Unfortunately, not every hostess has the opportunity to boast of a large space where she demonstrates her culinary talents. To a greater extent, this applies to apartments during the period of mass Soviet construction in the 1960s and 1980s. But in private houses of that period, too, the problem of small kitchens is common. But stalemate is more an exception than a rule. Properly designed and properly implemented in practice, the design of a small kitchen will at least partially solve the problem of a limited area.

Using visual effects

Professional designers are very familiar with this approach to increasing the space in homes with small areas, like an illusion. To visually expand the kitchen, increase its height, it is better to focus on the design of walls and floors in light colors, they create the illusion of space. In this situation, cream colors, coffee with milk, cocoa, pastel colors will be appropriate. It is strongly recommended not to choose dark saturated patterns. Although modern trends in the design of premises allow the painting of one of the walls in a flashy color, bringing a twist to the design and not narrowing the space.

A noticeable effect will give the use of surfaces with glossy reflections. It can be a tile above the working area, furniture facades, stretch ceiling. In this case, the surfaces will additionally reflect light, creating an effect of space expansion. For a floor the successful decision can become a laminate with imitation of boards. Orienting the pattern along a larger dimension of the kitchen will lengthen it even more.

IMPORTANT! When choosing a laminate, you need to take into account that the floor in the kitchen will be subjected to additional load due to falling dishes or inventory. Therefore, his class should be high.

Mirrors in the interior

A separate discussion when discussing the design of small kitchens deserve a mirror surface. Reflection of the room will create a sense of spaciousness. And if the mirrors are installed one opposite the other, multiple reflections will intensify the effect.

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Very unusual and quite modern looks mosaic of mirror elements above the working area. Care for her will be simple, but the effect, with a separate zonal lighting, is impressive.

In the process of operating the kitchen, on which mirror surfaces are mounted, it will be necessary to regularly wipe them with a sponge with a means to care for the glass. Otherwise, because of the large amount of fumes with fat content, the mirror surface will lose its original appeal.

Competently choose and place furniture

The scourge of many cuisines is a wrongly chosen style of furniture and irrational placement. As a consequence there is a sense of clutter and small size of free zones. It is clear that a good housewife in the kitchen regularly has to use dishes, numerous kitchen appliances and appliances. And all this must be stored somewhere. But going to the process of choosing furniture and placing it competently, making a bet on minimalism, you can significantly "move" the visual boundaries of a small kitchen.

The fact that it is preferable to order furniture for a small kitchen, rather than buying a standard one, is obvious. Furniture "under the order" will allow you to take into account all the features of the premises, laying communications along it, making the kitchen itself unlike any other.

If the task is to furnish a rectangular room in which one of the measurements significantly exceeds the other, then it is better to plan the arrangement of furniture along one of the walls. In rooms close in shape to square, the L-shaped arrangement along two adjacent walls will be successful.

ATTENTION! Unfortunately those who would like to place furniture on the island scheme, will have to give up in the case of a small kitchen.

Rectangular shapes of furniture make it more voluminous. In order to maximize the free space, it is better to give preference to rounded surfaces. Oval countertops, curved facades on corner cupboards will be more practical in small kitchens.

We try glass in the interior

To make the kitchen look spacious, experienced designers advise you to use more glass when making furniture. For example, the glass surface of the table will look much lighter than a similar one from wood or chipboard. And if for the whole kitchen a high-tech was chosen as the basic style with the minimalism inherent in it, then the glass table on the metal legs will look quite harmoniously in the overall interior picture.

Similarly, we can consider the use of glass in the manufacture of furniture facades. Transparent facades visually facilitate the boxes of hanging cabinets. Glass can also be used for the apron over the working area. It will be easy to wash, and it will help create a feeling of lightness. Removable its surface will provide an opportunity to replace the picture depending on the time of year, or simply from the mood.

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Lighting

Fans of intimate light will hardly be able to achieve the desired effect of increasing the volume in a small kitchen. After all, only a bright room will give the impression of spacious. And we are talking about both natural and artificial light.

For sufficient illumination in the daytime, the windows should not be covered with heavy dark curtains, letting in a minimum of light. It is better to choose light, light, translucent tissue samples. In order not to select precious centimeters of a small kitchen with fabric gathered curtains at the ends of the cornice, you can prefer Roman or roll blinds.

Residents of private houses during repairs in the kitchen need to worry about the fact that the branches of trees in front of the house do not interfere with the passage of light. And the fact that some people are concerned about the problem of direct sunlight, which will fall into the window, so for this hang curtains. Even a translucent fabric can largely dissipate them.

With regard to artificial lighting, then choosing the fixtures and determining the location of their location, one must achieve the absence of darkened areas. If the kitchen serves not only the premises where food is prepared, but also the living room, then the lighting system should be planned separately for two functional zones. The emphasis in lighting is best done on the dining table, hanging a chandelier over it.

If the ceiling in the room is made stretch or pendant, it will look good point lights along all the walls.

Be sure to provide additional lighting above the work surface and in the area of ​​washing. It will look spectacular, but it will also have a very concrete practical meaning. For these purposes, the modern market of lighting devices offers such a technical solution as LED strips. If the choice was made in favor of minimalism in the kitchen, then good lighting will only emphasize the absence of unnecessary parts, redundant decor elements.

Built-in placement and transformers

If attempts to minimize the style in decorating the kitchen in an apartment or a house did not give the expected effect, and the room still creates the impression of cluttered, the use of built-in kitchen appliances and furniture-transformers will come to the rescue.

What a modern, albeit tiny, kitchen can do without the presence of numerous mechanisms and devices-assistants. Being limited in the area, when choosing a dishwasher, microwave oven and other equipment, it is necessary to pay attention to the built-in models and the design of furniture to carry out taking into account this feature of the technique.

The technology of furniture transformers production is known and operated for a long time - who did not come across tables with a sliding table top. Just now, this approach to making furniture elements has become more perfect. For example, the owners of a small kitchen will come up with folding chairs and countertops, which, when folded, will not take place at all.

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Extend combining

Residents of apartment buildings have opportunities for extensive methods of increasing the size of the kitchen without venturing global construction more than owners of private houses.

Those who have a small kitchen, but have access to the balcony, can solve the problem by using this feature of the apartment. And for these purposes, some kind of capital restructuring will not be required. It will be enough to dismantle the balcony block and ennoble the resulting opening. Then in place of the sill put the countertop and get either an excellent dining table or a bar counter.

The technology of such an association is not particularly difficult from the point of view of construction. But there are a number of nuances that must be taken into account:

1. The balcony should have good glazing (preferably two or more chamber double-glazed windows with energy-saving glass and at least four cameras in the profile).
2. It is necessary to insulate the building structures.
3. Removal of radiators on the balcony is prohibited, so heating can be done with the help of an electric "warm floor".

We unite through an aperture

If there is no balcony, then it is possible to expand the kitchen (including in a private house) at the expense of neighboring premises. Do not completely demolish the wall separating them. It is enough just to remove the door from the opening and make it in the shape of an arch. No door visually increase the size of the kitchen.

If there is an opportunity, it is possible to organize a kitchen-living room, increasing the width of an already existing opening. Formally, two rooms will remain separate, but visually it will be perceived as one room, divided into two differently-functional zones.

IMPORTANT! In the absence of a door in the kitchen, it is necessary to put an extract of sufficient power, which will be able to cope with the "kitchen" smells.

If the design features of the house allow the opening to be made wide, then part of it can be occupied by a bar counter, which can serve as a dining table with a small number of people.

Key recommendations

Summarizing all of the above, we formulate key recommendations for kitchen design in an apartment or a private house in a minimalist style:

• predominant light colors;
• good natural and artificial lighting;
• competent designing and arrangement of furniture;
• the use of mirrors and glass parts in furniture;
• rounded forms of countertops and facades;
• use of built-in equipment and furniture-transformers;
• if possible, the addition of a balcony or an adjacent room through an opening.

So if you want, you can always make the kitchen a bit more spacious. And in some cases, the expansion will be quite material, not just visual.