How to choose upholstered furniture in the kitchen, a review of models
The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house. It is here that the sacrament of cooking and enjoying food is carried out, so the furniture present in the kitchen must certainly be comfortable for use. Only then, self-prepared dishes will bring maximum benefit and pleasure. Let's talk further about which upholstered furniture for the kitchen is worth the attention of buyers, and why.
Kinds
In previous years, it was possible to meet either a soft sofa or a compact chair in the kitchen. That's probably all that was chosen for this room. Today, the list of furniture items that are relevant for the kitchen has expanded significantly:
- sofas - a very wide category, dividing, in turn, into subspecies: corner, standard, modular, transformers, round, rectangular, couch couch, ottoman sofa and so on. The model may have corner shelves, drawers for storing kitchen utensils, compartments for storing alcohol;
- armchairs - an excellent option for a spacious kitchen will be the use of a transformer chair instead of stools, which can be expanded to organize an extra bed for a guest. It is also good if a model on wheels is selected. If necessary, it can be moved without special difficulties to another place;
- pouffes - varied in shape and design, compact, allow you to sit down or conveniently place your legs for relaxation.
A variety of pillows of interesting shapes and fancy colors, as in the interior in the photo, helps to diversify the interior of the kitchen. To make the interior holistic and harmonious, the colors of the upholstery for pillows are combined either with the upholstery of the sofa or with textiles on the windows.
Upholstery selection
The kitchen is a rather specific space in a city apartment and in a country cottage. It should be functional, practical, comfortable. But you should not forget about the aesthetic side of the issue. The kitchen room must certainly be beautiful, harmonious, because here a person spends a lot of his free time. Therefore, the criteria for selecting upholstery for upholstered furniture in the kitchen are quite high. The material is influenced in the kitchen by such negative factors as:
- a sharp change in air temperature;
- high level of humidity;
- fat, soot settling on the surface of walls, furniture;
- dirt from food.
If you use cheap low-quality material in the manufacture of a sofa or chair, then the beauty of the furniture will very quickly fade. But in addition to beauty, the functionality of upholstered furniture may suffer, so the issue of choosing upholstery must be approached very carefully.
Therefore, upholstery for kitchen furniture should be resistant to the aggressive environment of the kitchen. Experts recommend a closer look at the following upholstery options.
Type of material | Positive qualities | Negative qualities |
Eco leather | High level of practicality, easy care, high resistance to moisture, grease, does not absorb odors from food. | It serves less than genuine leather, is afraid of mechanical damage, it will not work to veil a cut on the sofa. |
Genuine Leather | Long service life, high environmental friendliness, excellent practicality, expensive appearance, the level of resistance to cuts is higher than that of eco skin. | High cost, sticks to the naked body on hot days, absorbs odors from food. |
Velor, Velvet | Expensive appearance, high level of comfort. | Absorb odors, quickly lose their external aesthetics under the influence of moisture, fat, complex care. |
Design
The main purpose of upholstered furniture in the kitchen is to provide comfort and cozy relaxation to everyone. But the complexity of the situation lies in the fact that in the kitchen room the furniture experiences high operational loads. Therefore, the choice of upholstered furniture for the kitchen must be approached with all responsibility. Such an interior item as a sofa will expand the functions of the kitchen, give it a higher level of comfort, fill the space with cosiness.
Today, manufacturers delight buyers with a variety of design options for such interior items. And if you choose the current option, you can ennoble any size kitchen.
In the kitchen room, more often than others, you can find a soft sofa of two types:
- straight soft sofas - the design of such models resembles a “soft” bench, which often comes with tables and chairs decorated in the same design. For a tiny kitchenette, it is worth choosing models without side handles, and for a large space, options with large, comfortable armrests are most relevant. And so that the kitchen room acquires the maximum level of functionality and comfort, it’s worth picking up a couple of stools or folding chairs to a soft upholstered sofa;
- corner, as in the photo below, have high functionality, are perfect for small rooms, allow you to use the space of the free corner, which is rarely pushed by other furniture. The design and design features of corner models are becoming more diverse every year, so choosing the actual option is real for any kitchen. But to choose the direction of the angle of the structure is necessary taking into account the features of the space in which such a sofa is planned to be installed. After all, changing the shape and direction of the angle in the finished structure does not work out. Also note that many models of corner sofas for the kitchen have spacious compartments for storing kitchen utensils, which is very important for small kitchens.
Note that you can choose a non-standard option with the original design. For example, a round sofa, but it will be quite expensive and will require a lot of free space.
Storage sections
Kitchen furniture will be as functional as possible, if equipped with compartments for storing a variety of things and accessories. A big plus for a soft sofa in the kitchen is the presence of a sliding compartment for bottles, drawers, shelves for things, because then you can not worry about organizing the storage of small kitchen accessories, utensils. And if the model can be laid out and allows you to organize an extra bed for the guest, then the level of functionality of the kitchen rises by several levels.
Many models of chairs have a wide retractable compartment in which it is convenient to store dishes, or there is a niche under the seat for all kinds of equipment. This is very convenient if the kitchenette is small, but you want to pick up several household appliances at once. If the oven, dishwasher or microwave is stationary and bulky, then the juicer, mixer or blender can be hidden in a chair after use. Then the kitchen will not look cluttered, but will keep a concise and neat look.
Features of choice
Modern upholstered furniture for the kitchen is very diverse in its external aesthetics, design features, cost, level of functionality and other operational parameters. But what item of upholstered furniture to choose for a particular kitchen? Specialists recommend, first of all, to build on the characteristics of space. Therefore, we consider several options for upholstered furniture for a kitchen of different layouts:
- linear line of the interior - to create such a layout of the kitchen, you will need to choose a set of classic sofa and poufs, which are made of natural wood. Such pieces of furniture are distinguished by their sophisticated style and allow you to create a complete dining area with a high level of comfort. The space of a room with such a layout looks compact and symmetrical. It is filled with comfort, harmony;
- angular configuration - upholstered furniture for the kitchen of an angular type is an ideal solution for a kitchen with modest dimensions, as it allows you to rationally use the space of the corner. A corner sofa made of modules is a great way to save space without losing your comfort. Such upholstered furniture looks very attractive and expensive. In addition, the corners of the sofas fit into almost any style of kitchen decoration;
- n-shaped configuration - for such a layout, it is worth choosing highly functional interior items - modular sofas with pull-out shelves, transformers chairs, ottomans. They allow you to fill the room with functionality, practicality, comfort, beauty;
- Layout "island" requires the selection of stylish poufs, armchairs, a small sofa. The shape and upholstery of such furniture can be varied, but the level of its functionality will always be at its best;
- standard couch - this option is suitable for lovers of classic interiors.
Care Rules
A soft sofa and armchairs to it will help make the kitchen more comfortable and cozy, as in the interior in the photo below. But even very high-quality furniture can quickly lose its original beauty and attractiveness if you do not provide it with regular care.
The complexity of the procedure largely depends on the specifics of the upholstery and the material of manufacture of the soft sofa. Regarding the care of the armrests, we note the following. Natural wood requires the use of polishing agents, plastic is easy to wipe from contamination with wet textiles, and MDF is better not to wipe with a damp cloth.
If we talk about upholstery, then the most practical is genuine leather. Dust and grease from such a surface can be easily removed with ordinary wet textiles. If the grease stain has dried up or is not removed with a damp cloth, you can use a soapy water solution. It is also easy to care for eco skin, as it is not afraid of moisture and non-aggressive detergents. Upholstery such as velor or velvet is most impractical to care for. It can burn out in the sun, and it is extremely difficult to remove complex food stains from such materials.
You can also cover a soft sofa and chairs with an original plaid or protective cover. This will greatly simplify the maintenance of furniture upholstery, as it will be securely hidden under the cover.
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