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Colorful country kitchens


11 Gorgeous Country Kitchens for Your Decorating Inspiration

By

Deirdre Sullivan

Deirdre Sullivan

Deirdre Sullivan is an interior design expert and features writer who specializes in home improvement as well as design. She began her career as an assistant editor at Elle magazine and has more than a decade of experience. Deirdre contributes content for brands including The Spruce and Realtor.com, and has been a featured speaker at various conferences.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 03/30/22

The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto

Compared to every other room in a home, the kitchen is arguably the most popular spot to gather with friends and family. And these days rustic cooking spaces brimming with country charm are even more irresistible. But how do you go about adding this coveted style to your existing area? Luckily, the country kitchen concept is very malleable—it can feel clean and minimal, retro and colorful, or elegantly traditional. You get to decide how countrified to go. Let these beautiful examples whet your appetite for creating a practical and beautiful rustic-inspired kitchen.

21 Chic and Stylish White Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

What color is good for a country kitchen? |

(Image credit: Kitchen Makers Burbidge & Son / Artisans of Devizes)

More than anything, the best colors for a country kitchen are often influenced by the view outside your window. Natural hues, whether that’s from prairie-inspired yellows, soft meadow greens, the blues of rivers, lakes and sky, moody mountain tones of green, gray and brown, or the bright shades of a cottage garden border, all feature. 

Neutral tones are also key, but again these have an organic influence – milk white and cream, stone and putty shades, gentle pebble gray and coal black.

Bring this approach to nature-inspired color to your kitchen ideas and you’ll have the great foundation for a country-style kitchen.

What color is good for a country kitchen: the expert rulebook

You can introduce color to your country kitchen ideas in many ways – across cabinetry, through textiles, tile and your choice of countertop. 

‘Painted woods can bring color and charm into these spaces,’ suggests Sarah Barnard, Founder of Sarah Barnard Design . ‘To keep things feeling natural, select colors inspired by nature. In a recent project, sky blue cabinets paired with a warm-toned brick chimney helped to lend a coastal element to the country aesthetic. ’

Decide whether you want to opt for full-on colorful kitchen ideas, to use color as an accent within more neutral kitchen ideas, or go for a majority white kitchen that pares back the country palette.

1. Add a blue or green island

(Image credit: Dan Duchars)

Island paint color ideas can bring your favourite shade front and center of your country kitchen, especially when you take the predominant tone from the natural landscape – either blue or green.

‘Neutral tones are the overarching theme when it comes to colors for your country kitchen, though some projects will have an accent color for their island like a stoney blue or earthy green,’ explains Teri Simone, Head of Design & Marketing for Nieu Cabinet Doors .

2. Layer pale shades for warmth and depth

(Image credit: Kitchen Makers Burbidge & Son)

Lisa Slack, Head of Product at Thomas Sanderson , is another advocate of neutral tones as good colors for a country kitchen – but there’s a trick to making them look good.

‘Neutral color palettes are the key for creating the country style in the kitchen, especially the layering of different minimalist shades of whites, creams and greys,’ Lisa says. ‘Not only will a neutral color scheme crisp up your kitchen providing a sophisticated look, but  lighter-coloured walls will make any space feel bigger than it actually is.’

One option is to go for cream kitchen ideas that go across all surfaces. You could start with a warm cream for your cabinetry, with a lighter tone for walls, and a warm stone floor. 

Or for a cooler take on the neutral look, choose white cabinets and tile, with pale gray accents for depth, as in this kitchen from Kitchen Makers from Burbidge & Son.

Whether warm or cool, both schemes will create a harmonious, relaxed look that’s the epitome of country kitchen style.

3. Use brick and stone to add color

(Image credit: Cult Furniture)

It’s not just natural colors that are key to a country kitchen; it’s natural materials, too. Choose surfaces and structural materials wisely and they will contribute effortlessly to your country color palette. These also work particularly well for layering color into traditional kitchen ideas and decorating schemes.

‘Brick helps create an authentic look and feel that reminds you of an old-fashioned home where everything was made by hand,’ says Utah-based interior designer Linda Hasse, of The Project Girl .

‘Stone can be used in several ways including countertops, backsplashes and floors. It also helps give your kitchen a rustic feel while making it seem more spacious than it really is.

‘Finally metal can be used as cabinet hardware or as accents throughout your kitchen such as pendant lights over your stovetop or ovens.’ Choose warm tones of copper, bronze and brass to bring burnished color to your country kitchen.

4. Pair pale blue with dark gray

(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)

Country kitchen colors are used to convey a sense of ease and welcome. So while dark hues are cocooning and cozy, they can sometimes seem too heavy in a rustic scheme.

‘The answer is to play a paler tone against the darker shade, as in this country kitchen color scheme from Benjamin Moore paints,’ says interiors stylist and author, Sara Bird.

‘Dream-team colors good for a country kitchen include duck egg blue and deep gray; primrose yellow with deep green; and pale pink with either navy or plum.’

5. Add in a bouquet of tonal colors

(Image credit: David Hunt Lighting)

This vibrant and characterful country kitchen, with scallop-detail pendants from David Hunt Lighting , features shades of olive, pine green, deep blue and coral, over a base of pale putty pink.

‘Rather than a color clash, the blues and greens work harmoniously together – with the jolt of brighter coral to enliven the scheme,’ says global editor in chief of Homes & Gardens.

If you’re not confident about mixing and matching different hues, use the color wheel as your guide. Alternatively, take a photo of a bouquet of flowers or a vibrant garden border, and see which colors work beautifully side by side in nature. 

6. Embrace darker shades like charcoal and black

(Image credit: Kitchen Makers Burbidge & Son)

Black may seem the antithesis of a good color for a country kitchen, but it can work beautifully across shiplap walls and wooden cabinetry.

‘Majority black kitchen ideas, or black and white kitchen ideas, can be great for a country scheme, especially when lifted with natural wood furniture and accessories that introduce warmth and texture,’ says stylist Sara Bird. ‘Decorative elements such as artworks, plants and displays of kitchenalia will also soften the look, and bring an eclectic feel to your dark kitchen cabinet ideas.’

7. Add sunny yellow to a country kitchen

(Image credit: Sunflower chalky matt from Sanderson Design Group)

Still wondering what color is good for a country kitchen? Add yellow to your list.

‘Heritage ochre, rich buttercup yellow and pale primrose are just some of the many yellow tones that suit a country kitchen,’ says Homes & Garden global editor in chief, Lucy Searle. ‘These natural tones can lift a dark scheme, form the foundation of a bright and sunny kitchen, or add zest as an accent in a neutral scheme.’

If you're considering yellow kitchen ideas, just remember that yellow paints can look very different depending on the amount and tone of light in your room. Test out lots of different shades before you make your final choice, not forgetting to pair them with the other colors in your scheme so you can be sure they complement each other. 

What are country style colors?

Country colors are inspired by the natural shades you would see in nature, and range from the darkest tar and charcoal to the palest sky blue and cloud white.

'In the US and Europe, what you won't tend to see in a country palette are artificial, neon or excessively bright tones, even if you might see these in a natural habitat – these would tend to be categorised as tropical tones,' explains stylist Sara Bird.

Andrea has been immersed in the world of homes, interiors and lifestyle since her first job in journalism, on Ideal Home. She went from women's magazine Options to Frank. From there it was on to the launch of Red magazine, where she stayed for 10 years and became Assistant Editor. She then shifted into freelancing, and spent 14 years writing for everyone from The Telegraph to The Sunday Times, Livingetc, Stylist and Woman & Home. She was then offered the job as Editor on Country Homes & Interiors, and now combines that role with writing for sister title homesandgardens.com. 

Rustic style in the interior of a country house: authentic and colorful design

Nature and natural materials attract solid and morally mature people like a magnet. The desire to live outside the city is most often due to precisely these reasons, and the apartment is not able to give this feeling to its owner.

In vain it is considered that this is just a direction in design, such an interior is a lifestyle. And it is so diverse and rich that it captivates from the first moment and for life.

Rustic-style suburban housing: design features

A rural house, remote from the city noise, bustle and crowds, is a dream of true gourmets of inner peace and connoisseurs of the surrounding beauty. In order to emphasize the charisma of your home, instill in it the warm spirit of the village, burden it with comfort, you need to create the interior correctly, and observe some conditions:

The design of a rustic house should continue the building itself, saturate it. The interior involves a mixture of modern comfort with the coziness of a country estate or a village hut. And it should be as harmonious as possible. This can be achieved by avoiding extremes. First of all, it is worth deciding on the depth of immersion in the subject.

If the whole village house is decorated in the same style, you will have no problem moving from one room to another. If you decide to give this style a part of the house, or the kitchen, combine classics or minimalism with it. You should not go to extremes and make the house a set for a film about a village in the 18th century - you will quickly get tired of such an immersion, and modern things will look ridiculous.

Golden mean - furniture and textiles in discreet, natural colors, wood, stone, simplicity of forms, household appliances and crockery in retro style. The interior will only benefit from this.

Décor with which the house finds its soul

A small cozy wooden house or a family estate is a place where the family goes at any time, where guests like to gather. His soul is hospitable hosts and little things dear to all hearts. It is thanks to the decor that the house acquires its features, the hand applied by the owner makes it animated.

Most people associate rustic interiors with colorful and motley rugs, embroidered curtains and towels, log-like walls. But this is far from true. Starting to understand more deeply, you will find that you can choose a country interior, or Provence, but they still have the same essence - a country estate, where each room is a continuation of the previous one.

Design: Full House Design

Textile Features

A rustic home needs soft fabrics, delicate drapery lines, starched tablecloths and napkins. Textiles are a must, and the living room is its territory. Curtains, curtains, bedspreads, sofas, soft pillows for chairs, napkins - everything should be subordinated to the general surroundings.

Choose linen, cotton, wool - materials that cling to the hand. Colors close to nature will create a calm and warm atmosphere.

Do not forget about the tablecloth, it must be indispensable and combined with the curtains. A wooden table covered with a snow-white tablecloth is a symbol of hospitable hospitality.

Sofa cushions in patchwork style, like blankets or with embroidered pillowcases, will only enhance the atmosphere of softness and comfort.

Kitchen and bath towels in pastel shades will add warmth to the kitchen and bathroom. Textile rugs laid out on a wooden floor perfectly accentuate the interior.

Skip the juicy, trendy colors for contemporary style, and go for natural, natural shades that continue the natural ones. Modern textiles are quite suitable for these purposes.

Wood in the interior

The interior should be emphasized with wooden elements. Starting from the ceiling, and ending with photo frames and mirrors, wood can be subtle and elegant, or it can be a rough, brutal element of your design.

To create the spirit of a chalet, country, Russian village style, a high ceiling with exposed beams, or imitation of beams over a painted ceiling, natural and simple furniture will fit into a rustic interior. Rough finishing of doorways with wood cracked from time to time, a floorboard, or a laminate under a wiped floor, a wooden table, will create a feeling of antiquity, good quality. The village outside the walls should be felt inside.

Lighter directions, such as Provence, Peisan style, include wood decor, but in an elegant execution: the wood is covered with paint, the lines are thin and more graceful, there are no rough and large details in the design. The interior plays with cute trinkets.

Frames for mirrors, photos, window and picture framing should be kept in the same style. Properly selected furniture made of natural wood will only enhance the overall mood, put an end to creating a harmonious interior.

Rustic motifs in basic styles

A house in nature, adequately decorated for living and recreation, can be so individual that you will never find another such interior, even slightly reminiscent of it. Creating your own, understandable only to the owner of the rustic style, perhaps the main thing is to decide on the direction. The interior, built coherently, step by step, will not allow to break the general line.

Country direction

American farmers have made a grandiose contribution to the formation of this style and interior. The simplicity and authenticity of the design can bring the spirit of American shepherds' housing even into the home of a Russian banker, and most importantly, the room will look decent, albeit simple.

Large window openings, leather, wood and stone, rough as a cowboy's hand.

Textiles in indigo shades with a hint of denim, and of course bright interior details. It can be seemingly out of place, flashy-colored appliances, sofa cushions, a mirror or drawers in the bathroom.

Furniture in such a house must be chosen exclusively natural.

The main thing is to choose one object that will catch the eye. The combination of three colors, or a tone transition from dark to light, will add some intrigue to the design of the room. Rustic chic is provided to the owner of the interior with a photo.

Small and very functional cottage: 92 squares of comfort

Russian rustic style

If you think that it is the easiest way to repeat the Russian style at home, you are deeply mistaken. Rustic Russian style houses are one of the most interesting projects. Rough wooden decor and linen tablecloths will not cope with the surroundings, if you do not take into account the basic conditions:

  1. it is necessary to decorate the whole house in the Russian style, or use only free-standing structures, for example, a gazebo;
  2. a house with a Russian-style interior will look deliberately fabulous if you overload the design with authentic details;
  3. minimalism is the best friend of a Russian village home;

Minimal wood processing, textiles with rough weave, deliberately simple lines, furniture in retro style - this will bring the village house closer to the desired one, and the Russian style will sparkle with all its colors

Design: Varvara Zelenetskaya

Chalet style

Hunting lodge - a place where the feeling of unity with nature is maximum. A rustic country house in the style of a chalet speaks of remoteness from the city, a calm lifestyle, regularity and stability.

The chalet can be made in both wooden and brick houses. The main lines are rustic design, easy to match with modern furniture in classic or minimalist style.

Here you can safely combine a wooden table and a stone top, but you need to be careful with the emphasis on bright details - they are always superfluous in this direction. The house will breathe freshness if you do not load it with heavy and complex furniture.

Provence direction

Sunshine on the walls, pastel colors, cute trinkets and a floral print. A rustic Provence-style interior deserves to be one of the priorities in choosing a country home setting.

The rustic motif of the French hinterland is quite difficult to correctly disperse in the interior - you can get carried away and get a rural underground, or vice versa - get an insufficiently complete rustic image.

Provence is dominated by white color and delicate shades, natural wood Delicate fabrics coexist with coarse iron forging and wool.

Small colored tiles, glazed bricks, whitewashed beams, rustic painted floor. All this is framed by curtains and napkins with a floral print. A gentle unity of rudeness with grace.

Rustic style in the general interior of a country house

If the entire interior of a country house is strictly maintained in one stylistic direction, the owners will not experience dissonance when moving from one room to another, it will be easier to choose decor items, to furnish the rooms correctly. The house will only benefit from this. You choose the Russian style, or Provence - you will not be a loser, the main thing is not to bring the design of one style into another.

Entrance hall decor

The rustic style of interior design has even touched the threshold from which the visitor receives information about the owner. Such a house is an open book, and the hallway is a visiting card. The house is just as beautiful inside as it is outside.

Simplicity of design, geometric lines, bright and spacious room - everything you need for a complete immersion in rustic style. Bright details, such as rugs, shelves, chair drapery, will dilute the simplicity.

Design: Studio Prosperity

Kitchen and utensils as decorative elements

The kitchen is the focus of style and its fusion with the comfort of modernity. The interior of a rustic-style kitchen needs to be thought out so that household appliances, of which there are many in this room, easily fit into the overall picture. Here, built-in appliances will come to the rescue, which will be hidden by the facades of the kitchen, the interior, thanks to this, will not suffer.

The stove should be the center and its choice is the starting point from which to build the environment. Natural wood, stone, textured fabrics, faucets and furniture elements in copper and bronze. Here you should avoid chrome parts.

Crockery that is best placed on open or glazed shelves should continue the quality and stability of the entire kitchen. Cast iron and copper will fit perfectly into the rustic surroundings.

Napkins and tablecloths are best taken out at the time of setting the table, which is best left open during normal times. A wooden countertop, or a painted version is a worthy choice. The Russian rural style is clearly emphasized by the large hospitable table.

Design: Marina Kutepova

How to arrange a living room

The room where the family spends time together should have a center. The house grants this right to the living room. This is either a large rustic table, or a hearth - a fireplace. The center of the room must be highlighted. Woolen carpets of soothing colors and comfortably arranged sofas are ideal for this.

Creating a rustic living room interior is second only to the entrance hall, as these are usually adjoining spaces. Do not skimp on light shades, make the ceiling higher, or decorate it with a false beam. Simple and comfortable furniture, wooden frames of paintings and mirrors, soft shades of curtains will bring the desired effect to the rustic surroundings.

For a rustic style living room with a similarly designed kitchen, sometimes enough is enough, and many do just that, allowing other rooms to submit to the styles chosen by the masters of the bedrooms.

Design: Marina Kutepova

Bedroom decoration

Many, imagining the interior of a rustic bedroom, see quilted blankets, pillows laid with nesting dolls, embroidered curtains. Could be so. But there are many options, and now, it is quite easy to implement rustic minimalism for a bedroom in a rather colorful design.

The simplicity of a wooden bed accommodates a quality orthopedic mattress, warm shades of curtains, additional curtains, wooden elements on the walls or a block house, walls to be painted in beige tones. The room and furniture are both functional.

Rustic style bathroom to complement the bedroom.

Children's room

Interior in the style of a country house will create a nursery, ideal for a child. In this room, maximum light and space are the fundamental ideas. Natural materials and clean country air are what parents can give to a child. Simplicity of design, light decor, the creation of which, most likely, the child will take over. A rustic children's room does not need plastic furniture or artificial surfaces - everything inside should breathe nature, just like the house itself.

Design: Maxim Noda

Fireplace - comfort and living warmth

Rustic wooden house with live fire has a soul. The family will always strive to the hearth in the evening, and the children will always return to the village parental shelter.

A fireplace in the living room or bedroom is a frequent rustic host around which the overall decoration is shaped. The room with him becomes authentic.

Wood burning fireplace, electric fireplace or false fireplace - the choice is huge. When a blizzard howls outside, inside you will not only find yourself warm, but you will feel all the charm of a living fire.

Design: Andrey Volkov

When to use this style

People who appreciate the smell of natural wood, who live with open windows and open curtains, sooner or later choose a rustic style. The apartment becomes irrelevant.

Unity with nature, return to the origins, rustic flavor will be appreciated by people who have inner harmony or strive for it.

Friends will always be reaching out to your house, and an evening spent with family in the living room will be truly restorative, just like sleeping in your lovingly furnished bedroom.

Design: Pavel Alekseev

Design: Marina Kutepova

Video: rustic style in the design of the house

Country-style kitchens - photos and recommendations for its arrangement

to achieve maximum effect and not overdo it with naturalness, you need to follow a few basic rules in choosing a design for a country-style kitchen.

Rustic kitchen features

Mandatory use of natural materials: wood, stone, ceramics, rattan, etc. - after all, these materials are popular in the design of housing in the provinces. If you can not do without metal elements, then it should be copper or brass. For walls, it is better to choose wood panels or wallpapers that imitate the texture of wood or natural stone. Drawings with various plant motifs are allowed. Ceilings can be left open - this approach is only welcome in this style.

A bright example of rustic interiors

The presence of accessories such as wicker baskets, clay jugs and pots placed on open shelves and in cabinets. You can hang copper pots and pans on the walls, bundles of onions, garlic and peppers. Arrangements of wild flowers and dead wood look great, fresh fruit in vases or simply laid out on the table, cute trinkets depicting pet figures, or jars of homemade jam and pickles.

Don't forget colorful accessories

Textiles should also be natural - canvas, tapestry, linen. Tablecloths and napkins decorated with embroidery and handmade lace are very relevant for the kitchen interior in country style. Any colors are allowed, except for loudly poisonous shades - from pastel combinations under natural homespun fabric to contrasting reds, greens, whites, sunny yellows. A "cell" would be very appropriate.

Decorate with natural textiles

It is advisable to choose household appliances also stylized antique. Now you can order in specialized salons sinks and stoves, decorated in the style of the last century. Also a great addition would be a real, living hearth with a cast-iron grate and woodpile.

Styling should also be considered for household appliances

Furniture by all means need to choose massive and solid. At the same time, keep in mind that the kitchen table is usually placed in the middle of the kitchen, and around it are chairs, benches or stools. Complete the decor with an antique cuckoo clock, wall or floor - and you can't go wrong.

Country style for a country house

Rustic kitchen accessories

For such kitchens, any lamps with lampshades are suitable - from pendant chandeliers to floor lamps of any size. If, for some reason, spot lighting cannot be avoided, try to hide it behind cabinet consoles and ceiling partitions.

Original lighting idea

Another optional, but desirable attribute is the appetizing aroma of fresh baked goods or freshly cooked food. Remember the smells in your grandmother's kitchen from your childhood and spread sprigs of fragrant herbs everywhere - mint, thyme, rosemary - arrange jars of cinnamon or cloves. It will immediately become warmer and more comfortable.

Unusual ceiling in a rustic style kitchen

Benefits of country style kitchens

One of the main advantages of designing a kitchen in this particular direction is versatility and accessibility. A country-style kitchen will retain its attractive appearance for a long time, as a certain “aging” that occurs on wooden furniture facades over time, darkening of brass handles, chips on ceramics will only enhance the desired effect and add a real rustic flavor.

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