Built-in kitchens: features, types and design

Repair is not easy and costly. Starting it in your apartment, I want to get in the end not only a stylish, but also a functional kitchen. And increasingly, preference is given to built-in options. This is not only a tribute to fashion, but also a competent solution that allows you to hide the flaws of the room, place everything you need and keep the overall style.

Although the concept of “built-in kitchen” has long and firmly entered our lives, not everyone understands what is at stake and how to translate it into their square meters. And to understand this in detail is certainly worth it, since it is precisely such a technical solution that surpasses standard modular designs in many respects.

So, a built-in kitchen means a kitchen unit in which kitchen appliances are integrated. A refrigerator, an electric stove, an oven, a microwave, and a dishwasher are not separate from the drawers of the headset, but are built into them.

A reasonable question arises, where to find a model that would satisfy the individual needs of each. The answer here can be only one - to make a kitchen to order. Only with individual design it will be possible to find the best location for all equipment and design furniture for it.

Another feature of the built-in kitchen is the ability to design a set according to your size and preferences. If there are flaws in the room, then they can be easily hidden or adjusted using perfectly selected furniture. For example, on one of your walls there is a column box. If you put a normal headset, you will have to go around it or setting up furniture will be completely impossible. In the variant with the built-in kitchen, you can simply reduce the depth of the drawer and correctly hide this object.

Already from the definition it is clear what the main difference between the built-in (or as it is also called "architectural") kitchen from modular. Of course, the ability to integrate equipment into cabinets and set the required sizes and parameters for the headset itself. But these are not all the differences.

For such headsets, special electric stoves are sold. They do not stand alone and do not take up much space. The number of burners can also be individually selected, mainly 2 or 4. For this kind of panel, a corresponding hole is cut in the countertop.

It is worth noting that you will have to purchase an oven separately. But if it is not necessary, then you can do without it at all. In this case, you will save space and be able to place a regular box under the stove. But do not forget that the space under the stove can still heat up.

In modular kitchens, the lower tier of cabinets in most cases is placed close to each other. But even this does not allow avoiding small gaps between them. In the version with built-in kitchen, all drawers are covered with a single sheet. It is often made of plastic, and it can also be veneer or natural expensive materials (marble, stone, wood). The surface in this case looks like a whole, and you don’t have to worry that small crumbs or liquid will get into the gaps.

When buying ready-made options, there are difficulties with placing it in the room. Here, specialists will calculate the size of the future kitchen to a centimeter and offer the best accommodation and layout options.

This is especially important for rooms with a non-standard layout. The modular designs in them look illegitimate and alien. There is no feeling of unity of the whole room. The same applies to very small kitchens.

In factories in most cases produce universal models. It is important for manufacturers to quickly sell their goods. To make refined unusual options is unprofitable, as they may not find a buyer. With the integrated kitchen, everything is much simpler. It is beneficial to both manufacturers and customers. The former choose the option that is right for them, the latter do not spend money on options that may turn out to be unclaimed.

It is quite difficult to find ready-made kitchen options in the style of art deco, eclecticism or other exotic designs. If you are lucky enough to see such unusual options, then there will be very few of them. The most popular is the classic. The reason for this meager choice is still the same - economic gain.

In the version with a built-in kitchen, you yourself will be the author of the entire interior and the kitchen set in particular - no one limits your flight of imagination.The abundance of materials will allow you to choose an option that satisfies not only in beauty and style, but also in price.

Here you can cite several classifications of built-in kitchens. After all they are all so different and different from each other.

The first will relate to the style decision. To list all the existing styles and directions of design is quite difficult, and it is not necessary. Indeed, in addition to the main generally accepted, there are many combined solutions. For example, in one room, the classics and the eco-style that is gaining popularity can coexist perfectly. The most important thing to understand is that kitchen sets, like any other furniture, have their own character, distinctive features and features.

The second classification is based on the size of the headset. They can be arbitrarily large or very small. Basically, the choice of one or another option is based on the size of the room itself. It is logical that for spacious rooms you need to choose large headsets, while in rooms that are modest in quadrature they simply can not fit.

We will dwell on the last classification in more detail. She divides all available options into several varieties.

Kitchen set, which is located along one of the walls. If the room is elongated, then in most cases it is a wall with a large length. This option is harmonious and familiar to everyone. At the same time, it frees up a lot of space for placing a dining area, TV or even a recreation area. It is worth noting its versatility.

This option is the most popular among owners of built-in kitchens. The main secret of this success lies in its functionality. The set looks like a whole, but at the same time it fits in the sink, and the stove, and the refrigerator, and the work surface. Moreover, such a kitchen allows you to use one of the corners as efficiently as possible. Usually they have a sink. This is due to the fact that reaching the very corner is not easy, and this place becomes a dead zone. When the sink is located there, all areas become involved.

This solution is suitable for large quadrature rooms. Headset sections are placed along two opposite walls. This allows you to place the maximum number of drawers and sections. But the depth of one and the second row is quite large, and it is necessary to provide for a “passage” between them. If it is very narrow, it will only create discomfort and a feeling of congestion in the interior.

Also suitable for large kitchens. The fact is that the removal of one of the sections (islands) in the middle of the room is possible only in spacious rooms. Such kitchens look very stylish and original. They are great for kitchen-living rooms. In this case, the “island” will still play the role of a zoning element of the interior. The borders of the kitchen and the hall will be clearly traced. However, there is no need to resort to methods such as partitions, columns or boxes.

When contacting a specialized kitchen manufacturing company to order, the master will immediately ask you some important questions. The first, of course, will concern the size of the room and the desired size of the future kitchen. The second will certainly be about the desired configuration.

The fact is that each drawer or section carries its own functional load. In order to most efficiently place everything you need, you need to think in advance what elements you want to see in your kitchen and in what form.

For example, a refrigerator can stand alone, and for it it will not be necessary to build an individual box, but can hide behind one of the facades of the headset. Listing all the possible options is very difficult. Therefore, we dwell in more detail on household appliances, which, if desired, can be placed in the built-in kitchen:

• electric stove;
• oven;
• microwave;
• fridge;
• washing;
• Washer;
• Dishwasher;
• food processor and other cooking equipment (coffee maker, toaster, kettle, double boiler, mixer).

What from this list will be included in the headset will need to be decided at the design stage. Experts will tell you how to best place everything you need in your existing space. If you foresee the location in the future kitchen of all the necessary appliances and elements, then in the future you will not have problems with where to put the kettle or toaster.

It is also necessary to determine the location of each of the things because the supply of communications will depend on this if the repair is still at this stage. You can easily determine where and how many outlets you need, and where each device will be connected. If the repair is already done and you do not want to transfer the wiring, then you will need to design the future kitchen so that each of the electrical appliances is not far from outlets.

The most popular option remains the classic. With all the variety of design directions, it does not go out of fashion to this day. This is explained by its practicality and versatility.

Other popular styles in the design of kitchens include modern, minimalism, loft, high-tech, provence, country and eco-style. Each of them is unique, and they cannot be described in a nutshell. You can list the main distinguishing features of each, but this will not give a complete picture.

Modern designers like to combine and use combinations of practically opposite or distant from each other directions. Therefore, the choice of stylistic solutions is very diverse. If you want to create your own author's project, then there are practically no restrictions.

It seems that finding your own version of the integrated kitchen is very difficult. But it is worth prescribing several important points in advance, as the whole variety will be reduced to several options.

• Price. Natural materials are always very expensive. Therefore, if you want to use them, then be prepared for spending. But you can pick up and budget models, such as veneer, imitating wood or marble.
• The size. Draw a floor plan, determine how many sections can fit in it. At the same time, the room should not be overloaded with furniture, which means that the originally planned number of boxes may have to be reduced.
• Style. It all depends on personal preferences and imagination. Your kitchen can be made antique or seem like an alien from the future. Colors can also be any: the kitchen can be white, and black, and even black and white at once. Ideas for inspiration can be gleaned from the World Wide Web.
• Decide which equipment you need to place. This will help to correctly and functionally design future sections.

• Built-in kitchen with cabinets in the whole wall - a modern and beautiful solution. This layout allows you to place all the equipment and utensils in the drawers, without putting it on the working area.

• An unusual built-in kitchen in bright colors is able to emphasize the cheerful and optimistic character of its owners. It will be practically impossible to find such an option in ready-made solutions, as manufacturers are trying to produce universal and popular headsets.

• The built-in set in the kitchen-living room creates the illusion of a living room.At first glance, it is difficult to understand whether these cabinets are dressable or whether dishes are stored in them. At the same time, the functionality is fully preserved.

In the next video, look at the proper layout of the built-in kitchen.