The question of what style to equip the kitchen in, for many has only one answer: of course, in the most modern. This means the presence of built-in appliances of the latest models, innovative in the form and materials of furniture. However, there are a number of romantic aesthetes who prefer to have a kitchen from the past or even the century before last, that is, a kind of unique corner of home comfort framed by objects and devices that seem to have arrived in a time machine. But very often it happens that a retro-style kitchen is such only externally.
The retro style can be traced not only in the interior, but also in the design of household appliances. There are a number of companies that specialize exclusively in this styleAnd behind the old facades is hidden sophisticated electronics, a pot-bellied refrigerator with a handle-bracket actually has a completely modern filling and advanced functionality, and shabby shabby furniture has become such in the hands of a skilled craftsman or made and "aged" by an individual order. In any case, if you want to constantly receive special interior retro pleasure in your kitchen, you should first choose the era in which you would like to immerse it, as well as the method of its design.
The main eras for choosing a retro interior
Retro style can be understood in different ways, and its boundaries are blurry enough for perception. This is due to the fact that too many eras and design periods can potentially form the basis for its creation.
Traditionally, interior designers find inspiration in the design of antique kitchens in four iconic eras, which have acquired a well-deserved cult status in design circles. It:
The kind English style of the 19th century is still extremely popular. It is ideal for kitchens, because it creates an incredibly warm, soft, kind atmosphere thanks to paneled, wooden furniture facades, special shiny utensils, handmade accessories, as well as a work area that imitates a real hearth.
Art Deco of the 30s is ethnic notes, clear geometric shapes, stylish, expensive finishes, bright, powerful lighting. An excellent basis for creating a kitchen, the interior of which is capable of both satisfying a delicate artistic taste and becoming the pride of an esthete owner.
Despite the war period, kitchens of the 40s are distinguished by quite bright colors. Moreover, such juicy colors as cherry, lilac, lemon, red, orange were used, which, together with colored towels and stainless steel, created an atmosphere that could distract from the heavy news coming from the front or the unstable situation on the streets.
50s - the famous era of rock and roll and American housewives. No, not desperate, but ideal. That is why the interior of the kitchens had to be completely matched to them. This is not just a combination of the most incongruous colors, as well as a technique of deliberately gigantic sizes, but also a riot of the most insane gadgets designed to make the cooking process as easy as possible for a woman. Very often in such colored kitchens you can find black and white or red and white tiled floors.
If you decide that you need a retro-style kitchen, in the photos we have proposed, you can see how successfully several eras can sometimes be combined in one interior, and how much the interior benefits from such a fusion!
Retro kitchen furniture
When starting to furnish, one should remember the main point: at the beginning of the 20th century, and even more so in the 19th, there was such a thing as a "set" and its material embodiment was simply absent in nature. Those kitchens had sideboards, dressers, sideboards and dining tables with "secret" pull-out drawers. Therefore, if there is a great and sincere desire to make the interior what it was then, you should not look for a set. Just replace the usual top drawers with shelving-type shelves, that is, completely open, and the lower section with the typical cabinets with hinged doors. And at the same time, the finish of the upper section can be strikingly different from the lower: in those days it was the norm.
What are the ways in general for those who want to have a unique retro kitchen in terms of the furnishing process?? In fact, there are five of them:
Family "reserves" can greatly surprise you: sometimes real treasures are hidden in summer cottages and other peculiar "warehouses", to which you just need to apply quite affordable methods of restoration. If there are no such stocks, or the furniture is no longer in that condition, antique shops will help, but this is a rather laborious (in terms of search) and costly method. Although at flea markets everything will cost a penny.
If you want rare antiquity, but do not want to furnish the kitchen with "rubbish" that has fallen into disrepair, you should look for high-quality stylized sets in stores. Retro is in price today, which is why many companies offer items that perfectly copy the era of your choice. In this case, you can even save money, since an expensive wooden block is being replaced today, for example, by MDF with polyvinyl chloride. Although such material for retro is really quite frank bad manners.
Decorating and retro lighting
Retro style, regardless of the era chosen, featured simple finishes with frequent use of synthetics. However, it should be remembered that, for example, there were simply no plastic panels in the 19th century. You will most likely have to choose from:
For walls in the past and the century before last, paint, wallpaper, plaster were usually chosen. If this is wallpaper, then be sure to have floral patterns, polka dots or stripes. Edible images can be a good option: fruits, vegetables, buns, cakes, etc. This will be especially true for a kitchen in the style of the 40s, 50s. If you will be filling the dining room with bright furniture and accessories, you need to choose calm pastel colors for decoration.
For flooring, especially in Soviet times, there was no other option than linoleum with a traditionally geometric pattern. A tiled floor-checkerboard will look more stylish, that is, two-color. Moreover, the black and white version is not the only one here. You can also choose treated boards or parquet, if it is "good old England" or concrete it with a beautiful rug on top. There should be no laminate or self-leveling coating!
For the ceiling, there are only three options - paint, plaster, whitewash. Moreover, the last option is the most common. The textures here should be emphasized rough, unless, of course, you choose an extremely aesthetic early Art Deco style for your kitchen.
A real retro kitchen should be very bright, that is, as illuminated as possible. Photos of those times or the work of modern designers indicate that the old interior is a versatile lighting. But at the head of everything must be a chandelier.
It can be something very simple, hanging from the ceiling on a string, chain or decorated cable. Another option is a model with several horns, wave-shaped glass shades with flowers or polka dots. A variety of sconces, table lamps, floor lamps are also held in high esteem. For the kitchen of the 19th century, you can look for a lamp stylized as a kerosene. Lampshades should be fabric, brocade or velvet, with tassels or fringes.
Retro kitchen design: photos of "old" appliances
If you manage to find a Soviet refrigerator that works properly and still looks tolerable - it will become the real pride of your rare kitchen. But in general, the retro style today does not force us to abandon modern ultra-powerful models and gadgets.
There is a little trick here: many well-known brands offer stylized retro-inspired appliances with a completely modern and functional filling. In addition, in online stores you can find interesting fake panels that you can use to decorate modern technology. As a result, your kitchen will have, for example, a "denim" or brass refrigerator, from which your guests will be delighted.
