Every housewife dreams of a modern and functional kitchen. Today, this dream is easy to realize. Construction supermarkets offer customers many new finishing materials, modern furniture, and convenient accessories.
Customers are increasingly attracted by practical and reliable wall panels. They can be used for an apron above the work surface, as well as for finishing other walls of the kitchen. Such an element of the interior can completely change the atmosphere. 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 room decoration. In this article we will look at the materials from which panels are most often made and where it is better to use them.
What are panels for?
Most often, wall panels for the kitchen (photo you can see below) are used to make an apron over the work surface. Such a solution is justified - a small wall gap between the countertop and wall-mounted kitchen cabinets is most susceptible to contamination - water splashes when washing dishes, greasy stains, etc. This surface must be protected, and various materials are used for this purpose.
Which wall panel for the kitchen is the most practical?
They can be made from a wide variety of materials. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's try to figure out the merits of some of them.
Materials used
Plastic wall panels for the kitchen are light, heat resistant, easy to maintain, hygienic.
MDF panels are perfect for finishing any wall in the kitchen, except for the apron. 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 they have low moisture resistance in the area of seams, so they should not be installed above the work surface.
If you want your kitchen apron to be made of wood, you will need natural wood panels. This is an environmentally friendly material, has high moisture resistance, easy to maintain. Their only drawback can be considered a rather high price.
However, do not immediately abandon your dream - you can help out panels from fiberboard. All the advantages of natural material should include their quite affordable price.
Glass wall panels for the kitchen is the dream of any housewife. They meet all the requirements: thermal, 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. Plastic is a solid polyvinyl chloride with a very small amount of softener. Therefore, we can say that this is a very strong and resistant material that can be used not only for the manufacture of an apron, but also for the decoration of the entire kitchen room as a whole. Moreover, today the color palette of such panels is so diverse that you can pick them up for any interior. This material is especially relevant in new buildings, when the use of a more expensive analogue is impractical.
MDF panels
The wall panel for the kitchen from MDF is also a very 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 combination 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 a material: environmental friendliness and wear resistance, ease of installation and dismantling, a large selection of colors and patterns, resistance to the formation of fungi and mold. Nevertheless, his minuses are serious: he can release toxic substances into the air (in case of violation of the production technology), is unstable to aggressive chemicals. In addition, this material may swell when exposed to moisture. But we said that such panels should not be used for the manufacture of an apron, as for the rest, there are no contraindications, as they say.
Wood panels
If your room is made in ethnic style, Old Slavonic, for example, then the wall panel for the kitchen made of natural wood is ideal. It is a reliable material with high rigidity characteristics. Such panels can be made of different types of wood, their price 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 stains of fat. In this case, they can 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 the design of a room and a kitchen in particular. The selected image is applied to the tempered glass ; as a result, the panel takes on a unique look.
The innovative UV printing technology for glass allows you to keep all the colors bright, even if they are under constant exposure to sunlight. Glossy glass panel protects against scratches and deformation of the picture. Wall panels for the kitchen made of glass - a stylish design.
Despite the rather complicated installation and 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 only an apron, and your kitchen will be transformed beyond recognition.
The wall panel on the kitchen made of glass can be of various colors, with or without a pattern, have a matte surface and even a relief. A striking distinguishing feature of this type of decoration is a stylish backlight that will give any kitchen, even a small area, romance and volume.
Tile Panels
Ceramic tiles are old, time-tested and much-loved material that has been successfully used in the design of a kitchen. However, it is not always possible to purchase ceramics (rather high cost, a house just commissioned). That is why the building materials market has responded to this situation and today offers customers wall-mounted kitchen panels “under the tile”. Using them, you can experiment, including your imagination.
Professional designers are well aware that ceramic tiles are not so easy to use - laying them requires skill, experience and time. Wall panels are a completely different matter - they will transform a room in 2-3 days. To date, these moisture resistant sheets have become the best alternative to tile.
Tile panels are available in several forms. There are three main varieties:
- tiled;
- rack and pinion;
- leafy.
PVC slat 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 temperature and humidity changes.
Tile panels are available in the form of rectangles or squares. Of these, you can create various combinations of textured combinations and shades, which allows you to create an original lined surface.
Sheet wall panels - an interesting and relatively new material. It accurately imitates ceramic tiles. Sheets have standard sizes (1.22 x 2.44 m). With their help, wall decoration is fast, and the installation of the frame is not required. It may be needed only in case of alignment of significantly curved walls.
The advantages of wall panels
- There is no construction debris or dirt during installation.
- No special cutting equipment required.
- One panel covers an area of three square meters.
- Simple installation, allowing you to do the work yourself.
- A variety of colors, allowing you to choose panels for any interior.