When developing a kitchen style, designers take into account the functional purpose of the room, and there are practically no restrictions for interior solutions.
Large or small, regular shape or with a broken perimeter — any kitchen is considered a special place in the house for the owners of the apartment. A stylish environment contributes to peace of mind and family well-being.
What styles are suitable for a modern kitchen
New settlers or those who decide to carry out a global renovation in their home often think about the styling of the kitchen. But even those who have not changed the situation for many years and do not intend to do so can choose a kitchen style that does not require large financial costs, furniture replacement and repair work.
You can fit into the chosen style by replacing textiles, adding appropriate decor, arranging furniture and accessories differently. All it takes is desire and creativity. You also need to carefully study the cuisines in different styles. This will help not only convey the overall picture, but also think through the design to the smallest detail.
Overview of basic styles
Designers know that there are a lot of styles of kitchen interiors. The most common:
- A classic with unchanging features — comfort, coziness and functionality — this style is always in fashion. It is important to finish the facade of furniture and walls in delicate light shades. Classical cuisine is distinguished by forged details, bronze and stucco molding at the heart of the decor of the ceiling and walls. A very important interior detail is textiles (tablecloths, napkins, curtains and chair covers).
- Modern. Style denies luxury and contrasts it with functionality and simplicity. Art Nouveau is characterized by the absence of strict lines, rounded shapes of furniture. Right angles and similar type of connection are unacceptable, even door and window openings should be rounded. As a decor, the Art Nouveau style welcomes stained-glass windows, figurines, stucco, lamps made of frosted or colored glass.
- Minimalism. A modern interior with clear lines, unusual color combinations, a minimum of decorative elements. This style will appeal to those who appreciate order and free space.
- High tech. The interior of the kitchen should be extremely concise and elegant. The high-tech style is close to minimalism due to the restraint of lines and rigor. Practicality and widespread use of various household appliances and electronics are important (for high-tech, technology built into a headset with touch control is more acceptable).
- Provence. This style is a variety of country style, but with a bright national color. Country suggests warm colors, and Provence — cold, whitish. In the “rustic” layering of textures and colors is used, the room looks juicy and full. French Provence does not give such richness.
- Fusion (from English fusion — merging or mixing). It is a bright mixture of different styles, objects connected into a single whole in a limited space. This creative direction is often used in interior design.
- Chalet. The style is designed to create in the house a unique atmosphere of rural life in Alpine Switzerland. Suitable for people who appreciate home comfort, simplicity and romanticism. The basic elements in the design are wood and stone, skins of wild animals, horns on the walls and other trophies. The key place is occupied by a fireplace.
The choice of styles is wide and inexhaustible. Sometimes both the taste of dinner and the mood depend on the style in which the room is decorated.
patina style
Choosing retro, Provence or classic style for the interior, you can’t go wrong when buying kitchen furniture with patina. Patination is a process that results in the effect of aging furniture.
A ready-made set of furniture can be selected according to the parameters of the room. Kitchen furniture with patina can ennoble the interior if a combination of black and gold is used, give solidity and high cost if complex carved elements are used. White patinated facades visually make the space larger and brighter.
Cafe, restaurant or bar
It also happens that people decide on the style of home cooking after visiting a public institution where it was comfortable, cozy and pleasant to have dinner, chat or sit alone with a cup of coffee.
Cafe-style kitchen design can be implemented in a space of any size and configuration. But first you need to decide which direction to set the interior in order to choose the appropriate decor.
To create the interior of a coffee shop or restaurant at home, rules have been developed based on the principles common to such establishments.
Space zoning is considered mandatory. There should be a working area for cooking, a dining room (by the window or wall) for eating. And an indispensable attribute of any cafe is a bar area (it can be a counter, a partition, an “island”).
The kitchen bar includes high chairs. The dining table can accommodate chairs or sofas. The bar counter is characterized by original lampshades. Different finishing materials will help delimit the zones, but decorative elements should bring the space together. Pictures, pillows, curtains, lamps should convey the color of the cafe and create a mood.
Mandatory elements of decor are a slate board for writing menus, open shelves with jars, rails for glasses and cooking tools.
Solution for a small kitchen
Today, a kitchen of less than 8 m² is considered small. A successful and functional small room will help to make custom-made furniture with many drawers and built-in appliances.
A small kitchen can be decorated independently, if you know and take into account the nuances of style. For example, the use of white and tall cabinets in small rooms is considered a win-win, transparent glass doors will expand the space, and transforming furniture will save you from crowding.
If the squares allow you to turn around
Spacious kitchens require a completely different approach. Moreover, a non-standard layout is only beneficial in the design of space. Almost any idea can be realized in such premises.
A kitchen-living room or a fusion-style studio is the choice of young, ambitious and outrageous people. But blending styles into fusion requires subtle taste, because the design is subject to a number of rules. The most important task is to correctly organize the space so that all things are combined with each other and look harmonious.
The right mess that fusion sets is the ability to combine different materials and diverse furniture, the competent use of color contrasts, the rational placement of light points.
What can be done with your own hands
Many people are not ready to involve professional designers to update the situation, but use those things that already exist to decorate the kitchen.
For example, the shabby chic style is suitable for those who do not like to change the situation often and do not chase fashion trends. A cozy nest, which a shabby chic kitchen should become, is very easy to arrange with your own hands:
- floral wallpaper in delicate pastel or restrained tones;
- linen or lace textiles (curtains, tablecloths);
- things inherited;
- figured wooden or wicker chairs and tables;
- vintage, antique, old style kitchen furniture;
- fabric lampshades, chandeliers, candelabra.
A Mediterranean-style kitchen can also be decorated with your own hands and will not require large financial costs. Designers recommend using blue and white tones and decor items when decorating, which will remind you of a Mediterranean tavern, bungalow, fisherman’s hut. As a decor, you can use ropes, canvas curtains, photo wallpapers with seascapes, panels of shells and starfish.
A chalet-style kitchen requires space, there must be:
- ceiling beams;
- durable tables and massive cabinets;
- fireplace and dome hood;
- armchairs and sofas covered with skins;
- copper and cast iron utensils.
What to choose for your home
Owners of suburban real estate have practically no restrictions on the choice of design options for kitchen design. If the area of the room allows, then you can use styles that involve placing an “island” in the center. The working area (with a stove, hood and a place for cutting food) can also become an island part. And a dining area (with a good roomy table). If the kitchen has large windows, then the working area can be placed along them.
A Russian-style kitchen can be decorated in both stone and wooden houses. Such a style decision will be especially successful if the house has a stone stove in addition to gas or electric.
The kitchen in the wooden style of the Russian sample should be original, using traditional paintings (Gzhel, Khokhloma), handicrafts. Carved wood, embroidered textiles will emphasize the national flavor.
Color Approach
The kitchen in white is considered a classic. The color is applicable in many interior styles, it visually expands the space, is considered the personification of purity and lightness. In addition, white always looks fashionable, and kitchen color options are easily combined with it.
When choosing a color solution, a person should build on his own preferences, interior style and properties of the shade itself. For example, muted olive or mustard shades are suitable for a classic style, and bright colors, blue and pink tones are suitable for a modern kitchen. Orange inspires action, and yellow fills with joy, but they need to be muffled with other shades. Green glossy surfaces are good for high-tech and modern.