The kitchen is rightfully considered the most complex and aggressive room in the house. For her, the most difficult thing is to choose a finish, and in this article we will talk about which wallpaper is better to choose for the kitchen and what you need to build on so as not to redo the repair with enviable constancy.
In this article, we will not talk about the colors and texture patterns of wallpaper, as this is a matter of your personal taste and interior features in general. It is much more important to dwell on the qualitative characteristics of the material, because it depends on this how long they last.
Repairs are always expensive, and very often there is a desire to save money, and if, for example, in the living room or bedroom you can still succumb to this temptation, then in relation to the kitchen, it will adversely affect the entire repair. It should be noted right away that many wallpapers do not initially provide for use in rooms with an increased aggressive environment, but the problem is that the manufacturer never indicates this nuance on the packaging, which is why choosing which wallpaper is best for the kitchen should be guided by a number of rules.
So:
- Even the most prudent and tidy housewife, pollution in the kitchen is inevitable, and the wallpaper should be as resistant to them as possible. Most modern coatings are equipped with a special coating that prevents dirt from sticking, and the presence of this layer must be paid attention to when choosing.
- Even wallpaper with a protective coating will get dirty sooner or later, which means that they will need to be washed. Therefore, the wallpaper must not only endure water procedures, but also be resistant to the use of detergents, some of which are not inferior in strength to chemical solvents.
- Kitchen wallpaper must endure temperature changes. Despite the fact that almost all modern kitchens are equipped with special hoods, temperature fluctuations are inevitable in this room. Weak stability, at best, will lead to the formation of condensate, and at worst, to peeling off the walls.
Guided by these simple rules, you can easily decide which wallpaper is better for the kitchen, but it is very easy for a person who rarely encounters repairs to get confused in all the variety of modern materials, so further, we will take a closer look at the most popular types of wallpaper.
Important! When sticking with your own hands, carefully read the rules for this type of wallpaper, as the instructions can vary significantly depending on the material and type of coating.
natural wallpaper
The very concept of natural wallpaper is very generalized and includes a number of very different coatings that distinguish both the materials from which they are made and the price, which often becomes a decisive criterion for many buyers.
- Non-woven wallpaper(cm. ). Material made from fine fabric. The very definition of non-woven wallpaper is not entirely accurate, as most often they have a dense vinyl base, which improves the adhesion of the wallpaper to the wall surface.
- Cork. Wallpaper made of fine cork veneer. Easily tolerate pollution and washing, but are very expensive.
- metallic wallpaper. Very controversial material, which we will not describe in detail here, as this is a topic for a separate article.
- wooden wallpaper. A durable and stable coating that has one significant drawback, namely, the ability to absorb foreign odors, which are subsequently very difficult to remove.
- paper wallpaper. Once the most common type of wall covering, characterized by the lowest resistance to both dirt and water.
- Silk. Expensive wallpapers with high quality characteristics. Silk is not afraid of water and does not lose its properties over time, but precisely because of the high cost, this type of wallpaper is the least common among consumers.
All these types of wallpaper, of course, can be used in the kitchen, but they all have a number of disadvantages associated with resistance to dirt and washing, therefore, if the question is the fundamental use of only natural materials, then the question will be much more relevant - better tile or wallpaper on kitchen. Moreover, the option with ceramic tiles will look much more interesting.
In addition to all the listed coatings, there are also so-called ones, but due to their low resistance to the aggressive environment of the kitchen and the complete rejection of water, we will not even focus on them.
Interesting! Despite the low stability, liquid wallpaper is often used to decorate the kitchen, and in order to improve their quality characteristics, a layer of transparent varnish is applied on top of the coating, which completely deprives the wallpaper of vapor permeability, but on the other hand, they can be washed and they do not absorb extraneous odors.
Vinyl wallpapers
Many people who choose wallpaper are scared off by the very word vinyl, and even more so, polyvinyl chloride. Indeed, there is something in them that evokes associations with harmful and dangerous chemical production.
In fact, this is a common misconception based on unreliable rumors and speculation. There is nothing in vinyl that could affect health, much less harm it.
Moreover, vinyl wallpapers, thanks to production technology, have a number of characteristic qualities that no other type has:
- The presence of a special protective layer to prevent dirt and dust from adhering to the surface.
- Complete resistance to water and chemical detergents. Such wallpapers can not only be wiped, but also fully washed, without fear of deterioration in the quality of the material (see).
- Huge variety of patterns and texture embossing, which other wallpapers do not have. Perhaps this is due to manufacturing technology, since plastic is a very malleable material, and gives the widest design possibilities.
- Vinyl does not absorb odors at all, and therefore does not need additional surface protection from them.
- High resistance to mechanical damage. Such wallpapers are difficult to scratch or tear, which is also very important for the kitchen.
Of course, this material is not perfect, and the complete lack of vapor permeability can be considered a significant drawback of vinyl wallpaper. Vinyl not only does not allow moisture to pass under the coating, but also prevents it from escaping, which is why condensation often accumulates under the wallpaper, gradually turning into mold and harmful fungus.
To prevent this from happening, be sure to carefully prepare the walls before sticking the wallpaper. For protection, you can use deep penetration impregnations, or special antiseptic primers, which are applied in liquid form to all walls and form a thin, invisible film that will destroy any fungus even at the stage of its inception.
As for sticking vinyl wallpaper, the process is quite simple and even a person who is far from construction topics can do it, but despite this, before starting work, we strongly recommend that you watch the video in this article, which clearly shows the whole process and its subtleties. When choosing which wallpaper is better for the kitchen, most often it is the vinyl version that is preferred, since there is little that can compete with it in terms of quality and resistance to an aggressive kitchen environment.
Wall mural
Here, we will move a little away from the subject of the qualitative characteristics of wallpaper and talk about the aesthetic component.
Wall mural is a pattern applied to a thick vinyl canvas using large format printing. The material has all the qualities of polyvinyl chloride, and is resistant to water and dirt, but in this case, this is not as important as the appearance itself.
Today, photo wallpapers are presented in the widest range that you can imagine, and the style of the picture can be chosen for any interior, regardless of its orientation. Moreover, if you are so scrupulous in your choice and you could not find a suitable option, then you can take absolutely any photo, and the experts will transfer it to the canvas, increasing it to the required size.
Important! Try to buy photo wallpapers from manufacturers, as they can guarantee you the quality of the canvas that will be printed on. Ready-made Chinese wallpapers, of course, are much cheaper, but they are also significantly inferior in quality and durability.
Another important quality of photo wallpapers is the fact that they can radically change the visual perception of the interior. With their help, you can expand the space, and even visually move the ceiling, if necessary.
In a word - this is an ideal combination of business with pleasure, which means that they should in no case be ignored when choosing.
And in conclusion
When choosing which wallpaper for the kitchen is better, you need to be guided by all the rules described in this article. Only in this case it is possible to achieve not only the most attractive outwardly repair, but also durable, which is no less important.
Any repair is always a cost, both material and physical, which is why it is desirable that the new finish serve faithfully for as long as possible.
