London Builders: Kitchen Installation. Part One

What can be done to the kitchen?
There are many different materials for kitchen dressing. It can be designed in one or several colors. If you want contrast, it can be created with the help of bright-colored dishes on the shelves, bright curtains etc.
The materials for wall, floor and ceiling coverage depends on your financial situation. The most important factors are usability, endurance, and aesthetics of the chosen material. It should also match the general interior design in finish and color.

The most popular floor covering is ceramic tile. It can be perfectly combined with walls and table surface. Collection variability existing in the market, luxurious mosaic pictures, imitations of parquet or marble, diversity of formats allow to embody fantastic design ideas, impossible with any other material.

The only drawback of this material is that the ceramic tile may crack by falling of a hard object on it, and the feet are cold on them. But this is surmountable: one can use under floor heating, electric or water one. If you choose tile, take the one with rough surface, because smooth tile is made slippery by water, which often happens in the kitchen.
Natural wood is only little less popular. Its natural warmth, saturated tinges, vivid texture make a kitchen cosy, family and traditional. With wood, different variants are possible, too. Drawbacks of wood are its low moisture and chemical resistance and difficulties in treatment. If pieces of food or cleaning agent drops fall on it, there is a high chance that they would not be removed completely. Thick layer of lacquer or boiled oil partially protects the wood from these inconveniences. It should be renovated periodically for maintenance of the floor look. Sharp or hot subjects falling on the wooden floor track its surface inevitably.

Linoleum has been constantly popular for a long time already. It is a rather cheap, attractive and usable floor coating for any interior. Linoleum is antistatic and soft, doesn't attract dust, it is resistant to the direct sunlight and home dissolvent-free chemicals.

Its drawbacks are: low melting temperature, softness, vulnerability to dissolvent, and a considerable shrink. Light linoleum becomes yellow with time under the sunrays. The dark one soils itself less and preserves good look longer. But even dark linoleum has a short life. In 3 - 5 years it must be replaced. Choosing color, pay your attention to the bottom layer. It should be made of the natural materials. Such linoleum is more comfortable for feet, and statistical charge is accumulated less. The main drawback of linoleum is that it is easy to damage it with, for example, fallen cigarette-end or heels. Nevertheless, the number of those who prefer this kitchen flooring does not reduce. First of all, it attracts buyers with its price. If possible, choose natural linoleum, ecological material having bactericidal properties (bacteria do not propagate on this surface), heat-resistant, antistatic, resistant to chemicals and aggressive environment. The important feature of the natural linoleum is that it is not deformed under the furniture or heels.

Kitchen rival of the linoleum is laminated floor made of floor boards with laminated surface. Such floors correspond to lamellar pressed plastic - firm fiberboard with decorative enduring surface. They have several drawbacks. It is, first of all, the need to follow special treatment recommendations. For example, one must not use spouting water or wet duster with long fringe for cleaning. Accidental water drops on the laminate are also unadvisable. Laminated floors react to water just like parquet. Hard-to-remove spots (paint, glue, oil etc.) should be removed with the help of special-purpose chemicals - traditional agents, as wax, polish and others, do not fit them. Laminate is almost impossible to repair. Mending of any defect will remain noticeable. However, under the pressure, lifetime of laminated floor is 5 - 10 years.

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