Nowadays, walls in the kitchen are almost completely filled with appliances and cupboards, but if you have free wall, it's important that you wisely choose what you're going to cover it in. Here's a short of options you can choose from.
Painting your walls.
Applying paint to kitchen walls needs to be done very carefully to avoid accidentally painting your floor or ceiling. You have to buy washable paint, because it's durable and water-proof, both of which are important in the kitchen.
When choosing type of paint you want to use, it's important to remember that color and tint and glossiness of your paint will create a theme that you should follow with the rest of design - furniture, ceiling, floor, etc. Your options:
- Polyurethane/epoxy paint. It's very durable and a optimal option for a work area in the kitchen.
- Emulsion paint. On the plus side it has distinct lack of odor and very speedy drying (under an hour). It's easy enough to wash off tools used and furniture because it's water based. But, because of it it's use on wallpapers, metal and wood is limited, but it can be applied to almost any other surface.
- Alkyd paint. It quickly dries, but you need to wait for about few hours before applying next layer. It's extremely durable and doesn't have any smell at all. It can also be painted on wallpapers and wooden panels.
Ceramic tiles.
Ceramic tiles are durable, look nice and should be used in busiest work spaces of the kitchen. There are countless variants when it comes to tint of tile. It can also be used to create mosaic-styled pictures. Transparent tile is a new trend that is a little more expensive, but looks great when you draw something underneath before mounting it on the surface.
Wallpapers.
Wallpaper is a adequate option for a less used zones of your kitchen, like dining or washing zones. There are a lot of different options - water-resistant, plain or textured, gloss and/or vinyl (polyvinyl chloride on a paper surface).
When it comes to maintenance there are variants like washable, water- and heat-resistant etc.
Some rules to remember when choosing wallpapers:
- First of all, they should be water-resistant.
- Next, they need to resist fading, otherwise moving your cupboards can expose difference in wallpaper color.
- One of the best choices will be a textured washable vinyl wallpapers. They are resistant to grease, soot, and extreme temperatures and easy to wash.
Combo wallpapers is an hanging of a few types of wallpaper in one kitchen. Usually it's done in one of two different ways:
- Horizontal dividing. Usually it means darker wallpapers in the bottom, lighter at the top.
- Three against one. It's when one wall differs from other three in color.
Painting your walls.
Applying paint to kitchen walls needs to be done very carefully to avoid accidentally painting your floor or ceiling. You have to buy washable paint, because it's durable and water-proof, both of which are important in the kitchen.
When choosing type of paint you want to use, it's important to remember that color and tint and glossiness of your paint will create a theme that you should follow with the rest of design - furniture, ceiling, floor, etc. Your options:
- Polyurethane/epoxy paint. It's very durable and a optimal option for a work area in the kitchen.
- Emulsion paint. On the plus side it has distinct lack of odor and very speedy drying (under an hour). It's easy enough to wash off tools used and furniture because it's water based. But, because of it it's use on wallpapers, metal and wood is limited, but it can be applied to almost any other surface.
- Alkyd paint. It quickly dries, but you need to wait for about few hours before applying next layer. It's extremely durable and doesn't have any smell at all. It can also be painted on wallpapers and wooden panels.
Ceramic tiles.
Ceramic tiles are durable, look nice and should be used in busiest work spaces of the kitchen. There are countless variants when it comes to tint of tile. It can also be used to create mosaic-styled pictures. Transparent tile is a new trend that is a little more expensive, but looks great when you draw something underneath before mounting it on the surface.
Wallpapers.
Wallpaper is a adequate option for a less used zones of your kitchen, like dining or washing zones. There are a lot of different options - water-resistant, plain or textured, gloss and/or vinyl (polyvinyl chloride on a paper surface).
When it comes to maintenance there are variants like washable, water- and heat-resistant etc.
Some rules to remember when choosing wallpapers:
- First of all, they should be water-resistant.
- Next, they need to resist fading, otherwise moving your cupboards can expose difference in wallpaper color.
- One of the best choices will be a textured washable vinyl wallpapers. They are resistant to grease, soot, and extreme temperatures and easy to wash.
Combo wallpapers is an hanging of a few types of wallpaper in one kitchen. Usually it's done in one of two different ways:
- Horizontal dividing. Usually it means darker wallpapers in the bottom, lighter at the top.
- Three against one. It's when one wall differs from other three in color.