Every housewife dreams of a modern and functional kitchen. Today, this dream is easy to realize. Construction supermarkets offer customers a variety of new finishing materials, modern furniture, and convenient accessories.
Customers are increasingly attracted to practical and reliable wall panels. They can be used for a backsplash above the work surface, as well as for finishing other kitchen walls. Such an element of the interior can completely change the situation. The wall panel for the kitchen should not be afraid of high temperatures, be hygienic and, of course, be combined with the chosen style of decoration of the room. In this article, we will look at what materials are most often made of panels and where it is better to use them.
What are panels for?
Most often, wall panels for the kitchen (you can see the photo below) are used to make an apron above the work surface. Such a decision is quite justified -a small gap in the wall between the countertop and wall cabinets is most susceptible to contamination - splashes of water when washing dishes, grease stains, etc. This surface must be protected, and various materials are used for this purpose.
Which kitchen wall panel is the most practical?
They can be made from a variety of materials. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's try to understand the advantages of some of them.
Materials used
Plastic kitchen wall panels are lightweight, heat resistant, easy maintenance, hygienic.
MDF panels are perfect for finishing any wall in the kitchen, except for the backsplash. They are easy to care for, such material can withstand heavy loads, but it does not differ in heat resistance.
Particleboard panels are heat resistant, easy to maintain, but have low moisture resistance in the area of the seams, so they should not be installed above the work surface.
If you want your kitchen apron to be made of wood, then you will need natural wood panels. It is an environmentally friendly material, has high moisture resistance, easy to maintain. Their only drawback can be considered a rather high price.
However, you should not immediately give up your dream - fiberboard panels can help you out. All the advantages of natural material include their quite affordable price.
Glass wall panels forKitchens are the dream of any housewife. They meet all the requirements: heat, fire and moisture resistant, hygienic, very beautiful. The disadvantages include the high price and rather difficult care. And now let's dwell on each of the proposed options in more detail.
Plastic panels
High resistance to external influences, low price, interesting design - these are the main advantages that characterize such a wall panel for the kitchen. The plastic is a hard polyvinyl chloride with a very small amount of softener. Therefore, we can say that this is a very durable and resistant material that can be used not only for the manufacture of an apron, but also for finishing the entire kitchen space as a whole. Moreover, today the color palette of such panels is so diverse that you can choose them for any interior. This material is especially relevant in new buildings, when the use of a more expensive counterpart is impractical.
MDF panels
MDF kitchen wall panel is also quite an affordable solution, and also very attractive. They can be used to decorate the dining area, which will give it coziness and comfort. Using such panels for walls, you can achieve a visual unification of the vertical and horizontal planes of the room, choosing for them not only a close range, but also the overall design of the surface of the material.
We mentioned the advantages of such material: environmental friendliness andwear resistance, ease of installation and dismantling, a large selection of colors and patterns, resistance to the formation of fungi and mold. Nevertheless, it has serious disadvantages: it can release toxic substances into the air (if the production technology is violated), it is unstable to aggressive chemicals. In addition, this material can swell when exposed to moisture. But we said that such panels should not be used to make an apron, as for everything else, there are no contraindications, as they say.
Wood panels
If your room is made in an ethnic style, Old Slavonic, for example, then a wall panel for a kitchen made of natural wood is ideal. It is a reliable material with high rigidity characteristics. Such panels can be made from different types of wood, and their price also depends on this.
The main thing when buying such a finishing material is to make sure that they have a wax coating. It reliably protects the surface from exposure to high humidity (which often happens in the kitchen) and grease stains. In this case, they can also be mounted above the work surface.
Glass kitchen wall panels
Skinali (as designers often call a panel made of glass) is a new approach to decorating a room and a kitchen in particular. The selected image is applied to the tempered glass, as a result, the panel acquires a unique look.
Innovative UV glass printing technique keeps all colors vibrant even if they areare under constant sunlight. The glossy glass panel reliably protects from scratches and deformation of drawing. Wall panels for the kitchen made of glass - a stylish design option.
Despite the rather complicated installation and a considerable price, more and more people opt for this option, since few materials can compare with glass in terms of decorative properties. Of course, it is unlikely that someone will decorate the entire room with such panels, it is enough to make just one apron, and your kitchen will be transformed beyond recognition.
The glass kitchen wall panel can be of various colors, with or without a pattern, have a matte surface and even a relief. A spectacular distinguishing feature of this type of finish is stylish lighting, which will give any kitchen, even a small one, romance and volume.
Panels "under the tile"
Ceramic tile is an old, time-tested and loved by many material that is successfully used in the design of the kitchen. However, it is not always possible to purchase ceramics (a rather high cost, a house that has just been put into operation). That is why the building materials market has responded to this situation and today offers customers wall panels for the kitchen “under the tile”. Using them, you can experiment, including your imagination.
Professional designers are well aware that ceramic tilesnot so easy to work with - its installation requires skill, experience and time. Wall panels are a completely different matter - they will transform the room in 2-3 days. Today, these moisture-resistant sheets have become the best alternative to tiles.
Panels "under the tile" are available in several types. There are three main varieties:
- tiled;
- rack;
- leafy.
PVC slatted panels are mounted on pre-installed rails made of wood or metal. The second option is preferable, since the metal frame is not afraid of changes in temperature and humidity.
Tile panels are produced in the form of rectangles or squares. From them you can create various combinations of texture combinations and shades, which allows you to create an original lined surface.
Sheet wall panels are an interesting and relatively new material. It accurately imitates ceramic tiles. Sheets have standard dimensions (1.22 x 2.44 m). With their help, the walls are finished quickly, and the installation of the frame is not required. It may only be needed when leveling heavily curved walls.
Advantages of wall panels
- During installation, there is no construction debris and dirt.
- No special cutting tools required.
- One panel covers an area of three square meters.
- Easy installation, allowing you to do the job yourself.
- A variety of colors to choose frompanels for any interior.
