No one will argue that the kitchen is the most versatile room in any home. The hostesses spend most of their free time here. And lovers of creating culinary masterpieces can even spend half a day in the kitchen to please their household. It is in the kitchen space that the whole family gathers for joint meals, and the closest guests can also be received here. But ironically, this very room is very often the smallest in area in Russian apartments built in the last century. That is why it is important to distribute the useful space of kitchen premises as efficiently as possible. In this publication, we will consider options for installing kitchen corners in the dining area as an alternative or addition to the usual dining group for many – a table and chairs.
Kitchen corner – advantages and disadvantages
Many of us remember the first kitchen corners that appeared in Soviet times and immediately became incredibly popular. As a result, half of our compatriots in the kitchen had similar corners with storage space under the seats. Since then, much has changed in modern trends in the design of living spaces, new materials have appeared for the execution and decoration of furniture, kitchen corners can be made in thousands of variations, among which you can always find an option that is ideal for your interior.
Among the advantages of installing a corner in the kitchen space are the following:
- providing comfortable and comfortable seating during meals;
- effective use of the corner of the room (with this zone, there are most often problems in the installation of furniture and household appliances);
- an increase in the number of storage systems due to the boxes located under the corner seats;
- if the corner is a soft sofa, then an increase in the number of sleeping places for late guests or a resting place for the hostess (owner) who spent a lot of time in the kitchen space;
- the possibility of zoning a large kitchen area into the working and dining sectors;
- wide range of models, colors and textures of the frame and upholstery of the corners.
Of course, there are disadvantages in using the kitchenette:
- unlike the usual dining group (table and chairs), the corner does not have such mobility and is not able to fit into any area of the room if the owners wanted to rearrange;
- in the assortment of ready-made solutions presented in furniture stores, you may not find a corner suitable for the style and color palette, and the furniture will have to be made to order. But this minus easily turns into a plus, because with individual production, the resulting furniture will perfectly fit into the existing space and harmoniously integrate into the interior of the kitchen;
- the inconvenience when using a corner for a more or less large company is that the person sitting in the corner of the structure must be asked to get up from those sitting next to him in order to leave the table.
Kitchen corners – a kaleidoscope of models and options for combining with a dining group
To the question « where to install the kitchen corner» the most logical answer is – «in the corner of the room, of course». But not everything is so simple. First, and «corners» are completely non-angular, and kitchens can be of very different shapes. For example, if your kitchen has a bay window, then it is more logical to make a corner in the shape of this original element of architecture. Letter-shaped «P» or a trapezoid without a base – with the help of a soft corner, you will be able to optimally use the usable space of the bay window. It is enough to install a dining table next to the corner, equip the remaining free space with chairs or small armchairs and a spacious, comfortable and stylish dining group is ready.
The corner in the traditional sense of this piece of furniture is most often located in the corner of the room, most often by the window. Whether the sides of your furniture corner are equal or the length of one will be significantly longer than the other – it doesn’t matter, the main thing is to choose the right furniture for the dining group. The traditional corner is universal in this regard. Both square and rectangular, oval and round tables are in perfect harmony with it. If the sides of the corner are equal, then a round or square table will fit more logically, for a corner in the shape of a letter «D» it is better to choose a rectangular or oval model.
Oval and round dining tables that are part of the corner dining area have a clear advantage. The number of people sitting at such a table is not strictly regulated and, if necessary, guests who come without warning can be received right in the kitchen space. In addition, it is much easier for a person sitting in the corner of a furniture ensemble to leave his seat if the table has rounded shapes – a minimum of chances for injury.
A soft corner, made like a sofa, turns the kitchen space into an elegantly decorated room, it turns the kitchen into a living room. Of course, beauty requires sacrifice. No matter how water-repellent the upholstery fabric is, how easy it would be to clean it, all household members will need to eat carefully in order to preserve the original appearance of the corner sofa as long as possible.
The other side of the coin of using a very soft and comfortable corner in the kitchen is a long stay at the table. As a result, you can eat much more than planned, and, in principle, was needed. If your household often «sit» on diets, it is better to give preference to a corner with a hard surface. You can do the same with chairs that complement the dining group..
There are kitchens of this configuration, in which it is more convenient to install not a corner soft set, but a pair of roomy chairs with a length for two people opposite each other, similar to the arrangement of seats in a cafe. This method of seating at the dining table will help to rationally use the usable space of the kitchen only if there is a niche in the room that is suitable in size for organizing a dining area. The disadvantage of such designs is the impossibility of changing the environment and increasing the number of people sitting at the table. But for a family of four, such a dining group can be the perfect solution..
A kitchen corner can hardly be called such if it is made in the form of a semicircle, an arc. When using this configuration «eaten» part of the corner of the room is definitely a minus. But the smooth shape of the seats allows you to place a larger number of people gathered at a round or oval table – this advantage covers small disadvantages, including the cost of making a headset to order.
The furniture corner can become part of the dining area not only within the kitchen space, but also in the dining room. If in your home there is an opportunity to allocate a separate room for organizing a place for meals, then a spacious and comfortable soft corner can become not only its harmonious part, but also a decoration of the entire room. It can be made in accordance with the chosen dining room design concept or become its accent, a focal point around which the entire interior is built.
The advantage of using the corner as a seat is also that shallow storage systems can be placed above the furniture ensemble. If the height of the ceilings allows, you can calculate the scale of the hanging cabinets so that when getting up from the corner, households do not touch the storage systems with their heads. No housewife will refuse additional cabinets for storing kitchen utensils, even if they are high enough. Such cabinets can be used to store household items that are rarely used..
In addition to the fact that the corner provides households with the opportunity to comfortably sit at the dining table, its internal space serves as a spacious storage system for the hostess. The simplest way to organize storage boxes is a folding seat. These storage systems are very convenient to use – you don’t even need to move the table and chairs. To get to the contents of the space under the seats. Another way is built-in drawers. This option is less convenient, because in order to pull out the drawer, it is often necessary to move the interfering furniture. Yes, customization of such a model will cost more than the standard version.
The kitchen corner can be used for zoning a spacious kitchen. The selection of the dining area will be maximized by attaching a corner to the front of the bar counter or kitchen island. In this case, various geometric variations of the execution of seats for seating family members are possible – from a simple linear version, the letter «D» and angle to original trapezoidal configurations and even polyhedra.
Design of a dining area with a furniture corner
How can you decorate a dining group that includes a kitchenette? First of all, you need to take care of a beautiful, high-quality and harmonious textile design in terms of color palette. Bright decorative sofa cushions that will not only provide comfort and convenience during a meal, but also bring zest to the kitchen interior. In addition, the upholstery of the kitchen corner itself can be colorful, attracting attention. At the same time, it is not necessary for her to have a repetition in other elements of the decor of the kitchen space – curtains or tablecloths, the upholstery can be the very color accent that a light or neutral interior needs.
Sofa cushions that decorate the kitchen corner and provide comfortable accommodation for households and guests at home can be matched to the color and texture of the upholstery of small armchairs or chairs with soft backs and seats. Such a harmonious group is simply doomed to become «star of the program» your interior.
The choice of upholstery for a kitchen corner is not an easy question, not only in terms of color. It is not easy to choose a monochrome or printed version and take into account the combination of colors with the general palette of the room. The question of choosing the quality of the material is much more serious. It is obvious that ordinary fabric for upholstery of sofas will very quickly fail and will lose its original appearance. Many homeowners opt for leather or faux leather upholstery. Obviously, such a design will not cause trouble for the owners in terms of cleaning surfaces – the material is not afraid of moisture and easily tolerates traditional cleaning. But there are also drawbacks to this design of the soft part of the corner – many do not like the sounds that accompany landing on leather seats, moreover, it is cool on such upholstery in the off-season, and hot in summer.
Another important decoration of the dining area with a corner is the lighting system. Despite its undeniable functionality, the beautiful chandelier above the dining table also acts as a decorative element of the interior. In the case of the location of the dining area not in the center of the room (which is what happens most often with the use of a soft corner), it makes sense to move the chandelier to this functional sector. And provide the working area with built-in ceiling lights or illumination of the lower part of kitchen cabinets.
Here is another way to decorate a dining area with a seating area using lamps. Wall sconces in interwindow spaces – the best option for a bay window with a glass roof.
The chairs themselves can become a functional decoration of the dining group with a corner. If the dining table and the corner are made in a rather conservative way, simply and concisely, then a more creative solution can be found for the chairs. So you can not only provide all household members with places at the dining table, but also bring originality to the interior of the kitchen or dining room..
A bouquet of flowers in a beautiful vase or a bowl of fruit in the center of the table is a great decoration for any dining group. Ideally, the colors of the upholstery of the upholstered corner seats or chairs are repeated in the palette of a specially assembled bouquet or selected fruits – a harmonious picture of the dining area is guaranteed.
Tablecloth or cloth «track», textile napkins and serving rugs for each participant in the meal – all means are good for decorating the dining area. It is only important to know when to stop – if you chose a tablecloth with a print, then the rest of the serving elements should be monochromatic and vice versa, the main fabric on the table, made in the same tone, gives you the freedom to use add-ons – napkins, plate rugs and other decorative elements.
