Modern kitchen: new aesthetics from a bygone era

A modern kitchen is a smart choice for those who love a combination of laconic geometry and refined lines. It is a successful mix of modern trends and classical form, at the same time recognizable and unpredictable style. Modern is characterized as the eternal striving for perfection through minimalism in decor and luxury of finishing materials. The furnishings of kitchens and dining rooms combine the typical features of modernism of the early 20th century and our time.

Modern is a rather laconic trend, characterized by straight lines and regular shapes

Concept, history and style of modernism in the interior

Modern is one of the most popular stylistic trends, loved by many interior designers. Translated from French, it means "new" or "modern" style, but it was called so at the beginning of the twentieth century - in the era of decadence or cultural decline of that time. The typical design of the kitchen-living room in the Art Nouveau style is the displacement of unjustified eclecticism in favor of laconic minimalism.

The Art Nouveau style is equally suitable for decorating small and large kitchens

The new trend, born in Europe at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, quickly gained popularity. At that time, Art Nouveau was a revolutionary style, akin to deconstructivism and urbanism, avant-garde and futurism, the spirit of which was born in the creative atmosphere of art workshops. The most famous types of modern design:

• tiffany - modern American version;
• Art Nouveau (French vision of art in the interior);
• German variety - Art Nouveau;
• secession (Austrian direction);
• English modern style;
• Spanish modernism;
• the Italian offshoot of the liberty;
• Dutch Newwe Kunst;
• swiss sapin style.

White for Art Nouveau interiors is a classic

Each artist, decorator and designer tried to bring their own understanding, and from this the style turned out to be diverse and at the same time recognizable. We can say that this is an excellent mix of sophistication and deliberate negligence, devoid of symmetry, without gravitation to the classic arrangement of furniture.Despite this, every room, even a small Art Nouveau kitchen, looks quite spacious, elegant and quite comfortable.

Important! Natural materials are often used not as a basis, but for contrasts with artificial textures. Art Nouveau wood grain kitchens can be found in almost all catalogs.

Art Nouveau kitchen furniture is often made from artificial materials.

Modern kitchen: what is permissible to use in architecture and interiors

Once upon a time, critics called a new trend, which originated in Europe, as "the style of decline and uplift." A little later it was dubbed as "Russian modernism", since this direction in architecture was first carried away by St. Petersburg, then Moscow architects. The interior design includes the smooth lines characteristic of the famous embroidery "Strike of the Whip" by O. German, which has visited exhibitions in many countries. Pictures of the Art Nouveau kitchen of those times confirm this characteristic flourish.

The popularity of this trend is confirmed by architectural research in the spirit of modernism, which is reflected in the cinema. Against the background of such scenery, the events of historical films and documentary chronicles often unfold. In the frames of those times when the cinema was just gaining momentum, there are exquisite boudoirs and bedrooms with a typical design - many mirrors, natural wood and stained glass.

Built-in appliances are often preferred for modern kitchens.

Useful advice! Those who rely on environmental friendliness are advised to choose furniture made from high quality natural or artificial materials.

Unlike other styles, modernism has a place for various materials. Therefore, in furnishing rooms for cooking and eating, natural and synthetic materials are equally acceptable:

• wood (expensive species and more economical ones - pine, oak, ash, walnut);
• inlaid cabinet doors with mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stone;
• glass, including stained glass;
• plastic facades;
• metal fittings;
• synthetic impregnation for chipboard, giving an ideal glossy surface.

For the manufacture of furniture for the kitchen in the Art Nouveau style, natural materials are often used along with synthetic

Currently, in this stylistic direction, city apartments and loft apartments, country houses, elite cafes and restaurants, small hotels and five-star hotels are often decorated. Photos of Art Nouveau interiors allow you to visually appreciate the inexhaustibility of ideas and a variety of trends.

What is characteristic of the historical and modern style of modern kitchen

When the word "modern" is used, experts and ordinary people often mean different styles. Features of the style, meaning "fashionable" or "modern", are reflected in different ways in the interiors of the early twentieth century (at the time of the emergence of the trend) and at the present time.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the “fashionable” style was slightly different. It was the complete opposite of classic and gaudy eclecticism. In its historical manifestation, Art Nouveau combined wood surfaces and chrome fittings, mirrors and stained-glass windows, which was a revolutionary decision for that time. Kitchen cupboards and sideboards had smooth streamlined lines, which is confirmed by pictures of the kitchen interior of that era.

Compared to the times of the origin of the style, now the modern style is dominated by minimalism and geometrically correct forms.

In the interiors, the smooth outlines of a naked female body, lines inherent in lizards and snakes, floral themes and a flourish of a whip were guessed. These features were characteristic of the present "modern", which was formed a century ago.

Then even purple and lilac colors were considered revolutionary, since natural gamut prevailed in the design of residential premises.Today, the classic combination of lilac shades with yellow and black, which also came from the modernism of the late 19th century.

The concept of "modern" means only a certain imitation of that era, which reigned supreme in decorative and applied art for no more than 30 years. Post-war Europe abandoned the "pre-war" aesthetics, peacetime demanded new technologies, materials and designs. Now they rely on a "smart" home, a "warm floor" system and other electronic options. Expensive household appliances are in great demand, but nobody canceled the aesthetics and canons of modernity.

Modern kitchen design in modern style is now becoming more and more popular

What do historical and modern Art Nouveau have in common?

Modern kitchen design in the Art Nouveau style is a simple geometry tending to minimalism, often devoid of excessive decorativeness. In modern designs, there may be no textiles on the windows, without which at the beginning of the twentieth century the decoration of any room could not do. A table set, where chairs or half-chairs with high backs were a mandatory attribute, today are safely replaced by stools of an unusual shape with soft seats.

Once upon a time, new aesthetics and interior design techniques revolutionized the aesthetic perception of reality. Then Art Nouveau abandoned classic forms and symmetry, removing ostentatious luxury and pretentious decoration from the interiors.

The invariable attributes of the modern Art Nouveau style - glossy surfaces and shiny metal details

Companions of modernism offered functionality and minimalism, not devoid of beauty and grace. Modern furniture sets are endowed with about the same features - corner, straight and U-shaped kitchens in the Art Nouveau style are very popular. The striving for perfection is quite noticeable, despite the abandonment of furniture stereotypes. Currently, graceful lines are not a mandatory attribute of style, but the general outlines should overlap in shapes and drawings.

Today, flowing lines, wallpaper with a characteristic pattern and corner kitchens in the Art Nouveau style are less and less reminiscent of the old style. Free passageways and only the necessary functional furniture are the main features that distinguish modern modern from historical modernism. Despite the fact that modern design embodied the ideas of the beauty of the twentieth century, it continues to form today thanks to the new vision of leading designers in Europe and America.

When decorating a kitchen in the Art Nouveau style, surfaces that imitate natural materials are often used.

What a modern modern kitchen should look like

In our time, any aesthetics undergoes some kind of test and transformation through the rethinking of the space provided. Improved Art Nouveau is a new stylist, embodied in cabinet furniture, made in monochrome, with laconic forms.

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New approaches of modernism are organically perceived in the design of the combined premises:

• kitchen-dining room with an attached balcony area (loggia);
• parts of a studio apartment with food block zoning;
• combined kitchen-living room.

Modern options are quite acceptable in a small room, but subject to a visual expansion of the space. Currently, the design of premises is unthinkable without zoning, which is necessary in order to free up more space in the kitchen or in the room combined with the living room.

Often, the Art Nouveau kitchen is part of an open-plan apartment and fits harmoniously into the overall design

Useful advice! If there is no practical experience in transforming interiors, but you want to realize your own idea of ​​modern kitchen design at home, it is better to rely on built-in furniture. Ready-made samples from Italian catalogs are the best embodiment of the Liberty tradition, under the impression of which new ideas are born.

Today, in the modern interior, instead of a dining table, it is quite possible to see a small tabletop that simultaneously combines the functions of a cutting board and a window sill, as well as a bar counter and folding seats. Chairs of an unexpected shape will help dilute the minimalism of cabinet furniture.

If the basis of the furnishings is a luxurious white kitchen in the Art Nouveau style, you can choose a dining set with a modest design. The best option is to organically complement some interior items with others, including the texture of finishing materials, exquisite window textiles and local illumination of individual zones with lamps of an original form. Nevertheless, furniture plays a leading role in the interior design of the premises - it is from the original furnishings that the expression "chic modern" originated.

The modern kitchen looks simple and at the same time expensive

Traditional materials and textures for modern kitchen: photo

Each style of interiors has its own typical features, special signs in which each more or less well-known direction is guessed. Modern is a rather controversial style, since historical and modern colors have merged in it. However, the characteristic aesthetics of modern laconicism is guessed in the unity of lines and shapes, textures and shades.

Interior designers working in this direction prefer to design objects with a large area. But even in a small Art Nouveau kitchen (a description of its features can be found in this article) there is a place for typical design techniques:

• the environment looks luxurious and restrained at the same time;
• a lot of free space is preferred, and in the case of a small area of ​​the room, its visual expansion is required;

Modernity adds elegance to spacious rooms, and makes small rooms visually more spacious

• in wall decoration, patterned surfaces (wallpaper, textiles, fiberglass, roll-up, spraying and stencil), decorative and textured plaster, monochromatic painting are acceptable;
• when choosing a color scheme, they give preference to monochrome options and a calm pastel palette;
• popular kitchens in the Art Nouveau style in light shades with a glossy surface of the facades, which do not require complex maintenance;
• lots of natural light and original evening lighting with multidirectional shades;
• it is recommended that the patterns and flexible lines of forging echo the elements of furniture, cornices, light partitions for zoning and stair railings;
• graceful lines in the absence of lush decor.

If we talk about the materials from which furniture is made, then in expensive Italian catalogs you can find original samples:

• in wall cabinets, not simple inserts with a repeating pattern are used, but whole stained glass compositions, where the storyline develops;

When creating a modern kitchen interior design, an important role is played by the decoration of the walls, ceiling and floor.

• metal is widely used, including forging, in the form of lattices and floral design;
• non-ferrous metals are applicable in one set, including spraying with forging, painting and inlaying with copper and bronze;
• simultaneous use of natural materials and their imitation (acrylic, plastic and glass countertops in marble, onyx or chalcedony)
• modern white kitchens are the best interior decoration.

Useful advice! If there is no experience in do-it-yourself repairs, then it is better to entrust specialists with the design of a self-leveling floor and a suspended ceiling with original lighting.

Floor design plays an important role.As a covering, expensive ceramic tiles can be used, lined with a pattern in the form of rosettes and frames, while asymmetry is permissible. If this is a combined area of ​​the kitchen and living room, marble tiles or a self-leveling floor on top of the tiles are used, which allows you to get a glossy seamless effect. The original multi-level ceilings also came from the Art Nouveau era, so you can give free rein to your imagination.

As a rule, the implementation of Art Nouveau design is trusted by professionals.

Typical color scheme of a modern kitchen: photo

The modern style does not put any "taboo" on the color scheme: it is possible to use a variety of shades - from glossy light surfaces to black or brown kitchen design in the Art Nouveau style (photos clearly demonstrate the color options).

Interior designers still do not abuse personal preferences and freedom of choice. In addition to the wishes of clients, they are guided by a sense of proportion, artistic flair and stylistic realities. An emphasis on bold juicy colors in the choice of furniture, for example, scarlet or purple, is not excluded. Nevertheless, modernity at the beginning of the twentieth century is primarily:

• neutral background;
• calm palette;
• active color accents;
• expressive fittings;
• memorable accessories.

Art Nouveau style is very diverse, but easily recognizable

Much attention is paid to the design of facades, and both the surface texture and color design are taken into account. In the interior of the Art Nouveau style, preference is given to the texture of wood, but if you wish, you can choose glossy plastic in blue or red. A harmonious combination of related colors, for example, beige and chocolate (warm shades), turquoise and blue (cold colors), is encouraged.

A combination of metallized, matte and glossy surfaces in one furniture set is often offered. If in the upholstery of the kitchen corner or chairs the choice is made in favor of practical eco-leather, then it is recommended to choose the color solutions characteristic of this material:

• the black;
• brown;
• coffee;
• cognac;
• beige;
• cream.

The colors of a calm and restrained palette are most often dominated in the Art Nouveau style.

The calm tone of the walls of the Art Nouveau kitchen is a feature of a style for which it is unusual to overload perception. Depending on the color of the furniture, which is a priority, a suitable background is selected:

• pearl (nacreous);
• pink or gray-pink;
• lemon (muted);
• milk or cream;
• blurry yellow;
• caramel;
• lilac;
• sand;
• ash gray;
• pinkish beige;
• peach or apricot shade.

Useful advice! When choosing the color of the furniture, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of lighting. The lack of light is compensated by glossy surfaces, the excess of lighting is “absorbed” by textured, matte and unpolished wood textures.

To create a harmonious Art Nouveau kitchen design, it is necessary to correctly combine the color palette with lighting

If the kitchen windows face the south side, cold shades are chosen; for the northern kitchen windows, the warm part of the spectrum is preferable. East and West rooms can be arranged in the desired color, but it is still recommended to use muted tones.

Beige and brown kitchen as a typical example of modern aesthetics

With all the recognizability of the modern style, there is always a place for minimalism and eclecticism, an unexpected combination of classics and futurism. This is a modern compromise between laconic constructivism and flowing natural outlines. A smooth transition from one piece of interior to another, a departure from black and white contrast due to the "thickening" of the light background and "worn out" or, as it were, "diluted" graphic drawing, is characteristic of the Art Nouveau interior. This is what a typical Art Nouveau kitchen looks like (photos of interior design options can be found on the Internet).

Despite the heaviness of the materials, the furniture does not look bulky. This especially applies to dining sets with chairs that are distinguished by grace and all kinds of bends. The modern interpretation of modernism involves smooth surface shapes, with the backrest flowing into the side supports and the seat into the base, as shown in the art nouveau drawings.

Recently, modern kitchens are gaining popularity in beige and brown colors.

If we talk about linear contrasts, then it is worth noting that black color in furniture is acceptable in the form of edging, but still it is usually replaced by another dark shade, less aggressive:

• graphite;
• chocolate;
• granite;
• wenge wood color;
• chestnut;
• purple;
• anthracite;
• the color of the blue sky;
• deep sapphire shade.

The palette of beige-brown or milk-chocolate kitchens decorated in Art Nouveau style can be diluted with bright color accents. These can be modular paintings or original installations, stained glass inserts in cabinet furniture or kitchen utensils in rich colors.

A modern kitchen in chocolate colors is best diluted with other matching colors

Useful advice! If you have “outplayed” with a calm palette, having received a nondescript kitchen, you can easily fix everything by adding bright curtains, beautiful dishes and original lamps with shades of bright glass.

It is proposed to choose as an additional color:

• turquoise;
• Orange;
• lilac;
• pink;
• yellow;
• burgundy;
• cognac;
• red;
• mint;
• herbal;
• aquamarine;
• golden;
• silver.

A minimal amount of decor is used in the modern style.

The interior should be in harmony with the selected furniture, both in shade and in a linear pattern. As an example, consider a photo of an Art Nouveau corner kitchen.

It is not at all necessary that the patterns on the wallpaper be duplicated in the upholstered seats of the dining set or the stained glass windows of the kitchen door, but there should be something in common in the lines and outlines. For this purpose, you can combine wallpaper or make inserts in cabinet facades.

Modern corner kitchens in the Art Nouveau style: photo, bet on monochrome

Kitchen interior in a "modern style" usually meets all the canons and norms of modern design. However, there is an unshakable rule: if furniture of an unusual shape is used, then it is better to choose a monochrome color scheme.

Note! It is not necessary to use any one (gray, cream or beige) shade to decorate the kitchen. It is best to play with one color in a different texture of materials and textiles, in transitional tones, experiment with glossy and matte surfaces.

The Art Nouveau-style corner kitchen is the best fit for open-plan rooms

When the emphasis is on one color, it is not recommended to carry out the walls, ceiling and floor in the same tone. The sky above us, the dark soil under our feet - the same principle is important in design. Visual comfort is easy to achieve when the floor is darker and the ceiling surface is much lighter, and a transition tone is recommended for wall decoration.

When choosing a shade for the kitchen, it is important to consider that monochrome looks differently under natural (day) and artificial lighting. Some shades of gray become gloomy in the evening, although during the day it was a trendy gray-pearl (pearl gray), smoky or ash tone. The same fashionable “foggy London” laminate looks too trivial in the wrong lighting.

The monochromatic design of the kitchen has one important advantage: the room looks clean, well-groomed, stylish, especially if glossy surfaces prevail. Of course, care must be taken to ensure that no crumbs or streaks are left on countertops and work surfaces. In the same way, it is required to maintain the cleanliness of the glossy floor, because a chic modern kitchen should always look dignified.

The modern kitchen always looks well-groomed and clean

Useful advice! The main design feature of the monochrome interior of the dining room, kitchen or combined living room is that the monochrome range should not be diluted with bright contrasts.

Furniture corner kitchens "Modern", modern style in furniture

Modern design dictates its own terms, but the commercial component often cancels all the canons of style. If you briefly compare furniture samples of kitchens from different manufacturers, which are positioned as Art Nouveau, ”you will notice that they often radically differ in aesthetic approaches.

Furniture production, knowing the demand for everything "modern", often under this term exhibit models that are characteristic of other styles. Such unification makes sense to sell less-demanded furniture, even if it has a perfectly tolerable look. The main catch, however, is that outdated designs are seen as “trendy,” since not all potential buyers are tracking new trends in the industry.

The Art Nouveau kitchen almost always has a bar counter with high chairs

On the one hand, this style, already contradictory, has absorbed the best design techniques of the twentieth century. On the other hand, Art Nouveau has its own canons and recognizable features inherent in the design of modern rooms and historical traditions. Often there is a substitution of the concepts of "modern" and "modern" or "fashionable" design.

The modern interior includes the characteristic features of "modern" techniques. Often this is a special look of a laminated or self-leveling floor, a "floating" stretch ceiling and textured walls. The new aesthetics should fully reflect the lifestyle of modern citizens who have not lost their taste for a comfortable life. But modern (in the traditional sense) should be not only functional, but also a little unassuming in matters of furniture arrangement and arrangement of objects.

Photo of a white glossy kitchen: how to choose textiles, lighting and accessories

The ideal solution for small-sized premises will be light cabinet furniture, which will organically fit into the kitchen decorated "in modern" style. No matter how far the interior design is limited, there should be zoning with light - general and local lighting. This means that separate lamps, preferably multidirectional, will be needed for the working area and eating area.

For a kitchen that is not large in size, a white modern kitchen set is ideal

General lighting is realized with an Art Nouveau kitchen chandelier placed in the center of the room. The dining table, especially if it is located along the wall, must have one or two sconces. The combination of lamps with a different spectrum (cold bluish light and warm yellow) will look interesting. This has a beneficial effect on vision.

Useful advice! If the kitchen is white or monochrome, colored diode lighting is the best addition. It is very important that it is planned with taste and a sense of proportion, which does not allow turning the design into a New Year's garland or likening it to urban illumination.

It is recommended to complement the successful furniture with the help of an organic design of the window space. It is not always possible even for qualified designers to choose the right curtains or curtains for the kitchen. For an Art Nouveau room, there are no special rules regarding the choice of curtains, but you should not completely abandon textiles either. Nicely decorated windows suggest sheer tulle in the dining area or a practical curtain if the window is in the work area.

White kitchen in the modern style, as a rule, it is diluted with color accents

Equipping modern kitchens with household appliances - in the spirit of the latest trends. However, all sorts of tools and kitchen utensils should be in their places - special shelves.In modern style, preference is given to built-in household appliances that form an organic whole with furniture.

The Art Nouveau kitchen attracts attention with its unusual, fashionable interior, comfort and ease of use. Premises decorated in this way are not devoid of aesthetic beauty.