The stumbling block in choosing the design of the kitchen and facade cladding is the concern about how to take care of the surface, while spending a minimum of effort and resources.
Numerous forums of housewives are full of hundreds of opinions on this subject:
- someone assures that gloss is the ideal coating for the kitchen;
- someone calls for choosing a matte texture as the most unpretentious and practical.
However, do not rely on the word.
The best approach to solving the issue is to understand all the nuances yourself and draw your own conclusion.
Advantages and disadvantages
A kitchen set is one of the most quickly polluted interior items in an apartment. In this regard, the issue of care and cleaning for him is very relevant. However, it is not necessary to put this task above the rest. Equally important are the issues of the general style of the interior or the layout of the room, on which the design of the facade of the kitchen set depends.
The matte light coating is ideal for decorating cabinets and aprons if the kitchen faces the sunny side. This option is suitable for those who do not have enough time for thorough and regular cleaning.
If you prefer gloss, then light shades are much easier to keep clean than deep dark ones, since they hide stains and stains better, reflecting, relatively speaking, white on white. However, not everything is so problematic in fact, as practice shows, cleaning any glossy coating will not take much time. All you need for this is a special tool, a soft microfiber cloth and a maximum of fifteen minutes of free time. In order to avoid stains on the facade at the end of cleaning, it is recommended to wipe the end side of the kitchen set with a fleecy napkin dry.
The main intrigue when choosing the facade texture is that the complexity of care depends not on the type of surface, but on its color. On a black background, all the flaws become several times more noticeable than on white: fingerprints, dust, drips from drops of water or fat.
Of course, gloss is unstable to mechanical and chemical damage. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light and constant humidity will inevitably lead to swelling of the coating, loss of saturation and brightness of color. The glossy surface requires the selection of special cleaning agents and regular cleaning due to the easily polluted surface.
However, the essential advantages of a glossy facade – its beauty, endless possibilities of a unique design and a variety of materials outweigh all the disadvantages.
If desired and with due imagination, you can bring to life the most unusual effects: iridescent, shimmering, metallic, mother-of-pearl, shiny and iridescent textures.
In addition, gloss will help to visually expand a small kitchen due to reflective surfaces. This effect can be complemented by built-in lighting: backlighting and LED lamps.
The glossy facade meets all modern fashion trends, perfectly integrates into the minimalist monochrome style of the interior and looks very dignified, elegant, stylish and aesthetically pleasing. However, it seems to some people that due to this, the room is completely devoid of home comfort, but this already concerns only taste and personal perception.
A significant bonus is that the glossy coating looks like a finished and neat style solution both independently and can be easily complemented with bright design elements and accessories. Another significant advantage of gloss is invulnerability to high temperatures.
Matte surfaces win over glossy ones due to the fact that they can be cared for less often without spending much effort. The texture of the coating perfectly masks the settled dust particles and does not focus on the formed spots and other traces from cooking, except for fat. Modern technologies provide a convenient mechanism for opening doors by pressing, called “push to open”, which eliminates the need for handles, making the kitchen set monolithic and ergonomic. Such a mechanism will only be compatible with a matte finish, otherwise you will have to wipe the surface every time after the next touch.
In addition, if it happens that the eye gets tired of the monotony of the interior, especially creative people can easily repaint the facade of the kitchen, updating and refreshing the interior. But if your kitchen set is covered with wax on top of the matte surface for better protection from contamination, then you will not be able to change the design. Among other things, modern technologies offer facades with a matte coating that is not affected by moisture and evaporation, as well as sudden temperature changes.
The primary guideline when choosing the design of the kitchen environment should unconditionally be your wish regarding the overall atmosphere: how do you want to feel being in it?
Matte surfaces of calm and natural shades will help to arrange a secluded corner. Such a solution will be very useful for studio apartments, where it is necessary to divide the premises into cozy living areas, and there is practically no sense of isolation and the presence of personal space. A calm and intimate atmosphere will perfectly contribute to rest and relaxation, restore vitality and replenish energy reserves spent during the day, as well as give a sense of security and comfort.
The subdued matte design of the kitchen set is easily integrated into almost any interior style: from classics to modern trends, including even traditional and rustic – Provence, rustic, country and the like.
Adherents of luxury and lovers of open spaces will appreciate the advantages of gloss in the kitchen. The illusion of freedom and spaciousness is achieved due to reflective surfaces that multiply the brightness in the room. Such a design solution will become indispensable if the layout of the apartment does not provide sufficient lighting. It is possible that such saturation and brilliance can cause residents not at all positive emotions. To someone, the abundance of light will seem annoying, depressing, oppressive, will only spoil the mood and get on your nerves. Someone believes that such furniture decor is not acceptable for residential premises at all, but is created exclusively for the decoration of offices, business centers, shops and entertainment venues.
The reflective surface perfectly integrates and combines with the interiors of kitchens decorated in modern styles: Art Deco, hi-tech, modern, and almost never leaves the lists of fashion trends. An unusual trend solution will be the use of gloss in neoclassical, which can be compensated by other pieces of furniture in the classical style.
Be prepared for the fact that if you have a family with one or more children, the mirror surface will quickly be covered with drawings of small children’s palms. To avoid such a situation, only the installation of a matte kitchen set will help.
In the acute issue concerning the finishing of the kitchen facade, experts do not give unambiguous recommendations, since there are simply no universal formulas for solving such a problem. It is necessary to approach each space individually and thoroughly, as well as responsibly develop a design project.
What do you think will suit you and your kitchen? Dazzling white gloss or massive matte black? Or maybe you decide on a combined option and want to dilute the light textured facade with a couple of light glossy marsala-colored doors?
Recommendations for surface care
The success of cleaning depends on whether the cleaning products for different types of surfaces are correctly selected. Any material, be it plastic, stone or wood, requires an individual approach and compliance with simple rules for care.
To clean a glossy or varnished surface, special wipes are best suited, which include microfiber or flannel cloth and liquids for washing window panes. Serious dirt can be removed using car wipes for mirrors with antistatic. The same napkins can easily and delicately polish the already cleaned surface. When cleaning, it is unacceptable to use napkins with coarse fibers, hard sponges and brushes, otherwise the appearance of the furniture will be hopelessly and irretrievably damaged by scuffs and scratches.
The complexity of caring for a matte surface depends on the material of the top layer.
Covering the floors and walls of the kitchen
The walls and floors in the kitchen get dirty no less than the facade of the kitchen set, and often even more, which directly relates to the kitchen apron or the area near the hob and stove.
Often the floors and walls are finished with tiles, and at the same time there is always a classic question: which coating to choose – matte or glossy? It is reasonable to expect that a smooth surface is less susceptible to contamination and dirt will not intensely eat into the coating. Hence the conclusion that a glossy floor is a more preferable solution.
When it is difficult for the owner to determine his preferences, you can resort to a compromise option by combining both coatings in the design.
For example, the floor and wall part of the kitchen can be made with a matte and glossy surface, respectively or tile finishing can be arranged in a staggered order, alternating types of texture. Relying on the ready-made ideas of architects and studying the advice of professional designers, you can create a unique and inimitable kitchen interior.
Exactly the same nuances relate to the coating of countertops. Undoubtedly, the surface of the working area is most often subject to mechanical influences, often sharp and not very careful. It follows from this that it is worth giving preference to a countertop made of the least vulnerable materials and well-masking textures. On the other hand, cleaning a smooth gloss will be significantly less energy and resource-intensive.
In pursuit of benefits and simplification in operation, it is important not to forget about other important parameters, features of the room: layout, lighting, aesthetic and stylistic correspondences, dimensions and planned frequency of use, as well as your own preferences.