Choosing wallpaper for the kitchen requires a much more careful approach than for other rooms in the house or apartment. Smoke, the smell of cooked food, moisture - all this forms an aggressive environment, which makes special demands for wallpaper coating. Your walls will not have the best view if the wallpaper on them darkens from smoke or gets an unpleasant smell from everything that you have ever cooked.
What should be the kitchen wallpaper
Which wallpaper is best for the kitchen? When choosing wallpaper, the housewives usually look at the color first. This is wrong, you first need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the material. Here are the main qualities that kitchen wallpaper should have:
- The wallpaper material should be well suited for washing and cleaning. On the packaging of such wallpaper manufacturers put a special icon: three wavy lines and a brush.
- Another important requirement is fire resistance. We are looking for a badge with a picture of a flame on the wallpaper package.
- Wallpaper in the kitchen should be strong enough to mechanical stress.
- Smoke and odor resistance is also required.
Such requirements meet the wallpaper, made of paper with a special impregnation, as well as vinyl wallpaper.
Vinyl wallpapers
Vinyl is a material that is produced artificially. It is characterized by high strength and durability. Vinyl coating very well protects the walls from dampness. When buying vinyl wallpapers, pay attention to the density and thickness of the material. It is these parameters that determine its quality.
The quality of the vinyl wallpaper can only be determined by touch. The first sign of poor-quality material - the surface of the wallpaper crumples like a sponge. This indicates insufficient strength of the material. If vinyl has the required quality, then it can be safely washed, rubbed with a brush and even scraped. In this case, there should be no trace.
High-quality vinyl wallpaper can be glued on any wall, they perfectly hide all the defects in the surface. Wallpaper from vinyl have good durability. At the same time, they are characterized by a huge variety of colors, patterns and textures. Therefore, choosing wallpaper from vinyl, you can always find something to your taste.
The background of vinyl wallpaper is made of paper or non-woven. The second option is considered better and more durable. In the process of gluing, the glue is applied to the walls. Wall decoration with vinyl wallpaper is very easy and pleasant process. The wallpaper does not swell, do not crumple, do not sit down and do not tear.
Paper wallpaper
Paper wallpaper - more economical option. During the manufacturing process, they are impregnated with special mixtures that give them moisture resistance. After that, they can also be wiped with a damp cloth. But they serve much less vinyl: about 3-4 years. In addition, paper wallpapers quickly burn out of sunlight, becoming faded and inexpressive.
Combined wallpaper
There are combinations of wallpaper for the kitchen. When they are produced, a thin layer of vinyl is applied to the substrate from the paper. This coating has a fairly smooth surface, but it should only be glued to a very high-quality wall. Due to the small thickness of the material, any defect in the form of unevenness or cleavage will be very noticeable.
Kitchen wallpapers for painting
Painting wallpaper is a truly brilliant solution, especially for small kitchens, the design of which requires the use of light colors. When dirt accumulates and the wallpaper lose its appearance, they can easily be repainted and your kitchen will again be like new.
Wallpapers for painting are often called "textured."Their surface has a patterned relief, but the pattern is not highlighted in any color. Having such wallpaper in the kitchen, you can not only easily refresh the appearance of the room, but also change its color without much effort and expense.
Painting wallpapers come:
Paper
Impregnated with water repellent composition. Glue such wallpaper on the classic technology, applying glue on wallpaper and on the wall / ceiling. They require neatness and good skills, otherwise folds, bubbles or tears may form. For painting paper wallpapers, use water-based paint.
Non-woven
More durable and durable than paper. When gluing, the glue is applied only to the wall. Flizelinovye wallpaper is not so demanding to the skill level of the window holder, because they do not tear, do not bubble and are not going to fold. Its waterproof properties, as well as strength, wallpaper only get after gluing and staining. Repaint them many times, strength in this case only increases. As in the case of paper wallpaper, the painting is done with water-based paints.
Steklooboji
The basis of these wallpapers is fiberglass, which is characterized by high fire resistance. The elasticity and simultaneous strength of such wallpaper makes them the most durable in comparison with all other types. The service life can be up to 15 years. On the wallpaper can be applied to 15 layers of paint, while they do not lose moisture resistance. Water-dispersion paint( latex or acrylic) is applied with a roller after the entire drying of the web.
How to choose the color of wallpaper for the kitchen
If you have already decided which wallpaper to choose for the kitchen, then you should now decide on the color. For compact rooms do not recommend to buy wallpaper of dark tones. Undesirable, also, conspicuous vertical patterns or a bright contrast pattern. The decoration of the walls in this style will visually reduce the already small space of the kitchen. Better choose a single-color wallpaper with a small and rare pattern.
The hue of the wallpaper is perceived differently depending on the lighting. For this reason, in good stores there are some kind of dressing rooms in which you can estimate the color range of selected wallpapers under different lighting conditions.
In some houses, kitchens have a small area, but high enough ceilings. In such cases, a very good solution is the combined finish of the walls. In this case, the upper part of the walls is covered with wallpaper of light colors, and the lower part - with a bright pattern and saturated colors.
If the windows of the kitchen are blocked by trees( this is often the case in apartments located on the lower floors) or go to the north side, scant lighting can be compensated with lemon or light beige tones of the wallpaper. If the room is well lit, you can choose cold wallpaper. The walls of a green, blue or even gray hue will look very good. This method will not only create a pleasant and soothing background for the eyes, but also give a feeling of airiness and spaciousness.
To answer the question what kind of wallpaper is best for the kitchen, it is impossible without assessing the state of the kitchen furniture. Correctly chosen color and pattern of wallpaper is a very good way to divert attention from the situation, or, conversely, to emphasize it. If the furniture in the kitchen is old, has flaws and has long required replacement, walls are better covered with brightly colored wallpaper with a large and contrasting pattern. On the contrary, if the furniture is new and has an attractive appearance, then the wallpaper is better to choose in quiet colors with a soft and unobtrusive pattern.