A Farmhouse Kitchen - A Home with Character
The farmhouse kitchen is making a name for itself in the world of interior design. In addition, it’s doing so with the intention of staying in people’s homes for a very long time. This is because the kitchen is a space that goes far beyond the practical. It’s one of the rooms that define the style and character of your home.
There’s no more poetic word than the word “hearth” to define the kitchen. And this poetry, put into decorative practice, is the farmhouse kitchen. With a marked rustic style, this kind of kitchen goes a little further and includes both rustic accents and sophisticated elements of the French countryside. That’s why people like it so much.
The farmhouse kitchen allows you to play with different elements and to combine them to create spaces with character that are different from most other impersonal kitchen designs.
Ingredients for a farmhouse kitchen
The personal touch is very important and will end up defining the final result of this wonderful kitchen. But there are several ingredients you’ll need to use in order to achieve this.
Furthermore, these kitchens have handmade elements, aged materials, repainted woods, authentic details, and distressed surfaces. They’re spaces with different points of focus because, in addition, they’re living kitchens, where most daily activities take place.
Let’s take a look at the most important ingredients and how to customize them so the farmhouse kitchen has your own personal stamp.
Architectural features of the farmhouse kitchen
Wooden floors and exposed beams are rustic decoration classics in any room. Therefore, in the kitchen, these two elements become more important and are one of the focus points worth including in your budget.
Wooden floors and ceilings immediately make you feel at home and make the farmhouse kitchen a warm and welcoming space. The wood is usually painted in white or cream tones, especially when you want to achieve a more modern look. If the kitchen is large enough, you can also add decorative wood on one of the walls.
Countertops should be sturdy and heavy looking. They can be made of wood, although granite and other natural stones will do just fine. However, the sink should be large and rustic. They are known as apron front sinks. These two decor elements will give you the opportunity to capture the feeling of living on a farm.
The kitchen is the soul of the house
The farmhouse kitchen is designed for cooking and eating, sharing breakfasts and dinners with family and friends. However, its strong country character will also inspire you to have quiet moments to disconnect, read, sew, or even have a romantic dinner.
The farmhouse style is first and foremost practical. However, it can also show off all its treasures, inside and out. Few things are hidden in a farmhouse kitchen. There are no secrets here.
Farmhouse colors
Without a doubt, beige, cream, and off-white tones are the most common on wooden floors, beams, and furniture. Also, the natural color of the wood is useful, although it’ll give you a more rustic look than you may want for this style.
To combine cream shades, there are two popular colors for this style – jade green and very pale blue. You can paint them on some of the walls or include them in the fabrics, which are especially important in the farmhouse kitchen. You can even choose them for kitchenware or decor pieces.
They’re light tones, which don’t overwhelm and they evoke the colors of nature. You mustn’t forget you’re creating links to a farm. You can give an aged look to some of the pieces with colors to further accentuate the connection with the countryside.
Farmhouse furniture
Furniture plays an essential role in a space with so much potential. The shelves are open, so you can display your family china and antique glassware. This is our favorite detail, as it makes the kitchenware part of the decor.
If you’re going to create your farmhouse kitchen in a modern farm style, you can choose white dishware. However, if your farmhouse kitchen has more French country accents, wonderful classic dishware with toile de jouy motifs is perfect. In addition, you can use this motif for the fabrics.
There are large tables, which are wooden and ideal for family dining. If you don’t have enough space, there’s no excuse – a nice corner with rustic benches will work. There are also large pantries that are built-in or have wooden doors and are painted in cream tones.
To add a sophisticated touch of black, you can combine it with metallic elements such as handles, hinges, or hanging lamps. Ironwork, both authentic and imitation, is a material you can widely use in your farmhouse kitchen.
Decor items
So, your recipe is almost ready to come out of the oven. You’re just left with those finishing touches that’ll give it a magic touch: wooden utensils, such as ladles and cutting boards, some light metal baskets, a large number of flowers, metal jars, and pitchers, and beautiful inspiring phrases framed and hung on the walls.
It’s very important to add an extra touch of love to this recipe. In this case, you can do it in the form of tablecloths, cushions, and plaid fabrics coordinated with the window curtains. A farmhouse kitchen doesn’t exist without beautiful curtains.
Our favorites are those made of natural fabrics, lace, and with large valances that frame curtains at medium height, known as coffee curtains.
These are some of the vintage style decor items you can use as a starting point. Now you just have to customize them little by little, like adding salt and pepper.