Do you remember the large Soviet wall, which was located opposite the sofa and occupied the entire wall? It was very roomy and functional. Massive cabinets were connected along the wall into a continuous structure: mezzanine shelves, a sideboard for dishes, a place for a TV, a compartment with a crossbar for hanging things, a chest of drawers. Of course, such furniture is versatile and practical, but it does not fit into a modern interior at all.
We invite you to get acquainted with alternative furniture options that will replace the clumsy walls of the end of the last century.
Cabinet
If you are a supporter of minimalism, a laconic solution will do - a TV stand. Save space and open up the walls. There are a lot of options: hanging furniture, a cabinet with legs, on wheels or on a stable base. If you want more space and air, choose a model with open shelves.
The TV can be placed on a cabinet or hung above it, freeing up space for decoration. Now there are cabinets with a built-in TV bracket.
Style
The modern style of the living room involves combining the features of several directions. Moreover, each of them is an expression of its own point of view on the domestic arrangement of the premises. Modern designs, more than ever, emphasize the individual taste of the owners. What unites them all is simplicity in interior design.
The modern vision of cabinets with glass for dishes has given them a more laconic and simple form, eliminating many decorative details. Such furniture is reliable in everyday life and easy to care for. And it creates many options for arranging dishes and decorative items.
High tech
Cupboards in this style have a smooth, even surface with clear lines and corners. This item attracts with the shine of glossy materials and glass. They also use inserts made of mirror and plastic. The high-tech style denies decorative decorations, but stands out for its high-quality fittings: various fasteners, finishing touches, and lighting. Sideboards and cabinets often have tempered glass doors with a practical “push and open” opening system.
Eclecticism
This style allows you to mix seemingly incompatible things. An antique sideboard from the time of Queen Victoria and modern upholstered furniture with futuristic paintings by fashionable artists can coexist in the living room. This direction mixes textures, shapes and colors, but it is not advisable to take more than three styles as a basis. An important emphasis in such interiors is on details, because they help to connect such different things into one whole.
Loft
The style, which came to us from the West, is characterized by an open plan, lack of wall and ceiling decoration, and ultra-modern household appliances. Furniture in this modern design direction has simple shapes. It can often give the impression that it was assembled in a garage or shed from scrap materials. Cupboards for dishes are the simplest, open, but many owners prefer to have models with glass doors.
Minimalism
The design of such a living room always follows two rules: there is little furniture in it, only the most necessary things, it is functional and laconic without any decorations. You can often find modular samples. The cabinet fronts have steel or glass elements. If the size allows, a sofa, armchairs, a coffee table, and simple storage systems are located in the room. A minimalist china cabinet has the simplest, strict form and can be a long glazed shelving unit with one tier.
When choosing a wardrobe for your living room, evaluate it not only in terms of style and beauty. Consider whether it can carry all the available utensils and whether it will be safe for the inhabitants of the apartment. After all, if small children live with you, then high doors and side surfaces made of glass can become objects of increased danger. A cabinet with glass will last for many years. Therefore, for your living room, choose a model that will be relevant for many years. And if your family doesn’t yet have a tradition of passing on family sets and sets of high-quality dishes to your children, then it’s worth starting one. A sideboard or buffet will be an excellent storage for such family valuables.
Closet
A sliding wardrobe with a special place for a TV will be a good replacement for an oversized wall. It can be built-in, occupy the entire wall or only a separate part.
Corner models are popular. They feature open shelving to display beautiful decor and plants. If you want to visually expand the space, choose a cabinet with mirrored doors.
How to arrange dishes in a glass cabinet
Both the cabinet with glass and the dishes stored in it should be combined in style. It is unlikely that antique fine porcelain will be appropriate in a room designed in a modern loft or hi-tech style. But the classic cabinet model with carved fronts, rounded shapes and curved legs is more suitable for such dishes.
A glass china cabinet can add a contemporary touch to any living room. Often the back wall of such a model is made of a mirror surface, which, in combination with glass doors and lighting, favorably emphasizes the space of the room, giving it some depth. But the inside of the closet should not be overloaded with various items, which will look more like a store than a stylish room.
There are some recommendations on how to practically and effectively arrange dishes in a closet in order to highlight the necessary items without overshadowing the rest:
- Place the utensils in such a way that you can easily reach any of them without touching the neighboring ones, otherwise you risk becoming the owner of glasses with chipped edges or cups with broken handles;
- Large bulky utensils are placed on the lower levels for safety reasons; things that are often used are placed closer to the doors;
- In one cabinet, dishes of different styles are divided into groups on different shelves, the lower tiers are given to well-deserved antique sets, glasses, glass figurines, and the upper tiers contain items of modern production.
Important! You should not keep pottery in the front room closet. If there is a lack of fresh air, it may not smell very pleasant.
Many housewives have little secrets on how to stylishly and beautifully arrange dishes in a sideboard or buffet. Large plates are placed vertically against the wall, while small ones can be stacked. The glasses are placed in a formation, evenly and clearly. Moreover, it is better to assign each type to a separate shelf.
Buffet
Until recently, buffets, or showcases, were undeservedly forgotten. Now designers are bringing them back into fashion, using them in stylish interior design options. A traditional buffet has a closed bottom and top with glass front and side doors. Modern models can be completely glazed.
An interesting option is a pair of small buffets on both sides of the TV stand. For a small room, look for a corner buffet or a lightweight version of a display cabinet - a hanging buffet. It can store a small amount of dishes.
Get rid of the old solid wall and replace it with modern alternatives. Go to the Divan.ru store catalog, choose ergonomic, roomy, beautiful pieces of furniture and create stylish interiors.
How to properly place a cupboard
It would be more logical to place the cabinet in which the dishes are stored near the dining group. This is possible if the living room is large and accommodates a table and chairs. There are even entire furniture collections for living rooms, consisting of one or two display cases for dishes, a chest of drawers with a mirror and a dining group.
In a small apartment where the kitchen is located in a separate room, a sideboard or cabinet in the living room has a more decorative function than a practical one. If the cabinet is part of a single set, it can be located in line with other items. And if the cabinet does not belong to the furniture collection, then it is arranged depending on the taste of the owners. It is advisable that light from a window falls on it or that backlight lamps are built-in.
A buffet or sideboard can become a border that will divide a large room into functional areas. For example, to separate part of the kitchen from the area where the upholstered furniture is located. In some interiors, two narrow cabinets for dishes, placed on the sides of a fireplace, chest of drawers, door or window openings, look original. This arrangement will emphasize the traditional style of the interior. Low cabinets provide additional surface space where dishes or a TV can also be placed. And hanging models can become a kind of accent point that will distract attention from the shortcomings of the living room, for example, a small area or irregular shape.
Which sofa is best to choose?
You need to take a more serious approach to choosing a sofa, since it will set the overall style in the living room. First of all, you need to choose a color scheme that should fit the general mood of the entire style as a whole. It is best to choose lighter, or even better, cream tones, which will make the room more welcoming and spacious.
It is best to choose leather or leatherette as a finishing material. The thing is that in each buffet there were pieces of furniture that would go perfectly with all these delights, so it is best to choose them.
How to replace a wall in the living room?
The fashion for walls has long passed, but this does not mean that we should not completely forget about this trend. You can install several racks, which may have hinged doors with glazing. The color of the furniture can be completely different. But it is best, of course, to use tones and shades that will best suit the modern design that your designers have planned.
You can easily display the same beautiful dishes on these racks. You can also use them to display antique art or collectibles. It’s a good idea to add some LED strip lighting to make it look like you have a buffet display rather than just a display platform for antique collectibles.
Furniture composition around the sofa
The interpretation of the “wall” is a furniture composition around the sofa. This idea was implemented by designer Yulia Borisova in the project of a two-room apartment in a Stalin building. This way the living room has storage space, but the interior does not look overloaded. The composition is also facilitated by the fact that the shelves are open. Only at the bottom are cabinets with doors.
Instead of storing cereals and pastas in bags and boxes, put them in cute jars. Convenience and beauty in one bottle.
Project by Yulia Borisova. Photo: Olga Shangina
Project by Yulia Borisova. Photo: Olga Shangina
Classification of species
Each interior must maintain a certain style, so all objects and furniture are selected individually. Differences in color, size and cabinet design can either add harmony to the style of the living room or ruin the first impression of it.
The quality of the cabinets differs:
- Material;
- Device (mounted, corner, modular);
- Design style;
By style
As for style, it’s easy to choose a suitable cabinet from catalogs in a store or on an Internet site, in which everything is clearly shown and described: what style it is and in which room it is most appropriate. So, dark furniture does not go well in a small room, because... visually reduces space. Accordingly, for a small apartment, as a rule, light furniture is selected. We will analyze the remaining characteristics in more detail below.
Today, the most popular living room styles include:
- Modern;
- Minimalism;
- Classics;
- Country;
- Scandinavian (IKEA style, beloved by many).
Minimalism is characterized by laconicism and simplicity, so massive wooden showcases are not suitable here at all. But almost entirely glass display cases will look quite organic, making the space even more airy and open. Also suitable are plain, inexpensive display cases made of laminated chipboard, plastic or MDF of simple geometric shapes with straight lines and a minimum of finishing.
Art Nouveau style simultaneously combines several features of completely opposite styles: classic, hi-tech, minimalism. Fancy patterns, luxurious materials and at the same time laconic forms, modern chic.
Classic never goes out of fashion; it always attracts with its wealth and expensive materials. Such furniture can be handmade, with many details and decorations.
Country style is a very cozy and warm option for decorating a living room. It creates the charm of “village” comfort, natural materials, emphasizing the mentality of different countries.
Scandinavian style is reminiscent of country, but always prefers simplicity and conciseness. It is designed with an emphasis on naturalness and environmental friendliness; the shades of this style are predominantly light and cold.
Based on materials
Display cabinets for the living room are made from wooden materials using glass and mirrors with different treatments: plastic or metal.
Materials for making a display cabinet:
- Solid wood (from valuable or simple wood species: beech, birch, oak, pine, etc.);
- MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard);
- Chipboard (chipboard: painted, varnished, etc.);
- LDSP (laminated chipboard);
- VENEER (thin sheets of solid wood glued to a chipboard).
Advice!
To give a special style to the product, the glass and mirrors of the cabinet can be inlaid with stones, fused glass, rhinestones and metal, as well as wood. Sandblasting patterns, made on the outside or inside, have been very popular in recent years.
Glass for display cabinets is made using a special technology: it is tempered for greater strength, so that it can withstand heavy objects and not burst under heavy weight.
By device
The design of the display cabinet can be different. Depending on the area and items in the living room, you can choose from three cabinet options:
- Mounted;
- Angular;
- Modular.
Wall cabinets, as their name implies, are not placed on the floor, but hung on the wall. A small number of shelves (up to five) can hang on the wall, so you won’t be able to place many items on them. The wall to which the fastening will be made must be strong enough.
With the help of individual modules you can zone the space or make accents. Modular kits can be easily and quickly rearranged, swapped, added or subtracted from the kit. This is especially true for small living rooms, where there is often not enough space for a large amount of furniture.
Corner display cabinets save living room space. Especially in small rooms, corners often remain empty, but the living room will become much more spacious if all the free space is used rationally.
