A wood-effect laminate kitchen

A wood-effect laminate kitchen

The stylistic choice of this kitchen derives from the profiles of the recessed handles in black aluminum in combination with the wood-effect laminate.
These are combined with the Dekton top in warm industrial-style tones and the white Lacobel coating that continues from the wall units to the back surface.

The material choice of the kitchen becomes the common thread for the remaining rooms of the house.
Furniture in black iron sheet and doors and drawers of the TV cabinet modified to take up the wood-effect laminate are an excellent example.

kitchen laminate wood effect white wall units
animation opening the kitchen doors

The project: the functional volumetric composition

The development of this kitchen, designed in collaboration with Officina iDEa, includes a side wall equipped with full-height service columns and a front part equipped with base units and upper wall units.

Accommodating the built-in refrigerator and the pair of column ovens, the adjacent space is reserved for a service door.
A pantry with a limited width, inside which height-adjustable shelves are comfortable.
To make the most of the space, a pair of drawers is placed under the ovens, accommodating pots and accessories for the kitchen.
Similarly, the upper part is available as an additional storage space that can be used through a flap door.

Flanked by the full-height volumes, the lower kitchen units come to life, accompanied by wall units with flap opening. These follow the development of the kitchen up to the opposite containment wall. To make the most of the corner, the best solution was to equip it with a removable basket. A solution adopted in several Modulor projects, an example of all this cream-colored kitchen.

On the adjacent side, instead, are the six wide-width drawers. These allow you to optimize the space due to the different internal height made available.
In conclusion, in the lower part there are the built-in dishwasher and a pair of doors in correspondence with the sink, useful for arranging the waste bins.

kitchen laminate wood effect columns service ovens refrigerator pantry
kitchen oven drawers laminate wood effect hollow handles aluminum black
smeg built-in column ovens
kitchen top dekton milar industrial white lacobel riser
corner basket animation 02

The material choice of the kitchen: from the wood-effect laminate doors, to the white lacobel of the wall units.

The material choice of this environment takes up the essential taste and natural scent typical of the Scandinavian style.
Fully embracing the principles of this style, the combination of light wood and white surfaces is reflected in the choice of laminate doors and Lacobel wall units with which the entire kitchen is covered.

To represent a care of detail and emphasize the stylistic line, handles with aluminum profile in a chromatic contrast.
Elements that underline the geometries of the various elements, developing horizontally or vertically depending on the case in a game of segments that creates dynamism and defines its stylistic imprint.
These also become functional elements capable of protecting the edges of doors and drawers, repairing them from scratches and wear.

In the upper part, the wall units with flap opening are developed.
The white Lacobel coating gives lightness and illuminates the room thanks to the play of reflections it creates.
When closed, a white lacquered MDF shelf further lightens the composition without obscuring the natural light coming from the adjacent window.
Taking up the chromatic choice of the black details, the service sockets also have a plate with a contemporary design in the same color.

As for the worktop, on the other hand, the choice fell on Dekton in its Milar variant, from the Industrial collection.
Its surface has a lively effect with shiny points that alternate with an effect of fake wear.
This is combined with a steel undercounter sink with double bowl and matching stainless-steel tap.

shaped handles painted black aluminum drawers doors
plan dekton milan industrial
stainless steel faucet undercounter sink double basin
kitchen laminate wood effect top dekton milar industrial raised lacobel white back-painted glass
kitchen laminate wood effect white wall units service columns
kitchen laminate wood effect top dekton industrial
white lacobel wall units matt white lacquered shelf

The living area

The kitchen communicates with the living area, which is also part of the open space that develops from the entrance.
Taking advantage of an architectural niche on the side of the French window, a full-height cabinet in black waxed iron houses the wine cellar in the upper part. Above, on the other hand, the thin shelves that exploit the reduced thickness of the iron sheet unfold.
This also becomes the element that ideally separates the two environments, albeit in continuous visual contact.

Precisely for this reason, the existing furniture room has undergone a change as regards the front of the drawers and doors.

Originally made in deep red gloss lacquer, they have been replaced with the same wood effect laminate as the kitchen. Also in this case, the result is a piece of furniture in full Scandinavian style, bright and delicate in aesthetics.

In black waxed iron sheet is also the wall unit that equips the corridor of the sleeping area, whose molded shape is not very intrusive but functional to the passage. Elegant and minimal material, it was also chosen in this work in order to furnish the livingroom.

Serving the anteroom, a service cabinet with recessed handles made of matt ice gray lacquered MDF. Internally it is equipped to become a closet with internal shelves with reduced depth that allow you to optimize space by also accommodating cleaning accessories.

living area TV cabinet in front of wooden laminate drawers
front detail of drawers in laminate wood furniture in the living area
detail of the TV cabinet in the living area in front of the drawers
shaped corner cabinet in black iron niche wine cellar
 corner shaped black iron wall unit
anti-bathroom corridor furniture full-height doors recessed handles
mobile corridor dressing room service laundry closet internal shelves

A laminate kitchen is the optimal solution for obtaining high resistance of materials without sacrificing the natural aesthetics of wood, albeit in its artificial variant.

Then combined with clear components, it illuminates the interior, giving visual lightness.
The choice of iron becomes interesting for sophisticated style combinations.

The contemporary style: the world of furniture nowadays

The contemporary style: the world of furniture nowadays

The simplicity and elegance of the contemporary style furniture conquers the tastes of customers with its light and minimal lines. From the play of reflection and opacity to the choice of highly resistant materials, to the eye for the environment and eco-sustainable choices.
Trends in recent years in the world of interior design have a well-defined direction, albeit in constant change.

What does it mean by contemporary style furniture?

Terms such as “fashions” and “trends” are now also commonly used for the interior design sector.
It happens more and more frequently to hear about interiors in a modern style, meaning interiors with linear aesthetics, elegant and natural materials.
However, it is important to be careful not to confuse the modern style, characterized by rigorous interiors common since the 1950s, with the contemporary style.

The latter is in fact a constantly changing style, its definition changes from year to year depending on the materials, colors and design lines spread.It would be impossible, for now, to give a series of universal guidelines that can continuously identify this style. All the more so if the trend of recent years consists in a recovery of the modern style reinterpreted in a contemporary key.

So let’s analyze the contemporary style furniture that has spread in recent years, with a particular focus on current trends.

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Moodbord in a contemporary style.
High resistance materials for kitchen tops, plays of light and reflections and furnishings between sinuous shapes and iron details.

Colors and materials

Over the last few years, the trends in colors and materials for furniture have developed along different paths.
On the one hand, soft colors and natural materials emphasize an elegance that is increasingly closer to scandinavian taste. On the other hand, touches of gritty colors and a choice of avantgarde materials appears in order to guarantee excellent resistance and refined aesthetics.

If the attention to the ecological impact has certainly an increasingly topical response, it should be emphasized, however, that it is this second trend that characterizes domestic interiors. all the more so if the choice of avantgarde materials is accompanied by experimentation on new materials produced with recycled components and with a low environmental impact.
An example of this are the fabrics produced by Ikea and presented during the last Digital Design Week 2021, made with recycled fibers from old jeans and the new kitchen tops with a percentage of recycled cellulose.

Here then is that at the constant of neutral colors appear more decisive tones that vary from a light pale pink to a delicate sage green. Up to more gritty colors that in the current years have varied from mustard to teal, in widespread use throughout 2020, ending with terracotta that has every intention of invading domestic interiors during 2021.

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A sage green kitchen.
“The Bend” Residence, Arch. Rob Ryan.

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contemporary-style-bathroom-furniture-terracotta-color

Terracotta colors have prevailed for several months in contemporary interiors thanks to their natural but decisive tone

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In this contemporary attic, a teal velvet sofa

The kitchen as a focal room of the living area

The changes in social and individual life brought about by the pandemic have also led to a different perception of the domestic environment.
The introduction of the smartworking concept has increasingly marked the demand from customers to provide angles for remote work within their homes.

Similarly, the kitchen, which has always played a fundamental role in domestic interiors, has rediscovered its centrality even more.
The passion for cooking, also underlined by the world of communication with programs and tv-shows focused on this theme, requires an ever-greater attention to the materials, aesthetics and functionality of this environment.
Here then is that the coverings of doors and drawers are equipped with increasingly sophisticated laminates.

The strength of these materials lies in the great resistance capacity and good maintenance, flanked by an increasingly refined aesthetic line. This is the case of fenix, a material appreciated for its absolute opacity which is accompanied by a softness to the touch.

As for the kitchen countertops, the principle of high resistance and excellent ductility translates into the choice of recomposed materials and innovative agglomerates. Here then is the choice of tops in Dekton and Neolith, and then move on to cheaper options such as Okite and laminated HPL.

Barcelona contemporary kitchen side view

A contemporary style Barcelona kitchen with a Neolith Stauario top

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In this contemporary kitchen, the onyx-effect top gives a touch of grit and character, matching the soft pink doors

Bergamo apartment essential contemporary kitchen 01

The dark dekton top of this modulor work matches the chromatic choice of the matt lacquering of the doors, while the wall units in bleached oak laminate echo the snack top of the island.

Bergamo apartment essential contemporary kitchen details 02

Kitchen top in Kira Natural Dekton in warm and dark tones with integrated sink in the same material.

Contemporary style furniture: 2021 trends

Already during the last Digital Design Week the new trend of contemporary design is clearly identified: the recovery and reinterpretation of the Modern Style.

For the living world this translates into the choice of sofas with sinuous shapes that emphasize important padding, accentuated by the choice of velvets.
From the immense corner sofas to which we have become accustomed in the past years, we have now moved on to more compact conformations.
Two- or three-seater sofas accompanied in case by matching armchairs or chaise longue and dormouse. The latter are in fact back in vogue, made contemporary by dynamic and fluid design lines.

On the floor, colorful carpets appear, with geometric patterns that increasingly come closer to the world of art, and shaped shapes with an eccentric inspiration. A masterful example is certainly the cc tapis production, also present in the contemporary interiors of this work between soft pink and pure white.

In the sleeping area, on the other hand, the beds increasingly equipped with a trunk structure are enriched with padded headboards, most of them with capitonné aesthetics.
There is no lack of details, especially in the bathroom but also in the living area, in iron.
This denotes the design lines of a clean and minimal aesthetic. Often combined with the choice of extra-clear glass, it creates a chromatic and material contrast of contemporary elegance.

Countertop bathroom vanity unit

In this contemporary style bathroom, a large transparent glass shower is embellished with an iron frame that reflects the chromatic choice of the taps.

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iron-furniture-living-area-detail-portals

The choice of iron details for the TV cabinet in this living area denotes a contemporary elegance

CC-Tapis-Reference-02-carpets-furniture-contemporary-style
CC-Tapis-Reference-carpets-furniture-contemporary-style

CC Tapis rugs with a contemporary design and shaped shapes.
Left: Matter of Stuff, May 2019. Right: Miniforms 2019 Catalog, Laura Pozzi Studio, Photo Alessandro di Bon

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A contemporary style living room with modern sofas reinterpreted in a contemporary key

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contemporary-modern-style-sofa

Some examples of trendy 2/3-seater sofas in 2021

To conclude …

The contemporary style furniture, albeit constantly changing, is characterized by well-defined design choices. It adapts perfectly to elegant and simple tastes, for souls predisposed to always remain in line with the latest trends and design products. Those who choose the interiors of their home in a contemporary style dare to choose character, even if combined with neutral contexts.

Adapting standar furniture with tailor-made solutions

Adapting standar furniture with tailor-made solutions

Custom-made furniture and stardar products belong to two different worlds, bringing with them a large repertoire of solutions and projects. Each has great strengths and opportunities, but both also know their weaknesses. Sometimes it happens that these two worlds come into contact, helping and supporting each other. After all, it is well known: unity is strength!

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A master bathroom with elegant series furniture.
On the side, made-to-measure valances hide the support rails of the curtains

Standard and customed furniture: eternal rivals? Not at all!

It is common belief that standard furniture and custom-made solutions are ruthless competitors. Nothing true!

In fact, these are different realities that provide valid project proposals to customers, offering them a market capable of satisfying every request. Tastes, needs and desires of customers often interface with intrinsic constraints.
These include: budget limits, production restrictions, delivery times, availability and variety of alternatives.
Within the world of furniture design and production there are in fact an infinite number of secondary aspects that define the strengths, but also the limits of each company.

We can imagine the world of furniture as a range of parameters, at the extremes of which lie the cardinal principles of the two worlds.
On the one hand, standard furniture at super cheap prices capable of destroying any competitive market.
Its philosophy is certainly linked to a democratization of design that exploits large industrial production to contain prices and make its products accessible to all.

At the opposite end, a niche market, linked to the concept of “exclusivity”, chosen for its impossibility of identical reproduction and the opportunity for customization.
The choice of this type of furniture is linked to a feeling of privilege in its availability.

Between these two opposites there are the infinite number of companies that experience design on a daily basis.
Embracing the entire range of the market in this sector would be impossible and counterproductive, leading to poor results both for the manufacturer and for the customer himself.

It necessarily follows a specialization in the type of products and an identification of the reference target.
Precisely for this reason, standard furniture and tailor-made solutions cannot be considered competitors because they embrace different philosophies, targets and production systems. Their relationship is instead collaborative and mutually supportive, making the most of the potential of each party.

inpho-graphic-furniture-market

Potential and constraints of standard products

One of the main advantages of series furniture is the vastness of the market to which they belong.
This makes it possible to satisfy the tastes of each customer, providing a wide choice of solutions and variants. To this is added an economic advantage deriving from the optimization of production.In fact, by exploiting the industrial production and the repetition of the pieces, it is possible to optimize the production phase in the best possible way, managing to contain costs. This also implies an ever more careful precision and improvement of the single elements.

On the other hand, this specific reproducibility limits the scope for intervention and customization. The world of mass-produced furniture works in reproducible and combinable “modules”.
Customization consists in knowing how to combine the individual elements and organize them in a different way, but it certainly does not allow for specific product customization as in custom-made furniture.

So here are island, peninsula or monobloc kitchens that take on different shapes depending on the environment in which they are inserted.
However, these find their first obstacles when there are architectural constraints or special requests from customers.
Customization does not cover all levels of furniture reading.

This is where bespoke design comes in, offering its attention to detail and custom design.

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customed-mirror-spa-sink-standard-furniture

When standard and customed furniture meet each other: a full-height shaped mirror fits into a SPA context with scenographic furnishings from important manufacturers

Works of tailor-made workmanship: a contemporary style kitchen

Where the supply of standard furniture reaches its limit of customization, the flexibility and spirit of adaptation of bespoke furniture comes into play.

An excellent example of this, is this luxury-style house distributed over three levels.
The maintenance and collaboration with Modulor involved different rooms.

First of all, the kitchen, consisting of a wall equipped with full-height doors on the right side of the access and a central island with a design hood. Precisely in this last element, the volumetric composition of the furniture provides a large surface that can be used as a worktop, but it prevents its use of meals.
In fact, by equipping the worktop with doors and lower drawers, it could not be used as a support surface for quick meals, as it did not provide adequate space for the user’s seat.

Finding tailor-made solutions in this example meant creating a lateral niche in the volume of the island. In this way, even with a not very wide depth, it was possible for customers to find the right space to sit comfortably while keeping their legs perpendicular to the structure. A comfortable snack bar for 2/3 people that does not give up on a work surface and support surface.

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standard-island-kitchen

An important island kitchen modified with tailor-made solutions: a niche has been created in the lower volume in order to use the worktop also as a support point for the consumption of quick meals

The sleeping area between secret passages and princess bedrooms

Even in the sleeping area, custom-made design has found ease to express its experience and personalization.

The classic-style bedroom is characterized by the presence of an important bed with drapery and padded headboard with a fairytale look. Taking advantage of a lateral architectural niche, a desk with wall unit and shaped shelves was inserted in order to make it an integral part of the spatial configuration.

The custom-made desk top is accompanied by a chest of drawers with bands that also acts as a load-bearing element.
This is accompanied by a wall unit with a molded door and shelves in matt white lacquered MDF that reflect the boiserie.

Even the bedside tables take up the style of the bedroom with handles in customed sheet metal in the shape of butterflies.
The side service bathroom illuminates the room with a glossy white tile wall cladding, crystal shower and pedestal sink with custom wall mirror.

classic-style-bedroom-princess-bed-standard-furniture

Every princess’s dream bedroom hosts an important bed with drapery and padded back

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Details of a small bedroom from large-scale distribution: upholstered draperies and backrests perfectly match bedside tables with shaped sheet metal handles

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classic-style-bedroom-customed-desk

The desk in the niche takes up the classic style of the boiserie paneling through door moldings

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Shelves and doors in white lacquered MDF in warm tones for this classic style desk

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customed-mirror-standard-standing-sink

The made-to-measure mirror accompanies the classic style design pedestal washbasin

Always in the upper floor, takes place the walk-in closet, whose orange tones give a touch of character and freshness to the room while remaining elegant and impressive.

A retractable mechanism is hidden inside the side structure.
What apparently looks like a support bench hides a flap door with a system of internal channels that allow dirty clothes to be brought directly to the laundry area. This internal conduit channel is also intercepted at the level of the living area through the opening of a door on the external front of the kitchen. What apparently seems to be part of the molded boiserie is transformed into a storage point for the tea towels which, using the internal slope, are taken directly to the laundry.

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Composition of a walk-in closet with elements in series: on the sides hangers and shelves covered in orange leather, in the center a chest of drawers in textured bilaminate

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The side wall of the walk-in closet with shelves and hangers.
On the right, the small service bench hides the channel that leads to the laundry

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molded-boiserie-open-door

Left: the folding door mechanism from which the conduit for soiled garments starts. Right: the door incorporated in the boiserie that intercepts the path for the kitchen products.

One kitchen a week, part 3: contemporary hi-tech

One kitchen a week, part 3: contemporary hi-tech

A contemporary hi-tech kitchen whose aesthetic line is very dynamic thanks to the choice of metallic materials, to the play of reflections and opacity, but at the same time, it has warm and soft colours.

hi-tech kitchen front view

The contemporary design of the appliances increasingly accustoms us to metal surfaces, glossy finishes and technological elements with an aerospace-inspired design.  Often inserting these elements in our kitchens means having to deal with the resulting visual impact. In response, on the one hand, we can see industrial-style kitchens, strongly focused on the total harmony of the furnishing with metals and reflective surfaces. On the other side, we can find increasingly contemporary interiors trying to mix the style of the different components by exploiting the chromatic and material contrasts. These two currents do not necessarily represent the opposite of the other. In fact, it is possible to uniform the elements in a style that is so contemporary, but which also manages to reflect the elegance and domesticity of the rooms.  

THE PORJECT

This kitchen with a hi-tech scent is an excellent example: the customer’s taste responds to the trend of mocha colour, with its warm and soft tones. Taking advantage from the alternation of more or less warm colours and glossy surfaces combined with the opaquer ones, an elegant and at the same time dynamic interior has been achieved. Starting from the separating element of the living area, which is equipped to host storage doors supporting the living room on one side, and recessed ovens and others storage units from the inside. The result is a deconstructed kitchen, which does not give up to the functionality of a compact kitchen, but which takes advantage of the visual opening of the open space. The passage of this partition is underlined by a led strip whose linearity refers to the most dynamic and technological interiors. The central island with its mocha-coloured upholstery holds the induction hobs and free surfaces used for preparing meals. An extremely functional element is the cylinder that houses the electrical service outlets, which can be activated by pushing. A recessed element whose extraction technology is extremely simple. It is also capable of transforming an often visually cumbersome component into a design element. The lower part of the island acts as storage point while in the upper part, a cylindrical design fan is suspended from the backlit false ceiling. The latter can give greater dynamism to the kitchen. The two corner components of the remaining part respond in the same way with the upper wall units organized with doors and containing volumes in the lower part. The different height of the upper wall units creates dynamism also recalled in the chromatic choice.  

COLOURS AND MATERIALS

The technological setting of this hi-tech kitchen is also visible in the choice of materials with excellent technical performance. In fact, the mocha-coloured dekton was chosen for the kitchen countertop, incorporating the island’s one. In addition to a significant aesthetic value, which summarizes elegance and modernity, it enjoys excellent technical performance, such as perfect resistance to high temperatures and hardness. It therefore lends itself to be an excellent material in its field while giving a strong stylistic imprint. The back shelf of the countertop alternates the mocha-coloured dekton with a glossy lacobel with a neutral hue. The alternation of opaque to glossy surfaces is possible using textured lacquered MDF which is turn coated, where necessary, by lacobel.

 
island kitchen with extractor fan
hi-tech kitchen divider
cylinder soket push hidden

Compare this hi-tech kitchen with the previous ones: contemporary pop kitchen and fresh, gritty and lively kitchen.

 

One kitchen a week, part 2: fresh, gritty and lively

One kitchen a week, part 2: fresh, gritty and lively

lively kitchen front vew

A lively kitchen with a gritty character and a touch of freshness between games of bright reflections and alternation of full and empty spaces.  

THE PROJECT

Added in the context of the always dynamic Milan, the kitchen is reckonable for its lively and fresh imprint, with both a gritty and elegant soul. A kitchen with a thousand resources, capable of keeping attention in all its parts. Starting from the wall units, which alternate empty and full volumes in which a game of transparencies is played on several levels. The shelves visually lighten the volume in the kitchen in both ends: in the area adjacent to the window, from which natural light radiates, and in the inner corner between the two sides of the room. This last one, also takes advantage of what could considered a critical point for comfort and functionality. Instead, arranged in asymmetrical geometric volumes on both sides of the extractor fan, there are the opal glass wall units able to give a touch of fresh colour and dynamism from which the contests can be glimpsed. The central wall unit hiding the extractor fan and the lower containing volumes are instead reckonable for their extremely elegant simple lines. The fitted sinks are arranged on the corner, taking advantage of the attachment point of the snack bar. This is equipped to accommodate up to 4 sitting using both sides. The gritty setting is also visible in the choice of details, such as the hidden tap able to allow the opening of the back window. As always, functionality is a fundamental requirement, which is also visible in the door alongside the large design refrigerator. This houses inside functional shelves with different heights and six drawers with a wooden finish.   THE MATERIAL CHOICE The games of brightness and reflections able to restore the idea of restoring the idea of liveliness and freshness are obtained especially thanks to the choice of materials. In particular, a quartz granulate topping was use for the countertop. It is able to capture and mirror the light, recalling the cream tones on the kitchen. While for the remaining elements it is the glossy lacobel that gives elegance and contemporaneity.

snack bar lively kitchen
lively kitchen with drawers and shelves
lively kitchen high tap
lively kitchen hidden tap
lively kitchen perspective

Compare this kitchen with the contemporary pop’s one.