Blog

3 Rustic Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

What’s your dream home? A cabin in the woods, a remote mountainside chalet, or a cottage by the shore? Rustic kitchens are a part of these daydreams, and rustic cabinetry helps create the perfect ambiance for those cozy settings. With a host of options from makers such as OakCraft and Woodstar/Quality Cabinets, Diamond Kitchen and Bath experts can bring that get-away-from-it-all dream kitchen to life before your eyes. Here are a couple of cabinet elements they recommend to create a perfect rustic “feel” in the heart of your home:

1. NATURAL WOODS

You needn’t live in the forest to enjoy the beauty of wood all around you, and it’s no accident that wood cabinetry continues to be the most popular type out there. One reason is its complete versatility: wood cabinetry can look like it was just shipped off a couture showroom floor — or like Grandpa just got done driving in the last nail to make it by hand! Want a “floating” cabinet on the wall to match your contemporary kitchen style? Wood can fill the bill, with an amazing combination of solidity and lightness.

For country-themed kitchens, knotty pine cabinets are amazing; maple cabinetry can be as ornate or as plain as you like, to complement Colonial, Shaker, or Mid-Century Modern kitchens with equal ease. Woods such as oak, hickory, ash, and pine are easily paintable or stainable to harmonize with your color schemes. Simple handles and pulls complete a rustic, laid-back look — but there’s a lot of variety even in “simplicity,” as you’ll see when you start comparing enamel, brushed copper or bronze, or stainless steel pulls. Combine your hardwood bases with butcher block cabinet tops and you have a look that’s plainly elegant, one you can happily live with for years.

2. EARTH-FRIENDLY COLORS

As you select cabinetry, remember that it’s the biggest item you’ll see when you enter the kitchen. So if you want a relaxed, rustic look, you’ll want to choose soothing, even outdoor-tinged colors for that cabinetry. In a kitchen with plenty of natural light, a pale oak finish, a warm red maple, or even a deep cherry is striking, injecting just the right amount of hue.

For drama, think in terms of cabinetry that’s a shade (or even several shades) darker than your flooring and walls — such as deep mahogany paired with cream, pale sand colors, and terra-cotta reds. For a soothing, peaceful feeling, select cabinetry, floors, and accessory colors that are in the same “family,” just different degrees of hue — such as golden pine, cream or almond-toned appliances, and goldenrod or buttercream colors in towels, chairs, and small appliances.

Don’t forget the walls, either. If your cabinets have a lot of detail on them — carvings, trims, glass-front doors, and such — you’ll want a gentle neutral shade on the walls so that the kitchen doesn’t become too “busy.” However, “neutral” doesn’t have to be bland, either. If you love French vanilla, buttercream, ivory, eggshell, or sand tones, of course, you should use them…but if your tastes run more to jewel tones, don’t discount them, either. An accent wall of jade green, ruby red, or sapphire blue, when paired with a clean-lined, simply squared-off pine, oak, or ash cabinet is pure beauty — like a bed of bright flowers lighting up the forest floor.

A good general rule of thumb? If you see the color in nature, you can use it in a rustic kitchen; simply remember balance and symmetry, and it’ll all tie together nicely. As an added bonus, use paints that are low-VOC and eco-friendly, and your kitchen will be both “rustic” and natural in the truest sense of the word!

3. YOUR OWN STYLE DETAILS

What else goes in a rustic kitchen? Baskets — of fruit, flowers, linens, or small kitchen tools. Wood accents, such as beamed ceilings; if you’re hanging copper pots, pans, and colanders from hooks in those beams, all the better. Many a rustic kitchen stresses easy access to things on open shelving, where you’ll put your colorful dishes, collections, treasured ceramic ornaments, or cookbooks. “Rustic” starts with a few good “roots” such as solid wood cabinetry and wood or laminate floors, then expands it to casual accouterments such as farmhouse tables and benches, wooden pegs for keys or towels, and simple, unobtrusive lighting.

As you plan your rustic kitchen, think about how you truly use the space. A rustic kitchen says “home” in so many ways…a place where everyone can relax and let the rest of the world go by. Bring your dream for that space to Diamond Kitchen and Bath, and let them show you how to make it happen!

CALL US TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE

CALL NOW