Choosing a kitchen. Buy your own coziness

Choosing a kitchen is a multi-component task, but first the buyer decides how his future furniture should look approximately, that is determined with the stylistic orientation of design. The fact that during the mass production of kitchens has already developed a tactic of serving styles, and therefore in the development of models using the same techniques within the same direction. When choosing a style of your kitchen should be guided by the style of the house as a whole, sticking to one direction.

With a view of nature

Most buyers of furniture are city dwellers, but a large proportion of them are finishing their kitchens in a modern rustic style. It’s commonly referred to as “rustic” or “country.”. Country is a more widely used concept as a lifestyle, and accordingly the furnishings, moved to us from the English language, where this word means the countryside, life in the countryside. But it was mainly used across the ocean, in America.

There, this style was closely related to the life of local shepherds, cowboys, who were not distinguished by elegance, and therefore their houses were filled with simple and rough furniture. Now country helps to create sentimental, sincere, warm, nostalgic interiors that create a special microclimate, which is commonly known as coziness. Everything breathes with tranquility and tradition.

Country life involves the slow flow of time against the backdrop of nature, which is why the style uses so many natural materials. Furniture is made primarily of wood or using its “smart” imitation. The wood is not hidden, on the contrary, it emphasizes its naturalness: texture, color, plastic. For countertops and flooring are used respectively prepared natural stone, solid wood or ceramic tiles.

National flavor

Country is a common trend, which absorbed several national trends inherent in the cultures of different European countries. The main difference is associated with the species of wood: masters used only those that have always been available in their area. And the very techniques of design and construction of furniture are about the same. Only northern peoples got used to more democratic, decorative elements.

For the Scandinavian countryside is characterized by the use of wood in light shades: birch, pine, beech, oak. Facades are coated with a transparent varnish. Painting wood in colors close to white is welcomed.

Germany prefers warmer shades without red, such as maple, it is also common here to cover the wood blindly with paint, the favorite colors are vanilla, cream, light yellow.

French village is more attracted to the blue, light green, yellow, in this case, the texture is not hidden, the pores of wood are open, the material takes only a shade. Italians use bright, juicy reddish woods – cherry, cherry, walnut, chestnut.

Facades

Almost all of them are made with a frame – paneling, and it can have a very intricate shaped. Inside the frame is a flat or convex panel, sometimes slatted or mesh. Stained glass windows with several bindings are often used. Clear or smoothed frosted glass decorated with oval or round stamps. Handles are varied, but simple: round and oval, decorated with brass and copper elements, enamel and ceramics. Here wrought iron details – hinges, handles, brackets, rails – are used especially often.

Decor

Country is a style subject to tradition, which means that things created many years ago are just as relevant now. Having a new old set is pretty cool, so the masters invent different ways to give the facades a feeling of “old age”, they aged.

They are “decorated” with patina, the paint peels in some places, burns out, becomes scuffed the surface may have microcracks, like crocodiles so people call the cracks that appeared on canvases because they grew old , and traces of bugs. For all these “beauties”, special techniques are developed by hand and machine tools to give the desired effect.

Layout features

The kitchen is usually very spacious, with lots of elements. In principle, their set is traditional, but there are differences.

The center of the kitchen is the “hearth”, that is, the stove or cooktop area. Stoves are preferred, wealthy fans of the style can buy for themselves very bright models – large 5-6 burner stoves with two ovens.

These are huge samples, which evoke a feeling of nostalgia. For all the practicality of this option, not all housewives are willing to give up the built in. For them, false plates are invented. The modern cooktop is installed on a cabinet, which in appearance does not differ from some very old stove. Its body and doors are made of metal, such as blued steel.

Beautiful forged or “gold” handles are fastened and branded. Exactly “maxi-burner”. A hood rises above the stove. The most often used are large cone-shaped, pyramidal, simple or shaped covers, or a decorative panel, for example with a vaulted bottom line. Hoods can be “finished”, with beautiful elements in the form of roosters, floral ornaments, the bottom of the hood is decorated with wood.

This element sometimes plays the role of a capacious shelf, on which a thoughtful hostess will put jars of spices, tea, beautiful knickknacks. But more often, the cabinet is given an extra coat of paint, primed and coated with the same paint as the walls, after installation.

The second method – the creation of special architectural forms, which are used to embed furniture and appliances. During the preparatory phase, special niches are created from building materials bricks or plasterboard . They are plastered, painted to match the color of the walls or covered with tiles. They are then stuffed and the doors are hinged. These elements can act as sidewalls for cabinets, stoves, refrigerators, they restrict the necessary space, such as cooking zones.

Rustic kitchens have many interesting elements. High cabinets with stained glass fronts, they are placed directly on the countertops. Lattice fronts, cupboards, small drawers for small items, shelves with shaped sides, they are often placed under hinged systems, around the hood housing, put directly on the table.

Passion for naturalness is expressed by the widest use of ceramic tiles. It covers not only the apron, but also the countertop and other surfaces, such as the walls of niches. Kitchens lined with ceramics are called rustic.

The sink is another center of the composition, it is a large fixture made of composite or faience with one or two deep troughs. It has a high solid base, often with an elegant rim that protects the table and wall from splashing. To such a sink, a faucet of “antique” appearance in the form of brass or copper is chosen.

Using cabinets and niches without doors. They can remain completely open to view, sometimes they are covered with cotton curtains in plaid or floral. These spaces are used for different purposes, they are filled with shelves, racks for dishes, wine bottles, wicker baskets for storing vegetables.