Empire style kitchen: elements of grandeur and luxury of palaces in the modern home interior
Content:
- Style story
- Why is it popular?
- Key Design Features
- Interior decoration
- Wall decoration
- Accessories
- Furniture
If you like even a little luxury, then consider the Empire style for your kitchen. That is how the palace interiors of the Louvre and Versailles are decorated. The theme of high classicism today is often found in apartments. Imperial-style kitchen is also an offer for people living in an apartment building.
Empire style: a bit of history
The Empire appeared in fashion, architecture, painting and art during the reign of Napoleon, that is, in the early 19th century. Hence his middle name is imperial. The heavy imperial style was decorated with Egyptian motifs, which the artists and archaeologists accompanying the emperor on his expeditions transferred to French soil. The trend also applies to long history, in particular to ancient Greece and Rome. As befits the Empire style, it is characterized by monumentalism and a wealth of ornaments.
Why choose a la carte cuisine today?
Empire style cuisine is popular. Today, a pompous arrangement of a house or apartment has become more possible:
- regular changes in tastes at regular intervals;
- the emergence of a large number of modern materials, expanding the capabilities of decorators;
- the growth of public consciousness and the desire to rethink the accumulated experience of generations.
In favor of the last statement, we can add that the boundaries of national styles have long been blurred. Today, everyone chooses what he likes, and it doesn’t matter, it’s modest minimalism or grandiose empire. Luxurious Empire style cuisine unrivaled. Layered ceilings adorn well-chosen lighting. Small LED lamps in combination with sufficient central lighting illuminate the cooking area and the use of food of large quadrature.
What is the characteristic of style?
When you use the Empire style in the design of any room, the result will be stunning. Even the most ordinary cuisine will become a royal palace. This imperial style is still characterized by late classicism. He appeared during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. Classicism focuses on thoughts about antiquity and in its late manifestation of strict proportionality added a desire for luxury and an abundance of decorative elements. The most important point is the abundance of gold, gilding and bronze. It is clear that the style does not accept nickel-plated surfaces.
Empire style is characterized by luxury, which manifests itself everywhere. In the past, the walls were decorated with rich brocade, tapestries, but today there are many inexpensive materials that imitate and replace them. This is a wallpaper and various paints. However, there was no replacement for the windows, and the curtains still create expensive fabrics, stacking them so that the pattern emphasizes pomp. Of course, the fabrics themselves should not only differ in texture, but also be complemented by decorations in the form of brushes, fringe, accessories, etc. The grandiose and artistic kitchen in the Empire style is heavy curtains made of natural and expensive fabrics, as well as lighting that matches strict style requirements.
Kitchen decoration
What will the Empire style kitchen look like? If the area allows, you can distribute the room into zones. A small kitchen should not be overloaded with decor. Properly selected furniture will immediately set the tone for the entire interior. It can be symmetrical or not, but necessarily massive, soft and comfortable. The materials from which the furniture is made should not be cheap, for example, essences from hardwood, expensive upholstery. Although skillful imitations these days can reduce financial costs.As for the color scheme, here you can choose dark shades of red, blue, green, chestnut and other colors. Use of black color is allowed.
Wall decoration in Empire style kitchen
If you plan to decorate the interior in the Empire style, then you should use light colors. Walls can be painted in the following colors:
- Ivory;
- pearls;
- light green paints.
The noble green color combined with yellow gold seems to be beneficial in the kitchen. This trend is characterized by ceilings finished with stucco or molding with decorative patterns. By the way, you can muffle a room and give it a cozy character. Empire style walls are often decorated with tapestries with plant-animal motifs or images of mythological scenes.
Decorated Accessories
Imperial emblems and eagles, as well as laurel leaf motifs, are the original Empire-style jewelery. The style belonged to the old eras and inspired in Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, therefore, the interiors were also decorated with caryatids and pilasters, that is, decorative statues and columns in the Greco-Roman style. In the form of accessories, you can choose porcelain dishes. Decorative carpets became popular thanks to Empress Jozefina, who loved to decorate their home. Modern trends also belong to the imperial style, and jewelry made today has gilded details and complex shapes. A crystal chandelier is hung on the ceiling, which is the central decoration of the kitchen.
Characteristic Empire furniture for the kitchen
Carved furniture is best represented in the Empire style. Exclusively decorative equipment is the deckchairs and armchairs of Louis XVI with complex armrests of an extraordinary shape. Elegant burgundy, green and gold fabrics add style and sparkle. Decorative legs have chairs and tables. In order not to overload the interior with an excess of shape, you can choose models painted with white paint. Stylized interior solutions should relate to specific historical trends.
The pompous interior design clearly defines the Empire style, which is expressed in the elements of furniture and decoration, chosen with care. As a result, soft sofas, armchairs and chairs even in the kitchen are integral attributes of the interior. In addition, they have a special decor. Their legs, as a rule, are bent, look like the paws of an animal. Sometimes you can see plant motifs, but always with large elements and gilding without changes.
The style of the French empire, formed in the nineties of the eighteenth century, was called the instrument of Napoleonic propaganda. This fashionable trend throughout Europe was characterized by interiors with luxurious curtains of bright silk, reminiscent of huge military tents, equipped with rather massive furniture of simple shapes, richly decorated with gilding and bronze. Today it is fashionable to turn to history, so people are increasingly choosing the imperial Empire style for the interior of their kitchen in order to feel like kings of life. A lot of room decoration ideas can be seen in the photo gallery.
