Pencil case in the kitchen: is it necessary, what functions does it perform, which one to choose?

Good day everyone! Today I would like to talk about such a piece of furniture as a pencil case in the kitchen. This is a rather interesting and sometimes extremely practical design.

The kitchen uses a fairly substantial amount of various furniture. Moreover, its feature is maximum practicality. But you should not make a decision regarding the choice of such a component as a pencil case.

To begin with, I propose to talk about what a pencil case is, whether it is really needed for a small or large kitchen, in what form it can be bought and what to expect from a pencil case.

Kitchen cabinet - features and purpose

A pencil case in the kitchen makes it more functional.
Judging by numerous photos, kitchen pencil cases always look stylish, regardless of the interior design. They are considered a classic option. Every woman will be able to appreciate the functionality and practicality of this piece of furniture. Its main features and advantages include:

• Functionality. In such a cabinet you can place various products. It can accommodate pots, plates, frying pans, teapots or cups. A cabinet for storing spices or equipment is perfect. You can build a microwave or refrigerator into it.
• Rational organization of the premises. A correctly selected model has ergonomic properties. The use of such a product will ensure comfortable organization of the kitchen space.
• Small sizes. A tall pencil case will take up little space in the kitchen. It can be placed in any suitable place depending on the layout and used to store dishes or equipment.
• Possibility of individual production. This way you can get a product taking into account specific parameters. A cabinet made to such an order will cost more. However, this allows you to increase its functionality.
• Universal purpose. The pencil case will perfectly complement the interior. It will help decorate any kitchen, making it more functional.
• Affordable price. You can find cabinets on sale at a reasonable price. An inexpensive wardrobe will not damage the family budget.

Despite its small size, the floor-mounted kitchen pencil case can be used to store various items. Some housewives use it for perfumes or medicines. However, most often in such interior items they keep:

• dishes;
• tablecloths, kitchen towels and other textile products;
• household chemicals, which are intended for cleaning stoves, washing dishes and other kitchen surfaces;
• large appliances - this could be a dishwasher or washing machine;
• oven - it can be placed 1-1.5 meters from the floor;
• microwave and other small household appliances.

A pencil case in the kitchen is considered a very functional piece of furniture.

How to make a cabinet if the refrigerator is not built-in?

The main rule that should be followed in any case of building a refrigerator into a cabinet is not to place it next to an oven, microwave or microwave oven, or any heating household appliance. The fact is that modern models of refrigerators and freezers do not have evaporators at the back; as a rule, they are built into the “sides.” And for the refrigerator to operate correctly, its sides must self-cool through free air circulation. And not to be heated by the “neighbors” standing close to each other. This may negatively affect the service life.

Almost any refrigerator can be installed in a cabinet. How to close it with a door. The main thing is to carefully read the technical data sheet and follow all recommendations regarding the size of the gaps between the side walls of the cabinet (or wall niches, if the refrigerator is built into a niche).

Cabinet dimensions for a built-in refrigerator

If a regular refrigerator is built into a niche or cabinet, be prepared to allocate space for it “with reserve”. As a rule, the cabinet width for a built-in refrigerator of a conventional model ranges from 700-800mm. At the same time, if you want to close it with a door, the depth along the body is also made with a margin.

If a cabinet with a built-in refrigerator is located in the same row as a kitchen unit, options with a depth of 600 mm - flush with the kitchen countertop - look harmonious. In this case, the cabinet body itself will have no door.

Author's kitchens and more - Nikolay Smirnov (Moscow, Belarus, St. Petersburg) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByDHCa8H8RF/?igshid=stc9faqshi9j

In this case, be prepared to provide a recess in the body of the refrigerator case for opening the refrigerator door. However, it all depends on the model - in some cases such a trick is not required.

What to pay attention to

In order for a kitchen set with a pencil case to be convenient and functional, when choosing it, you need to take into account a number of features.

Types of corner cabinet bases

The base of such a cabinet can be open or closed. In the first case, as the photo of pencil cases for the kitchen shows, the product rests on legs, and in the second there is a base.

It is better to choose a base on supports, which is complemented by a plinth. This type of design helps the product withstand significant loads.

Furniture legs are divided into 2 main types:

• stationary;
• adjustable.

The height of the support can be 100-170 mm. Adjustable legs make it possible to change the nominal height within 10 mm. Depending on the material of manufacture, supporting parts are divided into metal and plastic.

Adjustable feet ensure stable positioning of the modular structure. Thanks to the ability to change the height of the legs, it is possible to compensate for uneven floors. Depending on the configuration, conical, square and cylindrical supports are distinguished. Their level is adjusted using a screw mechanism.

The plinth is a bar that is placed at the bottom of the headset. Parts of such a system also include fixing clips, end caps and seals. The base is made of natural wood, metal, MDF, laminated chipboard or plastic.

Using a narrow kitchen cabinet you can create a comfortable space in a small room. Thanks to this piece of furniture, you can get a convenient place to store accessories and equipment.

A corner kitchen set with a pencil case is characterized by a finished appearance. Thanks to the presence of the bottom strip, it is possible to provide protection against dust penetration under the lower part of the cabinets. At the same time, the closed base makes it possible to hide wires or water hoses.

Types of structures

There are 2 types of pencil cases:

• open - do not have doors and resemble a rack with shelves;
• closed - supplemented with doors.

Combined products are also very popular. In this case, part of the cabinet is open, and the remaining shelves are located behind closed doors.

The following types of pencil cases are distinguished according to their shape:

• Straight - are ordinary rectangular cabinets. They are placed anywhere - along the walls or near the window.
• Corner - they are specially designed for placement in the corners of the room. The advantage of such products is the ability to fill an area that is usually not used.

Corner pencil case fits perfectly into the interior

Materials for production

When purchasing and ordering furniture, you should pay special attention to the materials from which it is made. Pencil cases must be made of quality materials. Resistance to moisture and mechanical stress is of no small importance.

To buy a quality pencil case, you need to consider the door opening mechanism.

Most often, pencil cases are made from the following materials:

• Natural wood is considered the most expensive and reliable material. It is characterized by high quality. However, the product requires constant care.
• MDF is practically not inferior in quality to natural wood. At the same time, the material is considered cheaper and is easy to use. With the right approach, such a piece of furniture will serve for quite a long time. It looks great on front surfaces.
• Chipboard is practically no different from MDF. This material is also considered very budget-friendly.
• Plastic is not the best material for the kitchen because it is not durable. It is usually used for the manufacture of economy class products.
• Metal – used to decorate furniture in a specific style.

A cabinet made of natural wood looks impressive.
The facades are often subjected to additional finishing - painted, polished, laminated. This helps give the product greater strength.

Modern designers are increasingly decorating pencil cases with glass doors. They look beautiful and original. Typically this design is used for the upper parts of the cabinet where the dishes are located. To create a bold and unusual interior, you can use multi-colored glass.

When choosing furniture, you should focus on the quality of materials and fittings. It is necessary to ensure that they do not contain scratches or chips.

All kinds of slats or handles are used as additional elements. To achieve a retro style, artificial aging is performed. It consists in the use of a special facade processing technology.

Types of storage systems

Despite many advantages, corner pencil cases also have a significant disadvantage. It can be quite difficult to reach all the shelves with your hands. To optimize this process, many storage systems have been invented. The most popular are considered:

• carousels;
• smartcorners;
• hinged shelves.

Carousels involve a combination of semicircular shelves that are fixed on a vertical stand. The installation is complemented with rotating mechanisms. Thanks to this, the shelves rotate around an axis. The sections include an angular cutout that helps the doors close tightly.

The hinged device makes it possible to rotate and synchronize two sections simultaneously. To do this, you need to pull 1 shelf.

Smartcorner includes retractable modules. At the same time, on the inside of the doors there is a mesh metal shelf, in which there is a certain number of drawers. The shelves are fixed so that the storage areas open gradually.

The pencil case can have different storage systems

Availability of boxes

Storage systems usually include the following elements:

• shelves – designed for storing dishes, utensils and other products;
• drawers - suitable for storing small items;
• baskets and nets are an excellent option for products such as cereals, sugar, tea, coffee;
• dividers - make it possible to organize the storage of spices, cutlery and other small items;
• bottle holders – used for wine, spices, vegetable oil.

It is worth choosing the contents of the cabinet taking into account its purpose. It must meet the needs of the housewife.

Chassis Configurations

Today, furniture manufacturers produce a large number of pencil cases. They can be used for different purposes. The main models that are often used in the kitchen include products for built-in appliances, corner cabinets, and cabinets with open shelves.

A free-standing floor-standing kitchen cupboard for utensils is distinguished by:

• excellent functionality, excellent ergonomic characteristics;
• large capacity;
• possibility of use in rooms with unusual geometry;
• rational use of free space.

A free-standing cupboard looks impressive.
In order for a vertical pencil case to fit well with other kitchen furniture, it should be placed at the level of hanging cabinets. The depth of the product is of no small importance. It should be combined in this parameter with the rest of the elements of the room.

Choosing the right depth will help avoid the appearance of unnecessary protrusions or depressions. They look unattractive and use up space inefficiently.

Corner products fit perfectly into small spaces. They have excellent functionality and look very original. The advantages of such products include:

• the ability to smooth out uneven corners in the room;
• good capacity compared to standard models;
• possibility of saving kitchen space;
• high functionality due to the presence of withdrawable mechanisms.

Such products are installed where appropriate. Otherwise, you can disrupt the overall style of the room.

Models with open shelves are suitable for storing beautiful dishes. Sections without doors can be at the top or in the center. The bottom is usually made with hinged or drawers.

Absolutely open models are suitable for decorating the kitchen. Their disadvantage is the need for regular cleaning.

Styles

If we are talking about a linear set in a modest room, the opportunity to fully realize the desired stylistic direction is much lower than in spacious kitchens. Small rooms require a particularly careful design approach. To create the desired image, you should wisely select the type and color of decorative elements. Large rooms allow you to expand widely and implement all design moves for decoration within the framework of the desired concept.

Modern

A straight set looks appropriate in loft, country, modern, and art deco kitchens. This is a simple and harmonious option that is consistent with most modern concepts. Avant-garde kitchens attract attention with unusual geometric solutions. In a modern kitchen, the external facades of a straight set can be given a sinuous shape.

Classic

This style is easier to implement in spacious rooms, but if you wish, you can try to get closer to the ideal in more modest kitchens. In this case, a linear set will be one of the possibilities to visually enlarge the room. Preference should be given to light-colored furniture with artistically decorated facades. In a small classic kitchen, the set should be the main decoration. An excess of decorative elements will certainly lead to a feeling of overload in the space. A straight set in a large kitchen is a great opportunity to harmoniously fill the room and use classic decor.

Provence

The main features of kitchens in the style of French provincials are the pastel colors of the main finishing elements. It is also typical for Provence to avoid elaborate geometric shapes. A straight set with artificially aged fittings will be a good decoration for a “country” kitchen. You can diversify its decor by patination of the facades. Open shelves with kitchen utensils and groceries would also look appropriate.

High tech

This style is characterized by high functionality and the absence of unnecessary accessories. The simplicity of the geometric shapes of furniture and other decorative elements is welcomed. A straight set will easily allow you to create a stylish and practical high-tech kitchen. To do this, you should use glossy facade surfaces, modern finishing materials and a sufficient number of household appliances. To improve ergonomics, the kitchen should be equipped with an island or bar counter.

Kitchen design with pencil case

When choosing a cabinet, you need to take into account the overall style of the composition. To make your kitchen design attractive, you need to take into account the height of the furniture. It should match the rest of the cabinets. In addition, the pencil case must match the rest of the items in depth.

An important role is played by the combination of the cabinet with the rest of the furniture in color. A universal option would be white. Classic models include different versions of brown. Fans of bold decisions will like bright shades.

Designers suggest paying attention to the design of doors. Instead of closed wooden elements, glass parts are increasingly being used today. Such products look attractive and unusual. Sliding doors are also very popular.

Types of opening systems

When choosing a specific model, pay attention to the type of door opening.

Narrow cabinets use three mechanisms. This:

• swing doors - are attached to the body on hinges and open towards themselves. They are most often used in furniture, as they have a low price and last a long time;
• folding - a variant of a swing design, only the doors open horizontally - up or down;
• lifting doors - doors on special gas lifts. Raises or folds up. This is a fairly convenient and silent option.

Sliding door opening systems in cabinets are almost never used - they significantly limit the already small width of the product.

Embedding household appliances, ovens and microwaves into a pencil case

A correctly selected pencil case is considered an excellent solution for installing built-in equipment. Such furniture can be an excellent niche for a microwave, oven and even a refrigerator.

In this case, it is necessary to choose the correct location of such elements. They should be as comfortable as possible so that you don’t have to constantly bend over or reach up.

Various household appliances can be built into the pencil case

A pencil case in the kitchen is considered a very convenient and functional piece of furniture. It allows you to store different items or products. If you choose the right product, it will be an excellent addition to your interior.

Design tips

The optimal length for a linear kitchen set is considered to be 2.5 meters. An increase in this parameter is associated with the need for a significant amount of movement during cooking or cleaning and washing procedures. The first step when implementing an interior design with a linear layout is to install a sink. Its location is determined by communication systems, since their alteration is too costly and time-consuming. If the sink is located near a wall, be sure to step back at least half a meter from it. This advice is due to ergonomic necessity. When placing the washbasin close to the wall, the owner will constantly touch it with her hand.

If possible, the distance between the set and the dining table should be at least 1 meter. Otherwise, the room will seem too cramped and cluttered. When the kitchen unit is arranged linearly, care should be taken to ensure that the refrigerator and hob are not adjacent to each other. This is necessary to prevent heating of the refrigerator wall and active contamination of its surfaces with drops of fat. If this is not possible, it is necessary to make a gap of 15–20 cm between the units.

To visually enlarge a modest-sized room, designers recommend purchasing furniture in white, beige, blue and similar colors. For the same purpose, you can order a set whose shade completely blends with the light finish of the walls. You can visually increase the height of the kitchen using facades up to the ceiling or 2-3 open shelves with a large distance between them. Upper cabinets should be shallower than lower cabinets.

Our photo gallery:

Varieties

So that housewives do not have problems with storing a large amount of dishes and kitchen utensils, the designers have developed a variety of pencil cases that make it possible to compactly place the dishes and utensils available in the house, plus, in addition, find a place to store equipment, without which it is no longer possible to imagine a modern kitchen. It is enough to choose one of the proposed models from photos in catalogs in accordance with the needs and wishes of the owners, the house will immediately be filled with new colors and flavor. There are several types of pencil cases:

• narrow cabinet “column”;
• angular;
• retractable;
• for built-in equipment.

The kitchen pencil case remains the most popular and in demand. Advantages - it is very roomy due to the small width of the product and the presence of many shelves inside, which allows you to store necessary and useful things. The pencil case can be open, closed, depending on the number of doors - single-leaf, double-leaf, it can be equipped with lower sliding shelves or with drawers, which greatly simplifies the storage of non-perishable products. A classic floor-standing pencil case with a blank front allows you to fill the closet to the maximum, while at the same time hiding its contents.

Furniture manufacturers offer the buyer speakers with fully or partially glazed facades, stained glass doors, sliding doors, and decorative inserts, which adds elegance and lightness to an ordinary piece of furniture.

Models with open shelves at the top or in the middle, where decorative items can be placed, and closed at the bottom, so that the items located there are not exposed, are popular. There are completely open structures; they can be called shelving rather than cabinets. It is convenient to decorate such furniture with vases, figurines, textiles; jars with spices and bulk products, designed in the same style, look very nice; beautiful dishes will also please the eyes of guests and owners.

The best photos of built-in ovens in the kitchen interior

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Selection rules

When ordering or purchasing cabinets, you must take into account their intended purpose, whether household appliances will be installed in them or only a lightweight version is intended - for storing dishes and various household small items. Photos of kitchen cabinets and pencil cases of various designs, types, and designs can be seen in the catalogs of furniture stores. A few selection rules:

• the height of the cabinet must correspond to the height of the entire set of furniture as a whole;
• the depth of the column is not less than the depth of the other cabinets (preferably the same);
• high-quality material will guarantee a long service life of the product.

Manufacturers have recently been delighting customers with interesting design developments. In production, glass door elements on the facades of kitchen units are increasingly being used. Choose the most ergonomic option, with a niche for installing, if not large, then at least small household appliances, because progress does not stand still, more and more various kitchen appliances are being offered to help housewives, and in our small-sized kitchens it is difficult to place all this .

An interesting new idea is the rational organization of the workspace, when tall pencil cases are not offered in the form of separate modules, but are boldly integrated into the entire kitchen wall. All the insides of the cabinets are hidden behind a blank facade, which looks like a single wall, and the internal compartments are quite spacious: there is room to put household appliances, place all the available utensils and household items. The design is spacious and unnoticeable; you can decorate this “wall” at your discretion, in different colors. The kitchen cabinet pencil case is a very convenient, useful piece of furniture in any kitchen, even a very small one, when the space does not allow increasing the number of furniture modules, the pencil case is quite capable of solving this problem.