“Eat, drink, and feel cozy” is the motto for a country kitchen. It brings nostalgic memories and the heart of the countryside into your culinary space. A country kitchen combines natural materials for furniture, handmade accessories, and earthy colors.
According to the National Kitchen + Bath Association (NKBA), the world’s leading trade association for the kitchen and bath industry, what’s old is new again. Retro appliances, farmhouse sinks, subway tiles, and bronze or copper fixtures are back on the market. Hence, country kitchens will always be a trend or part of the trends in kitchen decor.
Image credits: Sosey Interiors.
What is a Country Kitchen?
Going for a traditional American country-style kitchen means returning to the 1900s. A country kitchen design is all about a soft, warm, and rustic look. In other words, a country-designed space feels like walking in your grandma’s kitchen.
A classic country kitchen is a spacious room with a dining table in the center. Its typical color palette includes simple, muted tones and earthy shades. Hardwood floors and natural materials for the furniture are other distinctive elements in country-themed kitchenettes.
In European adaptations, country kitchens have a more daring combination of warm colors with many old-world details. When designing a country kitchen, remember it should be your simplest and warmest arrangement.
Image credits: Becca Tapert.
Why Choose a Country Kitchen Design?
A country kitchen is a timeless choice for ten specific reasons.
1. Cozy Vibes: A country design gives your kitchen a warm touch.
2. Natural Materials: Wood and stone in furniture bring nature in.
3. Extra Storage: It’s a well-known design for ample storage space.
4. Classic Decor: Country is a perfect design if you like traditional decor.
5. À La Mode Farmhouse: The farmhouse sink is perfect for a rustic kitchen.
6. Romantic Touch: Low vintage lighting adds a warm, romantic ambiance.
7. Plants Placement: The ideal kitchen design to add lively, fresh plants.
8. Social Spot: It’s the perfect place for family and friends to spend time together.
9. Timeless & Adaptable: It’s easy to add modern elements and color combos.
10. Budget-friendly: A classic country kitchen is less expensive than other designs.
7 Elements of Country Kitchen Layout
Consider these seven elements if you’re renovating or starting fresh with a new kitchen. They’ll make it easier to bring in that cozy country kitchen style, whether you’re starting from scratch or giving your kitchen a makeover.
Image credits: Sidekix Media.
1. Warm Colors
Warm colors like soft yellows, blues, and greens take center stage in a country kitchen. These shades are best used as contrasting colors. On the other hand, the rich, earthy tones add depth and character to the space. A good combination of bold colors with earthy tones creates a warm and cozy ambiance for homeowners.
2. Natural Materials
When it comes to country kitchens, wood is your best friend. Using natural wood brings nature inside, whether you use it for cabinets, countertops, or even flooring. Weathered wood, in particular, plays a crucial role in achieving an authentic rustic look. Its aged appearance brings a sense of history and legacy to the kitchen.
3. Open Shelving
Open shelving is the first thing that marks a country style. Open shelving is a design element that enhances the rustic look and adds storage space. You can free up cabinet space by displaying cute kitchenware and antique pieces. They allow you to create a mini-museum of your kitchen crockery.
Image credits: Dane Deaner.
4. Vintage Appliances
Vintage appliances complement the warm tones and natural materials. For example, the iconic farmhouse sink is a cornerstone of country kitchen design. Its deep basin and apron front make it a functional and eye-catching element. Add bronze or copper chandeliers or light fixtures in the shape of a mason jar to make your kitchen even more retro.
5. Patterned Fabrics
Checkered curtains, floral prints, and gingham patterns are ideal for a country kitchen. These fabrics add pops of color and create a nostalgic design with old-fashioned patterns. Such patterned fabrics can be used in curtains, chair cushions, or table runners.
Image credits: NextWall Wallpaper.
6. Customized Accessories
Accessories are essential because they add a sense of history and authenticity to the country kitchen. Customizing them means making ornaments have a practical function. For example, use mason jars with fresh flowers, wicker baskets for storing fruits, or vintage kitchen tools as decorative accents.
Adding a bit of yourself to the design makes a country kitchen feel like home. Consider a family recipe chalkboard or hang a handmade macramé piece. These personalized touches add a sense of individuality to the space, making it uniquely yours.
7. Barn Doors
Barn doors are optional because these rustic sliding doors need some extra space. Barn doors are eye-catching, easy to customize, and create a sense of old-world farmhouses.
Image credits: Aubarndoor.
Below, you’ll find 15 country kitchen design ideas that blend these elements together effortlessly. These country kitchen design ideas are more than just nice decor, though. They’re a journey back to when cooking and dinner time gathered all the family together. So sit back on your porch swing (if you’re lucky to have one) and enjoy the selection!
1. Traditional American Country Kitchen
A traditional American country kitchen is the classic design of warm creamy colors with wooden floors, oak furniture, subway tiles on the walls, and herbs in the window box. A typical element is the Shaker-style cabinets known for their square edges or box-shaped appearance, best in white or honey colors.
Image credits: Decima Athens.
2. European & Modern Touch in Country Style
Europe embraces country kitchens with sleek lines, marble or granite countertops, hardwearing flooring, and modern oak kitchen islands. Combining old-world ornaments and natural materials with contemporary elements like custom-made bar stools and high-tech appliances (cooker and oven, for instance) adds a unique twist to the classic country design. Earthy colors and light blue with gray undertones are typical for modern country kitchens.
Image credits: roam in color.
3. Rugged Woodwork Galley Kitchen Design
Galley kitchens are known as spacious corridor kitchens. In a galley kitchen, opt for rugged, natural woodwork. Weathered wooden cabinets and open shelving create a welcoming atmosphere reminiscent of a country farmhouse. Soft neutral shades with pops of bold colors like red, yellow, and orange are popular combinations that make a galley kitchen look neat and irresistible.
Image credits: Woodland Cabinetry.
4. Earthy Shades & Patterned Tile Backsplash
A patterned tile backsplash is a popular choice in country kitchens. It comes in various materials like porcelain, ceramic, and wood. A kitchen backsplash offers a wide variety of designs and colors that are enough to make a statement on the walls. However, soft, earthy tones and neutral colors are the best to enhance the mosaic of a tile splashback.
Image credits: Jubin Cantik.
5. Cozy Breakfast Nook
Create a neat corner with a built-in breakfast nook. Soft, colorful cushions, warm lighting, and a round table can easily transform it into a spot where every meal creates a special memory with your loved ones. Essentially, a breakfast nook is a small dining area created anywhere in the house or outdoors in the garden. If you’re thinking of building one, consider opting for dark chocolate-colored wood for the chairs and the table. Wall-hung artwork or family photos can also add a personal touch to your cozy spot.
Image credits: Chastity Cortijo.
6. Pastel Colors in Bright Country Kitchen
Paint your kitchen in soft pastel shades for a bright backdrop. These soft hues create warmth in any space and let natural light in. If you have a small kitchen, it’s best to paint in pale pink, peach tones, light taupe shades, blue pastels, or other light hues. Going for pastel combos is smart because it lets you add pops of colors, use reclaimed wood for cupboards and other furniture, and still make the kitchen design pop.
Image credits: Max Rahubovskiy.
7. Mint Paint and Plants
A farmhouse kitchen is where the country-style kitchen comes from. Therefore, bringing nature in is a great idea. You can add handmade accessories, wine bottles on open cabinetry, overhanging macramé art, walnut wood cabinetry, copper pendants, gold brass, mason jars with fresh flowers, and wicker baskets with fruits, herbs, and vegetables. A soft gray or a mint palette and timber wood flooring will help merge all these elements in one space.
Image credits: jennfeldmandesigns.
8. Antique Ornaments Collection
An antique pot rack to showcase your cookware collection is a functional and visually appealing element that gets you closer to turning your normal kitchen into a country-style one. Combine antique ornaments with repurposed furniture, traditional cabinetry, and brick walls to bring in more vintage vibes. Also, consider removable wallpaper featuring flower prints. It’s a great alternative to hunting trophies often seen in country-themed spaces.
Image credits: Studio McGee.
9. Classic Country Feel With Checkered Flooring
Two types of flooring indicate a country-themed room: timber wood and checkered flooring. Black and white checkered tiles are a classic design. This patterned flooring adds a touch of nostalgia, and it guides you with the rest of the decor. Since a checkerboard is an easy focal point, the rest of the design should match the colors of the floor tiles or be as neutral as possible.
Image credits: sweet_domicile.
10. French Cottage-style Curtains & Floral Fabrics
The fancy and pompous look of French curtains is a must-have element in your country kitchen. Whatever you decide, don't forget to add cottage-style curtains to dress your windows. Floral design is typically chosen in cottage-style curtains, often combined with floral fabrics for cushions or table linens. We suggest “designing out of the box” with dramatic black cottage-style curtains, timber floorings, black tiled walls, gold farmhouse sink, copper pendants, golden brass, and colorful cookery to complete the look.
Image credits: Anita Diaz.
11. Rustic Design Elements
A kitchen needs only two design elements to be 100% rustic: weathered wood cabinets and exposed ceiling beams. Rustic kitchen design is standard in rural areas. Still, with a good combination of colors, you can create a cozy country vibe in a city house, too.
Exposed beams are a dramatic element from Cold War times. Weathered wood is best for custom-made shaker cabinets and flooring. This is a design you need to be extra careful with. Pairing it with arabesque, limestone, or burgundy terracotta tiles is best due to their bold, earthy tones. Typical color schemes vary between creamy white, beige, taupe, gray, honey, tangerine, chocolate, and sunbaked orange.
Image credits: Tamra Lea Design
12. Monochromatic Country Design in Open-plan Kitchen
Whatever the style you choose, a monochromatic color scheme will enhance your space either way. It will make it look luxurious and calming at the same time. A country kitchen is no exception. Still, the best colors for a country kitchen are earthy shades such as gray, sandy beige, burgundy, and taupe, with colored accent walls and cookware. Imagine a soft gray monochromatic kitchen. Gray offers various shades to play with, making it easy to let your creativity shine with pops of red flowers, green herbs in a basket, and wooden chairs.
Image credits: Kitchens of Instagram.
13. Open Shelving With Woven Baskets
Open-shelving kitchens are perfect for those who spend much time cooking at home. This is because dedicated cooks and housewives need easy access to everything in the kitchen. Open shelves facilitate this, while woven baskets offer an excellent storage solution. This combination keeps things organized and adds a personal touch to your space. As both are primarily made of wood, it’s best to stick to earthy tones or opt for an all-white room.
Image credits: Khâluna.
14. Beadboard Paneling & Shaker Cabinets
For a modern, simple country kitchen, go for beadboard walls, shaker cabinets, and gingham curtains. Use beadboard on walls, especially in a galley kitchen with open shelving. Pair with high-tech appliances for a rustic-modern vibe. Dark chocolate, white, green, and red gingham curtains create a perfect combo of colors and patterns for the country kitchen decor.
Image credits: Nina Holst.
15. Chic Country Kitchen From the Stone Era
This decor idea will take you back to when stones rocked in a rustic kitchen. Imagine elegant gray stone walls, granite countertops, and rugged textures. Add antique bronze and copper furniture and a lively mix of patterns from crockery, trinkets, and delicate white macramé. These elements come together as a perfect fusion of history and style. This is how natural elements help you craft a timeless country kitchen at the heart of your home.
Image credits: Ashley Stark Kenner.
Is a Country Kitchen Worth It?
In a world of ever-evolving kitchen trends, the timeless charm of a farm country kitchen holds a special place. Whether it’s the cozy vibes, natural materials, or ample storage solutions, a country kitchen brings a unique blend of functionality and style. Whether you prefer classic American, modern European, or a rugged galley style, there’s a design to suit your taste.
As we went through 15 design ideas, we hope it became clear that a country kitchen is more than just decor. It’s a journey back in time, where families gather to cook and create cherished memories. So whether you’re drawn to the traditional, the modern, or the rustic stone era, remember that your country kitchen is a worthy option.