Recommendations for choosing wallpaper for a compact kitchen.

How to choose wallpaper for a small kitchen

To make the right choice, you need to decide on the type, color scheme, style solution of the wall covering, and also take into account the size of the budget allocated for the renovation. The style and color are chosen taking into account the style of the apartment, the color of the kitchen furniture, the general lighting, the location of the kitchen (orientation to the cardinal points), as well as your own preferences.

But the most important parameter that must be taken into account if the kitchen is small in size is the area and height of the room allocated for it. There are many types of wall coverings on the market, so it is often quite difficult to choose wallpaper for a small kitchen. Let’s consider various options from the point of view of their applicability in kitchen areas.

• Paper. Paper wallpaper is the most budget option. It is presented in various colors, which makes the choice easier. In addition, this is the most environmentally friendly wallpaper available. There are two disadvantages: they are short-lived, and besides, they cannot be washed if they get dirty, which happens quite often in the kitchen.
• Non-woven. They have a textured base, can withstand wet cleaning, and are more durable than paper. The disadvantage is that the top layer is quite soft and can be easily damaged, which is especially true for families with small children and pets.
• Vinyl. Washable wallpaper for a small kitchen is made of vinyl. They have a high density and durability, and dirt can be easily removed from them. There are different types of vinyl wallpaper, but you cannot use only one in the kitchen – foamed vinyl. Cons – this material does not “breathe”, and it is also quite expensive.

Tip: Combining wallpapers will help you save money. For example, cover part of the walls near the dining area with paper, and use vinyl in areas where contamination is especially likely – in the cooking area.

Wallpaper design for a small kitchen

There are standard design techniques that allow you to make even a small room with low ceilings more spacious, as well as correct some of the layout flaws. Use color and a suitable pattern to make your kitchen look stylish, modern and seem larger.

• Color. The first rule is that small rooms should not have dark walls. The lighter the walls, the larger it seems. Modern wallpaper for a small kitchen, as a rule, has light shades. Light tones seem to “retreat” from the person looking at them, and dark ones, on the contrary, “advance”, “approach”. This effect is used if they want to correct the proportions of the room, for example, in a long “carriage” room, narrow walls are covered in dark tones, and the rest – in light ones.

• Tone. Colors are divided into warm and cold. Red, yellow, orange are warm tones, blue, light blue, some shades of violet are cold. Green can be considered universal, it is the most favorable for human perception. Warm tones have the ability to visually “bring closer” objects, cold ones, on the contrary, “move away” them. The color of wallpaper for a small kitchen should be chosen from a cold range – this will help to make it a little larger.

• Pattern. Large patterns “break up” the room, making it seem smaller. It is better to choose a small, almost imperceptible pattern that is not striking. The vertical lines of the pattern will help to “raise” the ceiling, and the horizontal ones will expand the walls. Photo wallpaper and wallpaper with prints (floral, plant) can be used in a small kitchen only on some of the walls, as decorative elements, in this case the rest of the walls should be plain.

Advice: Light warm shades are considered the most suitable for the kitchen, they stimulate the appetite. Avoid purple tones, as well as dark browns. It is not recommended to use black wallpaper for a small kitchen.

Wallpaper ideas for a small kitchen

Painting all the walls with the same wallpaper is no longer relevant today. As a rule, designers advise combining different tones and textures to achieve interesting interior effects, while not forgetting that small spaces require compliance with certain design rules. Here are some examples of using wallpaper in small kitchens.

• Combine colors. Take light peach or creamy shades of white as the main tone. Cover some of the walls with brighter wallpaper in strawberry and grassy tones. You can combine light beige as the main color with turquoise-azure and sunny yellow as accent colors.
• Place accents. Against the general pastel background, one of the walls can be highlighted with bright wallpaper. If the kitchen is very small, highlight not the entire wall, but a part of the wall, for example, near the dining table.
• Add a twist. Modern wallpaper for a small kitchen is usually light in color and can look boring. To liven up the room, don’t forget about color accents – these can be borders, stripes of wallpaper in a contrasting color, as well as wallpaper with a textured surface.

Tip: You shouldn’t combine more than two colors in small rooms. For example, the main color can be white, and the additional color can be wood. A third color can be used as an accent color, in this case red will look great.

The design of wallpaper for a small kitchen should not combine more than two different patterns or textures. For example, a strict ornament looks good in combination with its individual elements scattered across the background. The style of the pattern and ornament should match, for example, it can be geometric elements, or individual flowers scattered across the background, combined with a border of a solid ribbon of bouquets.

Combination of wallpaper with furniture

To choose the right wallpaper for a small kitchen that will visually increase the space, you need to consider a lot of factors, including the size, color and style of furniture that will be located against their background. If the furniture has an ornate shape and bright color, the wallpaper should be almost invisible.

If the furniture is simple in shape and light neutral tones, the wallpaper can be brighter. Furniture and wallpaper of the same color but different textures also go well together. For example, white glossy cabinet fronts look especially good in a small kitchen against the background of wallpaper imitating old plaster. Matte white surfaces of furniture look harmonious against the background of smooth wallpaper with a pattern.