Country Kitchen Design

From LoveToKnow Interior Design

If you want to add a little bit of homespun charm to your home, country kitchen design could be just what you’ve been looking for. The kitchen is the heartbeat of most homes; it is where friends and family gather around cozy tables for comfortable meals and where people living busy lives cross paths for a few minutes together in the morning before rushing off for a busy day at work. Creating a warm and inviting kitchen can make this room even more special, and country kitchen design styles are perfect for making any kitchen the kind of place you’ll want to kick off your shoes and stay awhile – a homey respite in an otherwise fast paced world.

What is Country Style Design?

Before you can decide if country style design is right for you, brush up on your country style basics. Country design is actually a catch-all term for a wide range of design styles, from country French design to English country design to American country style design (sometimes called American rustic design or rustic design). While these styles may seem to vary a great deal when you look at the finished product, the fundamentals of these styles and the ideas behind them are the same. Country style is all about incorporating the natural elements and the history of a location into the design. Country style is also about the comfort found in the familiar. It can be basic and no frills, but definitely a lot of fun. If there is one design style where knick knack lovers can go all out, country design is it – making it perfect for the kitchen.

This article will focus on American country style kitchen ideas, but for more help implementing other country styles, visit these LovetoKnow Interior Design articles:

Country Kitchen Design

If you think that country kitchen design may be right for you, consider the following ideas to get your project underway:

Check out the architectural features of your room. If you live in an older home, you may have some areas you can play up, like rough hewn beams in the ceiling or a stone fireplace/chimney. Country style is about a rustic, somewhat “old-fashioned” look, so if you have some period detail in your room, make it a focal point.

Navy blue and rust red are popular colors in country design, but they can be overwhelming if used with a heavy hand, especially in a small area. One way to bring these colors into the design is to use them when stenciling your walls. You can either do a stencil half way down the wall around the room, or do a stencil around the top of the wall. Remember, country kitchen design is not about putting on airs; your stencil design can be as refined or as cutesy as you want it to be! Also consider wallpaper borders to bring in color.
Look for copper bottomed pans, cast iron skillets, and copper or distressed brass utensils and display them. Keep the utensils in a jar on the counter and hang the pans from a suspended rack. Family hand-me-down pots and pans are perfect, or if you don’t have those, look for new ones that look like they could have been your grandmother’s!

Country kitchen design is all about creating a family friendly, welcoming environment and ideally, a country kitchen should have an eat-in area. A dark wooden table with high backed wooden chairs with wicker seats is perfect; add seat cushions in prints to match your border or a plaid pattern to add a splash of color.

Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. The ultimate country kitchen will be overflowing with charming little additions to bring the room together. There are no hard and fast rules here; look for accessories that mean something to you and your family. Display old family cookbooks and old family photos. Comb the antique shops and flea markets to look for Colonial pieces to complement your décor. Your kitchen will continue to evolve, and that will only add to the charm.

There are regional variations on American country style, of course, so your country kitchen design in Mississippi may be completely different than your friend’s country kitchen in Maine. This is only natural, given the different histories and environments of the areas, and that is the beauty of country kitchen design. Bring in the pieces of your own heritage to make your kitchen a true expression of you.