Artificial stone in the kitchen: several finishes (21 photos)

The kitchen is the place where culinary masterpieces are born, where the whole family and close people gather at the table, where you want to retire with your best friend and tell him all your secrets, so the room should be impeccable: beautiful, practical and cozy. There are many options for decorating the kitchen space, one of which is the decoration of the kitchen with decorative stone. It will help to create the right atmosphere, suitable for any occasion.

Material advantages

Natural stone is certainly good, but it has one huge drawback - it costs a lot. A worthy alternative can be the space design that is skillfully disguised as this natural element, namely impeccable imitation made using artificial stone. The kitchen design will not suffer from such a replacement, and a person who decides to choose a more affordable option will benefit, because he will receive a number of advantages related to the properties of this material, including:

• integrity (it has a homogeneous structure, its surface is perfect, while natural stone products are often blamed for the fragmentation of colors and textures);
• variability (with a stone material you can realize any ideas, it is easy to process, without any damage to quality it withstands any master’s techniques: grinding, turning, cutting and other methods to bring it to perfection);
• aesthetics (comparing the visual effect of finishing with natural material and artificial, it is difficult to find differences, and the first and second options make the room warm, welcoming and comfortable);
• durability (the artificial stone in the interior of the kitchen boasts that it adequately copes with aggressive factors that attack it, including temperature extremes, high humidity, chemical compositions of cleaning products and mechanical damage, such elements decorating the kitchen interior may not last one ten years);
• accessibility and safety (a design project using the properties of a material of non-natural origin will cost much cheaper. In addition, stone kitchen furnish provides another important advantage - it minimizes the risk of situations that are dangerous to human life and health, the material is fireproof, it does not ignite and does not emit hazardous substances).

Possible options

Decorative stone in the kitchen can be used as a decoration for various elements of the interior space of this room, including:

• Sten. This solution allows you to achieve the most successful compromise between aesthetics and practicality. Artificial stone wall panels create a sense of harmony and warmth. Such decoration is appropriate for both the traditional classical style of the interior, and for the home country country. Using this finishing material, you can completely transform the kitchen of a city apartment, turning it into a cozy dining area of ​​a country house. Protection from dirt, dust, grease and other contaminants is another captivating factor that leads to the decision to buy decorative stone wall panels. Experienced housewives know how difficult it is to deal with the consequences of cooking delicious food that remain on the surface of the wall, and how quickly the corners glued with wallpaper wipe and go unkempt.Artificial stone has become a salvation (in order to return to its original appearance, you just need to wipe it).
• Work zone. Decorating the walls of the kitchen with decorative stone is not the only option. An equally competent move will be to use this material in the design of elements of the working area (countertops, sinks, aprons). This will not only decorate the interior space, but also allow you to experiment in the kitchen without fear for the spoiled appearance of easily contaminated surfaces.
• Decorative interior details. Interesting and original look arches, niches, imitations of a hearth or fireplace, columns, the base of racks or kitchen islands and window sills, the design of which was made using artificial stone. It is these additional elements that give the interior a touch of grace and wealth. They emphasize the great taste of the owner of the house and are remembered for a long time.

Many designers, creating projects of premises such as a kitchen-living room or studio apartment, introduce steps, podiums, partitions and other elements into the interior with decorative stone, involving zoning of the space, made of this aesthetic and durable material.

Criterias of choice

Finishing a kitchen with artificial stone requires a serious approach to the selection of the material itself, but the variety of species and the mass of characteristics inherent in one or another type of artificial stone greatly complicate the task for the buyer. Lack of special knowledge can play a cruel joke and turn the joy of the upcoming repair into one complete disappointment. To avoid such a development of events, it’s worthwhile to decide on two main points before going to the store or ordering online:

• Sheet thickness. What should be this indicator decides the purpose of the material, including:
  • 3 mm (used for the manufacture of kitchen furniture facades, decorative inserts and other lightweight hinged elements);
  • 6 mm (suitable for surfaces that are not exposed to active use, so a doorway finished with such a stone or an arch will be able to maintain their original appearance for a long time even with such a small coating thickness);
  • 10 - 17 mm (this is the most popular range of sizes, almost all the kitchen furniture made of stone consists of such sheets, including countertops, bar counters, aprons, sinks and other details that are under constant load and forced to constantly protect themselves from aggressive factors, moisture, high temperature, mechanical impact).
• The color scheme and pattern. The idea to use decorative stone and wallpaper (wood panels, tiles, coatings) in the design of the kitchen leads to the need to find the optimal combination of colors that can give the desired effect. It is easy to do. Manufacturers offer a huge range of artificial stone tones (white, beige, gray, black and any other colors that fully satisfy the requirements of the buyer). Imitations for natural stone products are so realistic not only because they can completely recreate its color, but also because they can visually exactly match it in texture (inclusions, streaks and other special features of the stone are completely identical to the natural counterpart).

In order for the kitchen, transformed with the help of decorative stone, to become ideal and for a long time to remain so, its owner should do two things, including:

• purchase high-quality materials (brands CORIAN, Montelli, Staron, Hi Macs, Hanex, TRISTONE, other reliable manufacturers);
• entrust the work to specialists (with experience, knowledge and a set of necessary tools in their arsenal).