Designing a kitchen without wall cabinets can be a modern and stylish solution for the most important area in your home. However, before implementing the idea, you need to think carefully about the placement of interior items and accessories. The lack of upper cabinets in the kitchen area is subject to certain inconveniences, but in this way you can redesign the design and appearance of the room in a functional and stylish way.
The low profile design gives the interior an eye-catching look and sets the cooking area apart from all others. In a small kitchenette without wall cabinets, making use of every little centimeter is crucial. This is why wall mounted cabinets have become so popular. In this post we have put together some practical ideas for kitchens without wall cabinets that you can use for your next design project.
Furnish a kitchen in a modern way without wall cupboards
Storage is one of the most important things in the kitchen. For this reason, we often choose wall cabinets to make the most of the available space. You may think that a kitchen without wall cabinets may not have enough storage space. That's not always true. This type of facility also offersenough storage space, which can be hidden in the cupboards and kitchen furniture. Not only because such a kitchen is very user-friendly and easy to operate, but also because it can have a very chic and beautiful look.
In recent years, many people have decided toopen shelves in their kitchensto integrate. However, we are currently seeing a new trend: kitchens without wall cabinets. There are some undeniable advantages: the airiness and plenty of window space, but also some undeniable disadvantages: the loss of storage and the prospect of bending over to get everything you need. Is this something you would consider?
To create a comfortable and original kitchen area, you need to think outside the box. Sometimes cooking has to be done quickly, but the food should be tasty and beautifully presented at the same time. All of these requirements can only be met with a comfortable cooking zone. Modern housewives now appreciate bright and airy rooms. These are not just suitable for cooking, but you also need to be able to spend a pleasant time there with a cup of coffee.
Project planning for the optimal facility
Choosing a kitchenette without upper cabinets also requires certain changes to the plan. If the project is planned competently, the owner will not have any complaints when using the kitchen. In this regard, there are various options for choosing the right kitchen furniture. One of them is installing the cabinets straight along a wall in modules. Such a kitchen area is very practical because the hob, sink and kitchen work surface are on the same line.
The absence of upper cabinets can also compensate for decorative compositions. You can hang posters, paintings, photos or a wall clock in the vacant spaces. You must choose all the elements of the interior so that they do not make the room look crowded, but simply decorate it tastefully. In contrast, you can place pencil cases on the kitchen cabinet doors, for example, where you can store the most important kitchen utensils.
You can also set up a square kitchen without wall units in a linear fashion, but in this case you have to assemble the modules together in an L-shape. The advantage of this layout is that you can set the workspace under the window.Optimize your cooking area,by covering the kitchen back wall with matching tiles, natural stone or other suitable composition.
Onetwo-line kitchenettewithout wall cupboards is another variant in which the outdoor units are arranged linearly one above the other. For example, there can even be a dining table between these rows if the size of the room allows it. If the apartment is spacious, you can usually leave the kitchen area free and move the dining area to the other end of the kitchen. Kitchens without wall cabinets can often be in an island location, but this design is only possible in a spacious studio or one-room apartment. With a kitchen island, you can even do without the wall-mounted modules altogether. Everything you need for cooking and serving fits in the cabinet installed in the center of the kitchen.
Kitchen design without upper cabinets: advantages and disadvantages
A kitchen room where there are no wall cupboards has its advantages, but also some negative aspects. Some good things are that a kitchen looks much more spacious without voluminous folding shutters and shelves. In addition, upper cabinets cast a shadow over theKitchen worktop, which is important for preparing food, which is inevitable in the presence of wall cabinets. Good and, above all, natural lighting can make the cooking process easier.
Furthermore, units located closer to the oven get dirty quickly and the main reason for this is the grease. You can integrate a kitchen apron made of ceramic tiles instead of cabinets above the stove. This will make cleaning the kitchen much easier and it will always look clean. Cleaning kitchen furniture is much more difficult because it usually cannot tolerate aggressive chemicals or abrasives.
With a kitchen without wall cabinets, the savings are obvious, as there is no need to buy the furniture without which the kitchen furnishing is quite possible. The safety of the residents of the house is also a big advantage. In rare cases, unprofessional assembly can result in pieces of furniture falling. These are usually not empty in the kitchen, so they have a lot of weight and this can lead to injuries. If all the kitchen cabinets are on the floor, you have nothing to worry about.
Some negative sides at a glance
The rule also applies in this case: No upper cabinet? No problem! On the one hand, such a plan is unlikely to be feasible in small apartments where every centimeter of space has its functional significance. The lack of space feels clear. The upper modules are practical and come to the rescue when the volume of the room is not enough to install furniture. In a kitchen without wall cabinets, you also have a full view, so any imperfections in the geometry of the walls are immediately noticeable. Even fingerprints on shiny surfaces will be clearly visible in good lighting. Rejection of the upper module often requires the arrangement of open shelves, which quickly accumulate dust, fumes and dirt.
How to store the utensils?
Basically, we fill hanging cupboards with either dishes or non-perishable food products. A separate side table can replace bulky units. In addition, the color and style of the table does not have to be similar to the other pieces of furniture. The best option would be an arrangement similar to a pantry. This allows you to store pots, pans, cans and food supplies at the same time. You can install such a storage space in a corner or niche, if available.
Thermal insulation of the house arbor or balcony next to the kitchen is also a good solution. You can expand the kitchen area with insulated shelves on which kitchen utensils can be conveniently placed. Of course, this design cannot completely replace built-in cupboards, but rather partially solves the problem of storage. But you need to be prepared for the fact that in most cases such a minimalist design is intended for radical re-planning.
Design vs. functionality: how do you choose style?
The kitchen without wall cupboards has its special characteristics. The banal eviction here will not be enough. They need style, with the main purpose being to provide the space with light and functionality. The stylistic direction should emphasize these qualities. To realize this idea, you need to use suitable kitchen furniture in the right quantity. In the classic style, a kitchenette without wall cabinets is an unlikely choice, but for modern variants, unloading the upper tier is quite acceptable. In the constructivist style, cabinets and shelves are necessarily used, although they are rarely crammed with utensils. This design alternative fits into minimalism and the Scandinavian style.
At theInterior designYou also have to take the room geometry into account. If the lower kitchen units connect a wall with a window on the upper cabinets, this is rather an impractical option. There must be one wall left empty for decorating, on which you can, for example, attach a long shelf. You can combine a kitchen island with a monoblock, which can be visually perceived as a structural unit of the wall. Despite the extent of the actual reduction in the kitchen, it remains visually large.
The right lighting
In the small kitchen it is quite possible to hang chandeliers from the ceiling. The larger the room, the more lighting it requires. This is often mounted on the wall above the work surface, but there are other options too. One of them would be to arrange the lamps in a row on long pendants. If you have a shelf, you can also install the bulbs in its lower part. The LED lighting in the ceiling and shelves also adds to the modern style in a kitchen without wall cabinets. In country house style, adjustable desk lamps and floor lamps are also used in the kitchen.
You can make a kitchen without wall cabinets interesting, unusual and attractive. It is best to plan all the details in advance to ensure maximum comfort in this living area. If your knowledge is not enough, you can seek help from professional designers who have participated in similar projects. This ensures you have a unique and harmonious environment with minimal financial losses.
