this is usually achieved through the abundance of gloss and the presence of materials such as steel and glass.Any jewelry that has a purely aesthetic nature is inappropriate in this case, but pencil cases with appliances sewn directly into them, including several “floors”, are what will definitely add authenticity. Inveterate supporters of high-tech style usually start from the achromatic scale of black and white tones and gradations of gray, but with an abundance of gloss, other color schemes are acceptable.

• Minimalism, like high-tech, it is completely not tied to beautiful trinkets - on the contrary, only one name suggests that a minimum of details for such a design is extremely desirable. The requirements for uniformity here are so strict that it is not even allowed to isolate from the general mass, be it shape, texture or color. At the same time, no one forces us to dwell on the achromatic scale - although it acts as a basis, the extremely bright accents of orange, red, green or blue are not only forbidden, but also welcome.

Minimalism, like hi-tech, requires that the technique be built-in, because thanks to this move it does not get out of the general uniformity.

As could be judged from the previous section, the headset shade is largely determined by the stylistic features of the design direction to which you decided to give preference. If the strict styles of the future like minimalism and hi-tech are more focused on monotonousness, then the same classic and the more colorful rustic style can allow combined color solutions. In general, the headset can be absolutely any color - both achromatic and bright.

Please note that the headset will occupy a significant part of the visible space, which means that its color cannot be considered just an accent - it directly affects the overall gamut throughout the room. In this context, it must be remembered that in the kitchen environment tones of a warm gamut are more welcome, since, according to psychologists, they have a positive effect on mood and increase appetite.

Achromatic decisions in this regard are considered neutral, but an abundance of gray or blackness can put pressure on the psyche, but cold shades in most cases do not use - they dull the appetite and are excessively associated with the bath.

Using the color selection, you can slightly modify the size of the room, even if this happens only visually. It's no secret that light colors in the design allow you to "push" the boundaries of the room, because such a coloring of the headset is especially appropriate in a cramped kitchenette, where it will perform not only an aesthetic, but also a practical function.

Respectively, the abundance of dark tones gives the completely opposite effect - they seem to compress space, therefore, only those owners who are lucky with a spacious kitchen should experiment with black or dark brown furniture.

It is quite difficult to talk objectively about fashionable models of headsets, because their names are not well-known, and consumers usually choose furniture not only according to their preferences, but also in accordance with the dimensions of their own kitchen room. Therefore it will be right to say that Now in fashion not so much certain models as certain characteristics that are welcomed by most potential consumers.

We have already mentioned that real buzz are still unusual for the layman samples of headsets with an island. For a large kitchen, this approach is good if you came up with a non-standard application for the island, and it does not function as a banal dining table or worktop.Taking out the stove and sink (or even both), you create an original design of the room, and greatly simplify the culinary exercises in the event that two people are simultaneously cooking in the kitchen.

Many modern consumers see the most stylish and beautiful idea of ​​placement in that the headset is extremely simple. A minimalist vision of design in our time should be considered rapidly gaining popularity and it is possible that in the coming years such a design will become predominant.

It must be admitted that it is quite difficult to achieve the utmost straightforwardness of lines in a kitchen with its abundance of dissimilar furniture and equipment, but successful examples really look interesting and cause admiration. Minimalist style headsets are the best in the sense that they are extremely easy to care for. - since there are no hard-to-reach spots, then there is nowhere to accumulate dirt and germs, and there’s nothing to break.

For many owners of apartments in houses of the old construction, the view is still no more important than the ability of the headset to fit into the tightest space. New models are often produced with the expectation of new buildings, where the quadrature of the kitchen can be decent, but the leading manufacturers do not forget about compact samples that can not clutter up the space even in the kitchen of 4-5 squares.

This compactness is achieved thanks to a few simple tricks, among which the creation of cabinets with sliding doors, the use of "multi-story" pencil cases for the vertical integration of small equipment into several levels and the use of corner sinks.

A good headset for the home must meet several criteria at once - at a minimum, it must be functional and convenient, while its quality should contribute to the durability of the product. Many aspects of choice have already been considered above, but now we focus only on those that have not yet been considered previously.

• Content. In most cases, a standard set is just a box, a frame with shelves and nothing more, while the needs of the kitchen would be met to a greater extent if there were drawers, dryers, special departments with hooks for hanging, special containers for storing dining rooms appliances or condiments and so on. Of course, all this is sold separately, but acquiring a kit always provides two invaluable advantages: financial gain and full compatibility of all parts.
• Legs. In the case of floor cabinets, this detail is given the least attention, and in vain - too much depends on it. Firstly, the furniture keeps on them - as long as they are in order, you can not think about changing the situation. Secondly, the adjustable legs effectively solve the problem of uneven flooring - with the help of the mechanism you can level the skew. Most often you can find one of two options for the material from which the legs for kitchen sets are made: plastic is good for its low price and ease of washing, chrome ones look more aesthetically pleasing and are more durable.
• The way to open doors. Some models of headsets are completely devoid of any doors, but in most cases this is impractical if only because the accessible overview of the entire filling is hardly connected with ideas about comfort. Because the doors are required, but the question is how exactly they will open - this can affect the cost of the product, and the amount of space that it takes with the doors open:

1. enjoy maximum popularity ordinary swing doors, since they are simple and cheap, but there is no question of saving space in this case, and if they are located at the top, it is very likely to injure your head;
2. folding - these are the same oar, only in the vertical plane;
3. lifting they are pulled up with the help of a gas lift, they almost do not take up space and are not traumatic, but they are quite expensive;
4. sliding Doors are rarely used in headsets, because they need guides, and thus require a lot of free space on the sides of the opening clearance.

Separately, you should comment on the choice of the manufacturer of kitchen sets. The name of the factory is unlikely to seem familiar to you, because usually they simply indicate the country of origin. Each state is credited with certain stereotypes in terms of the production of headsets, and although they are fair in most cases, you still do not lose vigilance when choosing.

• Germans are obsessed with the high quality of their products, because the high cost should not scare - it is justified. They love modern style in this country, but be careful - in Germany they don’t know about our “Khrushchevs”, therefore they don’t let out compact headsets.

• Italian cuisines must be stylish and elegant - this is a country of designers and exquisite handmade. In search of a classic headset, it is primarily the assortment of goods from Italy that should be considered.

• Swedes and Finns simplicity and practicality are highly appreciated, their products are the most for minimalistic design of the kitchen. At the same time, northern peoples pay special attention to ecology, because their kitchens are more often than their competitors made of natural materials.

• Russian and Belarusian cuisines in terms of quality, it’s a mystery: both a successful sample and consumer goods in the worst sense of the word can be caught. But fellow citizens offer their products at affordable prices, and they also have an adequate idea of ​​the typical dimensions of your kitchen.

The first example clearly shows how compact can a corner kitchen be - in a spacious apartment, it seems to be only a small part, but at the same time remains fully functional.

• Here we see a vivid example of a working triangle, when everything you need is located very close.

• The second example shows that the design of the design of the headset can be anything and you can safely use even the brightest versions of ideas. In the interior it looks fresh and stylish., and if at the same time the equipment is also built-in, associations with the near future of your kitchen simply cannot be avoided.

• L shaped kitchen usually appreciated for being in a relatively small space you can place a huge amount of useful furniture and appliances. Just look at all these lockers - there are so many of them that the owners can very well remove obsolete mezzanines. The feature of the configuration of the room by itself solves the question of what to do with the corner.