Loved by many for its cozy and relaxed feeling country style is one of the most popular decorating styles.
The "Country Style" implies a deeper connection to the outdoors and the simple life than other
styles and uses an abundance of natural elements. As in nature everything in your home
influences everything else.
An ideal country kitchen expands our vision of interdependence. As you bringing natural elements into
your kitchen, try mixing textures and colors as life does naturally, you'll bring out the charm and integrity
of each object and add country style, interest, and harmony to your kitchen.
If the ideal is to be out-doors, in the garden, in the sunshine, by the sea, or on the top of the mountain, you should
bring this experience with you in your kitchen. Ask yourself which kind of natural elements you
would like to incorporate in your kitchen
design that will enhance your vital energy, your life force?
Some of the dullest kitchens vary little in tone and textural pitch. The harmony of in a kitchen is similar to musical
rhythm. The wider the range, the grater the emotional impact on the soul.
Though
the overall continuous flow of a kitchen calls for repetition, there are many
ways to stimulate a kitchen texturally without disrupting the large order of a
space. (see also texture in interior decorating and
kitchen textures).
With the beautifully woven basket of white willow and cane handles filled with
zinnias, you can achieve the effect of summer's day in the garden. Many people
who have wild, wonderful gardens live in houses with a dark, dreary, and musty
kitchens. They have not yet made a connection between the textures they respond
to in nature and the interiors of their homes.
Start your Country kitchen design with the floors. Wood floors are a natural
choice in country setting, although terra cotta tiles are an attractive accent to a
European-inspired country setting. All wooden floors show signs of wear and tear
in time. When wood floors become worn from years of use, they have more energy
and karma, and more loved.
Lived-on wood floors have a patina as beautiful as
that of a precious eighteenth-century antique. And the best part - you don't
have to distress your wood floor to obtain this antique effect; all you have to
do is enjoy it and, over time, it will become more graceful and lovely than
ever. Other flooring materials are appropriate for country style kitchen, you
can review them at green flooring
materials section.
Through rugs will contribute to relaxed and casual feeling of
country style kitchen. Be sure that the rugs have texture, braided or woven rag are preferred.
These rugs can be placed in front of the sink and range for added comfort underfoot. Casual rags provide
fresh, cheerful colors and have the spirit of leisure and happy times.
To customize your Country kitchen add a stenciled back-splash or wall border. If you want a
truly personal look, try a faux finish like sponging, ragging,
combing, or rubbed-back plaster. These finishing techniques are fun, and easy and add texture to your walls,
providing a richer, warmer feeling to your country kitchen. For a Continental flavor, apply a glaze that imitates a
rustic fresco finish. Use the space in the soffit area or above a window
to hang herbs for drying. Standard casement windows can look too contemporary in the country
setting, you might consider installing a double-hung windows. Finish them with full trim, and top them
with simple cotton curtains, or just install valances. Don't overdress them.
A working fireplace will definitely add charm to your country kitchen,
too, but a simple potted herb garden on the windowsill will do so, too.
When choosing cabinets for country style kitchen look for plain wood cabinetry
stained a light maple, or with distressed, crackled, or pickled finish. This is
the perfect kitchen for mixing different finishes because unmatched pieces
underpin the informal ambiance of a country room. Cabinet door styles are
typically framed, they can have inset or a raised panels.
Bead-board cabinets
are a typical American country style. The cabinets can be lit underneath
camouflaging necessary tusk lighting. Some of the cabinets can be left without
any doors, showcasing pretty china, dishes, and glasses. Decorative boxes and colorful containers suited
well for country style kitchen and create an efficient and attractive storage
system. Open shelves for kitchen storage
shouldn't be look at as strictly utilitarian convenience, they can be visually
stimulating and attractive part of the kitchen.
For the kitchen countertop, consider butcher block
or patterned countertop fabricated from inlaid solid-surfacing material. Hand-painted tiles
will create a lovely back splash adding joy and cheerfulness to the country
kitchen.
The best way to make successful decisions for your kitchen in
the areas of hardware, fixtures, and appliances is to expose yourself to a wide
variety before choosing what you like best. The right
kitchen hardware can be a
big help in achieving a country look. A touch of whimsy is fine and always looks
at home in a country kitchen, especially when it is hand-crafted. Fun and lively
hand-carved wood knobs or hand-painted porcelain hardware will add un uplifting
personality to a country kitchen.
Relaxes and easy-going country style gives you
a few opportunities that are not appropriate for other
kitchen style. Only in
country style kitchen you can have fun with hardware; you can mix-and-mach
standard metal or glass hardware with a few fun ones that have fruit, vegetable,
or animal designs. Going further, you can even paint existing boring knobs and
pulls. Pick up an accent color from the tile or wallpaper and go for it. The
paint for kitchen hardware you can pick up at any craft store.
Country Kitchen Appliances
A kitchen should be set up so everything is in the right place to suit your needs, luring you in and inspiring
you to create wonderful meals. Selecting the right appliances is one of the major considerations for
country kitchen design.
More then any other decorating style the country kitchen
style calls for camouflaging the appliances, to create a warm, soft and cozy
atmosphere in the kitchen, free of high-tech eyesores. Even tough the stainless
steel appliances are now "in", the most successful kitchens designed in country
style have white fixtures and brass faucets that coordinated with light
cabinets, butcher-block countertops, and decorative-tiled back-splash. An
affordable luxury like round or oval hand-hammered brass bar sink can be a
glorious addition to a country kitchen.
Whether you are designing kitchen from scratch or remodeling your old kitchen you
should not think of appliances and fixtures as a permanent elements of kitchen;
almost everything can be moved around, and you should always consider what
arrangement you would enjoy most.
Obviously, you can relocate a sofa or move a
cabinet more easily than you can move a stove, refrigerator, or sink, as you are
exposed to more kitchen designs and become more aware of what you like the most,
you will be able to reposition your appliances.
Not only your kitchen be different
from others', so is your lifestyle. It is your habits hat will help you
personalize the location of your kitchen appliances as well as help you to know
what you really want. And though you may not be able to rip out an old sink, you
can install a silvery-nickel goose-neck spout that swivels, turning the ordinary
into something extraordinary. The dishwasher must be next to the sink whenever
possible. Remember to take into consideration whether you're right- or left-
handed if you're installing a new one. Set-up a coffee-maker and coffee-bean
grinder near a window so you can begin the day looking out at nature, the bird
feeder, and fresh blooms.
And remember that
kitchen improvements should be done with one goal in mind - to improve
the quality of your life, not just to add value to the home. Consider added value as
a great bonus you are getting for your hard work.
