2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-09 13:15
The part of the kitchen wall decorated with a protective material, which is located between the upper and lower drawers of the headset, is called an apron. Its main task is to protect the wall from oil and other splashes, at the same time it is a decorative element of the kitchen.
Comparison of materials
Today, manufacturers offer a wide variety of materials for making kitchen aprons.
Pvc
Such aprons are quite popular because of their low price and excellent external qualities (they are very similar to real tempered glass).
The disadvantages include a rapidly tarnishing surface, afraid of abrasive cleaning agents that can leave scratches on it . In addition, they do not tolerate high temperatures, so they are placed as far away from the stoves as possible.
This is an inexpensive, but not high-quality material that will retain its appearance for a short time.
Therefore, for long-term use, it is still worth choosing a more expensive and high-quality version of the apron.
Chipboard, MDF
With its budget, an apron made of MDF surpasses a PVC product in many respects - it has an excellent appearance, it is possible to apply almost any image to it using photo printing, it is easy to clean, inexpensive.
The disadvantages include the fragility of photo printing (a drawing on such a basis fades after a couple of years of operation), the material is not as resistant to temperature changes as glass or ceramic tiles, so the apron may deform.
If a gas stove is used in the kitchen, the use of MDF is not recommended due to safety requirements.
Wooden lining
The material has a rather low price and a cozy appearance. Recommended for use in folk-style kitchen finishes. Its advantages, in addition to the low price, include the ease of do-it-yourself installation.
Disadvantages include that such wood panels are relatively inconvenient to clean . This problem is solved by applying washable paints or varnishes.
Ceramic tile
This material has always been considered and will be considered the most practical for finishing a kitchen, in addition to all its qualities, and because of the choice of price - it can be very expensive, elite, and quite budget. The tiles are easy to clean and are not affected by temperature extremes.
The disadvantages of tiles include the fact that not everyone can lay it professionally, and the involvement of specialists significantly raises the price of an apron.
Brick
This type of finish became fashionable at a time when loft and grunge styles became popular, in which unplastered walls were widely used.
Brick aprons look profitable and stylish . The only thing that can be upsetting is the problem with washing it, since bricks tend to accumulate dirt in their pores.
One of the solutions to this problem is tempered glass, the panel of which can be used to protect the brick apron from dirt.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is used relatively rarely in order to protect kitchen walls, although an apron made of such material will look great in a modern interior.
The steel apron has a lot of advantages: its cost is low, it will look great, take care of it is elementary, and you can not even mention its durability.
Not everyone may like the severity of its appearance and the feeling of coldness from the metal surface, but a competent design, as a rule, eliminates this problem.
Its only drawback is that too thin a sheet does not hold its shape well and rattles unpleasantly if it is not firmly fixed.
It is not recommended to purchase polished sheets, which will glare from sunlight or lamp light . The manufacturer can offer a choice of both a corrugated and a simple stainless steel surface, any image, engraving, some kind of pattern can be present on it.
Acrylic "stones"
Acrylic stone aprons strongly resemble natural stone, but have a more affordable cost. If there is a desire to design the wall as a rocky surface, this material is quite suitable, and no photo printing will convey such a texture.
Having decided to arrange the apron in this way, it is necessary to remember that acrylic stone extremely "does not like" scratches , and if an accidental spark hits the surface, you will have to get rid of the burn-through. Also, chemically aggressive cleaning agents leave light streaks on the surface.
But acrylic stone slabs are quite simple to restore, which will help get rid of damage if handled carelessly.
Mosaic
An expensive but extremely stylish finish that has no drawbacks in use. Such an apron will serve until you get bored or you need to replace the entire interior.
Its disadvantage can be called the presence of narrow cracks between the tiles, from which it is not always possible to remove ingrained dirt.
Marble
Of the advantages of the coating, it can be noted unpretentiousness - you can not be afraid to scratch it. When washing marble, it is allowed to use almost any, including aggressive, chemical cleaning agents. But due to the high cost, such an apron is rarely found in the kitchen.
This coating can be safely attributed to the elite types . It will be slightly less expensive if marble mosaic cover is used instead of solid marble slabs, but the presence of a large number of joints will make it difficult to clean. Also, although the marble backsplash is of high quality, its surface is capable of absorbing dirt over time due to its porous structure.
A natural stone
The choice of stone is now very wide, ranging from pebbles, which are easy to pick up with your own hands, and ending with a very expensive onyx slab.
As for the operation of a stone apron, it has the properties of marble, therefore, over time, it will absorb all the dirt . This can be prevented by a special coating of stone slabs, which seals the pores.
When choosing it, you need to consult with the seller how the stone slab was ground, what substances were used to close the pores.
Quartz agglomerates
A relatively recent mixture used in the manufacture of aprons. Previously, quartz agglomerates were mainly used in the manufacture of countertops. Agglomerate is a dense mixture of white quartz chips, which is produced by vibration pressing with the addition of a binding resin. Quartz agglomerate is strong, there are no pores in it, which are present in natural stone and facilitate the ingress of moisture inside.
Maintaining a sinter apron is quite simple . He is practically not afraid of mechanical damage, he is also chemically resistant and is afraid only of the most active acids, which are capable of destroying the binder resin. Aprons made of this material are quite capable of serving the owner throughout his life.
Agglomerates have the widest natural color gamut; in appearance they are indistinguishable from natural stones.
Glass
Heat-resistant glasses are expensive, but they have a very stylish appearance. Glass helps to embody any fantasies and display any drawing: you can order a mirror surface of the apron, or you can depict on it at least your own portrait, at least a photo of your beloved dog.
Glass is durable in use, does not require special maintenance , even significant temperature changes do not affect it, and it is easy and pleasant to wash it due to the absence of joints between small fragments, as in a mosaic. In addition, due to the diffusion and reflection of light, such an apron visually increases the area of the kitchen.
The material has the most positive reviews.
Glass shards are a budget option for the previous apron. You just need to attach the broken glass to any fixing layer like cement or plaster.
Wine corks
In addition to an attractive appearance, such a coating will require immediate coverage with a layer of varnish or other transparent material, since the cork has a high porosity and will instantly absorb everything that is possible, and there will be no chances to wash it.
Slate paints
An apron covered with a layer of blackboard paint is convenient because you can write something on it at any time, for example, a recipe. There are times when you need to leave a reminder to family members.
Such an apron is made of smooth plywood, fixed over the table and painted with slate paint in several layers.
Variety of tones
Kitchen aprons are evaluated by experts as a design option, which, if the wrong color scheme is chosen, will ruin the most stylish interior, and by choosing the correct range, even the simplest kitchen furniture will look advantageous. Usually, the following method is used - you need to collect samples of materials that were used in the design of the kitchen set, and already taking into account their tone, start choosing a color. For example, it is not recommended to use contrasting colors in a small space of a typical kitchen.
The combination of black and white and orange colors will visually reduce its area.
Design options
From all the variety of design options, you can choose a photo apron. This technology significantly saves free space, which is of great importance for typical modern kitchens, since it is able to visually enlarge and expand them. Also, the advantages of such a finish include ease of maintenance.
One of the ways to decorate a photo apron can be a glass panel, or a skin . Such panels are made of corrugated, tinted, matte, transparent or colored glass. The thickness of the skin is very much influenced by its size - the more area it occupies, the more thickness it should have.
The most accessible and simple way of photo collage is the following: any drawing, image, enlarged photo is covered with glass and fixed on the wall. This option can be easily assembled by hand.
It will be more expensive to use direct printing on the skin . On a special printer, the image is applied to the outer layer of the glass surface. With this application, the images are preserved best, this method gives them volume and makes them more saturated.
In addition to photo drawings, the panel can also be decorated by sandblasting the image on the inner surface.
An even easier and cheaper way is to use vinyl film instead of glass in a photo collage.
How to choose?
Before choosing an apron, you need to determine its size and height. Usually the height from the floor is 60 cm. This choice is due to the fact that it is convenient for tall people and people of average height.
With a small growth of the owners, the height of its location is reduced to half a meter or placed slightly lower.
In the absence of upper cabinets of the kitchen unit, the apron is installed either at a standard height, or the level of its placement is overestimated. Sometimes it occupies the entire wall or a significant part of it.
Beautiful examples
We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the stylish design options for a kitchen apron, which are increasingly found in modern kitchens.
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