2019-05-28
Author: Belfan
Issues discussed in the material:
- What are the advantages of a solid wood kitchen?
- What types of wood are used to make solid wood kitchens and what are their features?
- In what style can you decorate a solid wood kitchen?
- Which solid wood furniture to choose for the kitchen
- How to properly care for a solid wood kitchen
Despite the huge number of various materials, kitchens made of solid wood continue to be especially popular. And this is not surprising, because it is difficult to compete with their beauty - they always look noble, solid, speak of the good taste of the owner of the home, and are also an indicator of luxury and create a warm, cozy atmosphere. Read on to find out what features a solid wood kitchen has, as well as the rules for its design.
What you need to know when choosing a kitchen from an array
It should be noted that almost never 100% wood is used when furnishing a room for cooking and eating. Wooden facades for the kitchen are the most common technique. The frame is usually made from modified plywood or particleboard. Despite the relatively low cost and light weight, such furniture has a beautiful design.
A wooden tabletop will not be the best solution, since it cannot boast of moisture resistance, and is not yet resistant to dirt and mechanical stress. Designers advise choosing a combination of solid wood facades and a working surface made of natural or artificial stone.
Color solutions
The natural shade of wood can be changed by tinting or staining. A wide variety of colors are possible: from almost white or light beige to black, yellow, pinkish and orange. If necessary, the wood can be painted in any color.
When choosing a palette, keep in mind that dark brown and dark blue surfaces get dirty easily. Minor traces of dust are clearly visible on them. Pastel colors on the walls go well with light wooden furniture.
In classic and country styles, brown, beige and white colors, as well as shades of green and blue, are appropriate. Provence, in addition to light wood, can be recognized by the presence of lavender, blue and turquoise shades. Brown wood in a high-tech style will be complemented by white, black and silver elements.
Advantages and disadvantages
Wooden furniture has many advantages:
- environmental friendliness and naturalness;
- external attractiveness;
- ease of restoration;
- durability;
- relevance.
The disadvantages include:
- fastidiousness;
- low ultraviolet resistance;
- the need for regular care using special products;
- inability to use curved facades;
- high cost;
- heavy weight and labor-intensive installation.
How to care
It’s not easy to keep a kitchen like this clean. This requires not only special knowledge, but also a lot of time and effort.
First you need to determine what cleaning liquid you can use if water and a rag are ineffective: to do this, you need to wipe a small piece of wood in an inconspicuous corner, let the surface dry and watch the reaction. But you should use chemicals only in exceptional cases, for example, to clean greasy stains on spice racks.
It is very important to wipe all surfaces with a damp cloth as often as possible, you should not allow dust to penetrate into the pores of the wood, as this will make it lose its decorative appearance, but in order to clean carved surfaces, it takes time and patience, so sometimes you can use soft dust brushes.
Lacquered facades must be wiped with a special product to keep the surfaces shiny. The tabletop requires special care. You can’t put hot things on it, spilled liquids should be cleaned up immediately, and you shouldn’t leave food on the surface, the smell of which could be absorbed by the wood.
Pine
Pine furniture is the cheapest. The advantages of such wood are softness, pliability, ease of processing, wide availability, low cost. Most designers are attracted to the golden color of pine. It is visible even through the varnish.
A kitchen made of this wood will add light and comfort to the room. But this ephedra has a number of disadvantages:
- risk of rotting over time unless special treatment is provided;
- low resistance to moisture;
- ability to release resin when exposed to high temperatures;
- sensitivity to mechanical stress.
Veneering of facades
As an alternative to wooden facades, veneer coating is used. The production technique of this material consists of cutting plates from natural wooden beams using a milling machine. Very thin knives remove a millimeter-thick layer of wood, then these layers are dried, glued together with glue combined with the desired paint and kept under pressure until completely glued and dry. Ultimately, the result is a wooden panel, flexible and durable, maximum 3 mm thick, which will visually replicate the structure of wood on furniture bases made of MDF, chipboard, etc. Veneer is made from valuable hard and rare exotic species, and then the cost of a product with a base made of inexpensive materials will be simply sky-high, thanks to such expensive veneering. That is why a method was invented for coloring veneer from budget coniferous trees in the style of oak, beech, ash, walnut and other valuable species.
When you run your hand along the end of a wooden part, you feel small irregularities, but veneered furniture is all smooth and perfect.
Pros and cons of veneered facades
Kitchen furniture sets covered with veneer have a lot of advantages and one minor disadvantage, which with the help of experienced stylists can be turned into a huge plus.
pros
- Price. This undeniable advantage makes veneered furniture accessible to a large number of buyers. It’s so nice to decorate your kitchen in an expensive, sophisticated style that you like without spending fabulous money on furniture. After all, not everyone nowadays can afford furnishings made of oak or wenge, but purchasing a pine or spruce set with such a chic look will be very useful.
- Naturalness of the material. Veneer is made exclusively from wood using absolutely harmless, non-toxic glue, therefore it is an environmentally friendly material. It is very important to pay attention to the raw materials that make up the base under the pasting. If it is wood or MDF, you don’t have to worry about the health of your loved ones. After all, the kitchen is the place in the apartment in which the hostess and her family spend a significant part of their lives, and natural materials are needed here like air.
- Material stability. Veneered facades are very durable. This coating is not afraid of temperature changes, high humidity, which is so typical of the kitchen, and grease and soot deposits. Such furniture does not deform; the veneer, securely glued using a special technology, will not peel off from the main surface and will not change its texture, so it will have a decent appearance for many years.
- Flexibility. Veneer coating is a very elastic material. Unlike wooden products, it is able to cover the most prominent surfaces. For lovers of Art Nouveau style and smooth lines, a kitchen made of MDF covered with veneer will be a real gift. This wonderful material will allow you to emphasize any decorative element according to the customer’s taste and will fulfill your wildest desire in terms of the shape of the facades.
- Restorative ability. The kitchen set is constantly exposed to external influences, which over time can transform its appearance. Not everyone can change furniture often, and not all materials allow for updating. A huge advantage of veneered furniture is the possibility of its restoration, allowing it to be given a new life.
If you like natural wood, but are looking for a cheaper solution, then a set with a veneered facade is the ideal option for you
Minuses
The only drawback is the negative impact of coarse abrasive detergents on furniture. Mechanical damage may also cause damage to the edges. Therefore, you should treat the headset with care, wiping it with a soft cloth or sponge with gentle detergents.
Having a wooden kitchen furniture set is a great solution and an invaluable gift to yourself and all your family and friends.
Oak
Oak furniture sets the tone for the rest of the decor. Advantages of this material:
- nobility and attractiveness of texture;
- grace of color transitions;
- durability;
- high strength.
The main disadvantage is hardness. It is also worth noting such a disadvantage as high cost.
Material for production
A variety of woods are used as materials. Dense larch and oak are more popular. Softer linden, poplar, and pine are considered not the most reliable suppliers of wood.
Russian manufacturers most often work with pine or spruce.
In addition to its main qualities, this wood retains a pleasant aroma for a long time, and pine also emits beneficial phytoncides that cope remarkably well with respiratory diseases.
Beech
Kitchens made of beech can also boast high strength indicators. This is a very reliable material. Its characteristic shades are pinkish, white, bleached, coffee.
Beech is known as a donor tree. It is believed that it has positive energy, due to which it can have a beneficial effect on well-being. Beech wood can be tinted.
How to harmoniously fit carved furniture into the kitchen interior
Wooden carvings are used in many kitchens.
Classic style
- The sets are designed according to established rules: the upper doors are replaced with glass and a decorative wicker grille or frame with tapestry fabric, glass panels on the back walls;
- massive legs are made using the technique of sculptural carving, the handles are dark and also carved;
- There are many hanging shelves for the bar counter and a set of the same style as the set;
- chairs with weighted carved legs and curved or Viennese backs.
The video shows how to harmoniously fit carved furniture into the kitchen interior:
Ethno
Kitchen in Russian style. The main detail of such a kitchen is a carved buffet installed in the middle of the wall. Above the sink there is a wooden dishware with walls decorated with sculptural carvings or hanging kitchen shelves. A kitchen chest, the sides of which are decorated with applied carvings.
This is what carved furniture looks like in an Ethno kitchen
As decoration, you can install figurines carved from wood or a wooden bread box on the buffet tabletop. Crafts made from natural materials, processed branches, twigs, roots, twine bottles and other design ideas for the kitchen would be appropriate here. In such kitchens, the windows are decorated with carved internal trim.
African style kitchen. Low carved furniture - cabinets, shelves on which kitchen utensils are placed along with decorative items: various sculptures carved from wood and stylized according to African traditions, wooden masks on the walls.
Wall cabinets are used as the upper furniture tier. All furniture is made of dark wood, decorated with one type of carving, without the use of slotted or sawn carvings. It is better to put kitchen appliances in cabinets.
Chalet
- Rough massive furniture;
- cabinets decorated with sculptural carvings, benches with carved backs, beams on the ceiling will harmoniously complement the interior.
This is what carved furniture might look like in a Chalet kitchen
Country
There is no need to introduce a lot of carved details here. For country style decor there can be carved backs or cornices on cabinets.
carved furniture in the Country kitchen
Baroque
Whimsicality is the essence of this style. Therefore, curved, twisted legs and backs, unusual handles, convex lush facades, carved cornices will come in very handy here.
Beautiful carved Baroque furniture mainly has a golden texture
Small white kitchen
A small wooden set made of light wood with facades decorated with moldings and a carved cornice “in the ceiling” will fit well into such an interior and make it warm.
Biedermeier
In the traditions of this style, the use of furniture made of ash, maple, and pear. It can be decorated with veneer and sculptural carvings. The legs of ottomans and footstools can be made using this carving technique.
Carved furniture in the Biedermeier kitchen has a very presentable appearance and looks quite expensive
Vintage
Vintage is brightness and charm. There are a lot of bright colors here, so a set made of lush, warm wood, decorated with moldings and carved details, is suitable. Lattice doors on the upper cabinets, convex lower cabinets, cabinets under the window and on the walls adjacent to the units with carved legs and applied carvings as decoration.
Carved vintage furniture
Gothic
Tall, dark, narrow cabinets with carved cornice turrets are ideal for this somewhat unusual style for a kitchen.
Art Deco
The name of the style translates as “decorative art”. One of its distinctive features is the geometric patterns on furniture facades. They can be made using wood carving techniques.
This is what carved Art Deco furniture looks like and is installed in large rooms
Cherries
Solid cherry is distinguished by an attractive texture. Despite the fact that this tree cannot be compared with oak and ash in terms of strength, it is valued for its original reddish tint.
A good-quality kitchen made of natural wood is an indicator of not only good taste, but also status. Before going to the store, you should accurately imagine the desired interior of the kitchen space. It will also be useful to consult with specialists. They will be happy to recommend the most suitable option in your case.
What trees are used
For the production of kitchens, wood of various types is used - both hard and soft. The first type is more expensive, but stronger and more durable. It is used to create branded cabinet furniture. The following types of hardwood are distinguished:
- Oak is considered a reference material, which has a special texture with a noticeable pattern of growth rings (wood with narrow rings is more suitable for furniture). Oak does not rot in the humid microclimate of the kitchen, and furniture made from it lasts for decades.
- Beech is one of the most common materials for kitchens. It is not inferior in strength to oak, but the lighter shade allows you to apply tinting and make the furniture suitable for any style.
- Ash is a strong and durable material. Wood comes in different shades - from light pink to dark brown tones.
- Cherry is somewhat softer than oak and beech, has a unique texture and a pleasant reddish tint.
- Wenge is a hardwood of East African origin. It is valued for its black-brown color and coarse-fiber decorative texture.
- Zebrawood is another exotic hardwood that has a texture similar to the stripes of a zebra. Pairs well with light oak or birch.
Soft breeds of domestic origin are easily damaged by accidental impacts and quickly become unusable, but they can be used as budget decorative elements and facades.
- Pine is a wood that is less valuable in terms of performance qualities than hardwoods, but it releases substances that are beneficial to health and destroy pathogenic microbes. It is well processed, has a smooth light golden surface, ideal for Russian rustic style.
- Alder is a wood that has a reddish tint, darkens from light, deteriorates from contact with iron, and is therefore not suitable for countertops. Suitable for interior decoration and the manufacture of external furniture parts. After staining, alder can look like any valuable tree species, which is often used to imitate it.
- Birch requires special protection and care, since the wood is easily affected by fungus and begins to rot. The color of the boards ranges from yellowish-white to light brown. Items made from this material have a beneficial effect on air quality.
Photos of solid wood kitchens
Drawing
Wood species are conventionally divided into three types.
Cherry, maple, oak will decorate the kitchen with rings, rosewood and gicalo will add stripes, and beech, alder, and wenge will add pure color.
Knowing these features will help you choose a set that matches the style of your kitchen. Minimalism will suffer greatly from all designs, but any rural design will sparkle with rings and curls.
Frame
The frame is the basis of any set; it is not as noticeable as furniture doors, and it is unlikely that anyone in their right mind would climb to inspect the cabinet from the inside while visiting.
Therefore, very often manufacturers replace solid boards with multiplex, MDF or chipboard panels.
MDF is considered the most popular: it is relatively inexpensive, durable and practical.