How to choose kitchen modules?

Today, many manufacturers have switched to modular headsets. This allows buyers to decide for themselves which pieces of furniture are important to their kitchens. Now there is no need to squeeze the standards imposed by the factory into your small footage. To make the right choice, you need to study the options for the modules, compare them with the capabilities of the kitchen, the design concept and your requests for the functional content of the headset.

A modular set is a "constructor" from which a finished furniture line is built or the entire kitchen is built up. It consists of heavy volumetric pedestals of the lower tier and lightweight narrowed cabinets of the upper tier.

Each factory chooses the size standards for its furniture itself - there are no general rules here. When choosing furniture for a specific kitchen, you need to make the correct measurements of the free area. The typeface is summed up over the width of each module. Attention should be paid to the depth of the floor pedestals so that in the future they do not load the passage at the front door and make it possible to move between other pieces of furniture.

The depth of cabinets and cabinets is also important for built-in appliances: hob, oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, sink. Sometimes a washing machine is also built into the kitchen set.

The modular system greatly facilitates the arrangement of a modern kitchen, and also has a number of undeniable advantages.

• The hostess herself can choose modules with the necessary content. She will not have extra storage systems or missing ones, as is the case with standard factory options.
• The selected furniture does not have to be installed under one wall, the modular system allows you to divide the set into sections and create the desired interior, which is absolutely impossible with monolithic furniture.
• Over time, the annoying environment can be changed by swapping the modules.
• A kitchen equipped with factory modular furniture will be cheaper than a custom built-in one.
• A large number of such headsets are produced with different styling, color and filling system, which makes it easier to choose in creating your own unique interior.

Unfortunately, modular headsets also have their drawbacks.

• In most cases, this is budget furniture, and it is assembled from inexpensive materials.
• The modular system loses to the custom built one in that it does not stand "like a glove" and does not fill the entire space. Dust collects in hard-to-reach places (behind the back wall and on top of the furniture).
• It is difficult to ideally match it to a kitchen with complex geometry, which has niches, ledges or a bay window.

Before completing and building a headset, you should determine the location for each module, taking into account its functionality. For a more rational and comfortable use of the working surface when shaping the situation, it is necessary to take into account the rule of the "working triangle". It consists in the fact that the three main working elements are within walking distance, that is at a distance of no more than 2.5 m from each other. This is a refrigerator, stove and sink.

If the kitchen has a standard geometry, without protrusions and niches, the lines of modular headsets in it can be arranged in 4 ways.

• In one row. With this layout, furniture is installed under one wall.The location is suitable for a narrow rectangular kitchen. The long wall accommodates enough modules, but at the same time, the space is not overloaded with the second line of furniture. The stove and sink are placed close to each other - through a cabinet with a work surface. If the length of the row allows, a wardrobe and pencil cases can be built into the headset.

• In two rows. The layout is suitable for a standard rectangular room, for example, 3x4 sq. m. Two lines line up opposite each other (under parallel walls). This option is suitable for large families, as it has enough space for equipment and kitchen utensils. You cannot use a two-row layout in a kitchen that is too narrow: it will take on the appearance of a pipe, the doors of both lines will interfere with each other.

• L-shaped (angle). The most common type of layout is when two headset lines converge into one corner. Suitable for rectangular and square kitchens. The angular version allows you to harmoniously build the working triangle, compact and more convenient to arrange the rest of the modules. Difficulty can arise when there is a window. Built-in furniture is calculated and wraps around the window from all sides. It will be much more difficult to select and place modules in the walls between the windows.

• U-shaped. The furniture is arranged in three lines. With such a layout, a window or door must be included in the furniture row. Problems can arise with the top drawers as well as with the radiator. In such cases, the battery is transferred to another place, choosing a narrow vertical model, or it is completely abandoned in favor of a warm floor. If both options are not suitable, you will have to build the radiator into the module, making a narrow hole in the surface of the cabinet for warm air circulation.

Correctly thought out and placed modules will create a comfortable and ergonomic kitchen interior. In addition to the working triangle, the storage system should be set up in such a way that the most necessary kitchen items are always at hand, and rarely used things and household appliances are in remote modules. The upper and lower rows of the headset can be equipped with doors with different opening systems: swing, sliding, lifting. To facilitate the selection of sections, it is worth taking a closer look at their functionality.

In contrast to the upper tier, the lower floor bollards are deeper and more massive, as they take on the main workload. An oven, sink, oven, dishwasher, freezer are built into the lower tier. At the bottom, they equip a section for household waste. The lower row of pedestals is installed on legs and has a depth of about 60 cm.

• Traditional storage areas are located in a standard cabinet with shelves. Heavy dishes, pots, pans are placed on them. The same shelves may contain stocks of flour and cereals. All contents are hidden behind the doors of the section.
• There are a number of modules with a pull-out system. Some of them are equipped with the same drawers for small items. Others have a large bottom drawer for pots and a flat top drawer for cutlery.
• Retractable systems include bottle holders and sections for household chemicals.
• There are modules that have both lower shelves and upper drawers.
• The sink cabinet does not have a back wall. It houses not only a sink, but also filters, water pipes and a section for garbage.
• When choosing modules for large household appliances, you should make sure whether they fit together.
• End modules of the lower and upper row are made with bent or beveled corners. In addition to closed pedestals, the outer sections have open display shelves.

The upper tier of the headset is made lighter with a depth of about 40 cm. It consists of individual suspended modules of the same height. But on request, shortened sections can also be purchased. They are placed over the stove or work surface where the roof rails are planned to be installed. The upper modules can have glass fronts, partially open shelves for spices.

• A standard hanging cabinet is equipped with shelves and doors behind which dishes, teapots, cups, sugar bowl, coffee, and tea are hidden.
• The dish drying section is installed above the sink. The door above it can be lifted up with a slight push, which is easy to do even with wet hands.
• Open display shelves are designed for decoration, beautiful dishes, cute jars of cereals, sugar, tea and spices. When choosing modular furniture, you can also purchase exhibition sections, but it should be remembered that they require frequent maintenance, since dust will accumulate on small items.

These include solid modules located in height on both tiers at once. These include pencil cases, tall cupboards, refrigerator sections. Often household appliances are built into such cabinets: a microwave oven, a coffee machine, an oven. The remaining space is filled with shelves and hidden behind doors.

For information on how to choose kitchen modules, see the next video.