Country Kitchens

7 Tips to Design a Country Home Bathroom

7 Tips to Design a Country Home Bathroom 1 Image by Save 365

Nothing spells comfort better than a country home. With every corner emitting the warmest and most welcoming feeling, the bathroom should not be an exception.

So how exactly do you give your bathroom a touch of that old country feel? Well, here are 7 of the best (and affordable) tips you can apply now.

1. Go for wallpapers or wooden panels.

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When it comes to designing your wall, you can reintroduce mute or floral wallpaper patterns – or even wooden panels.

This makes the bathroom a lot cozier rather than having just whitewashed walls.

Right: Floral bathroom wallpaper – Photo Courtesy: Matt Lemmon

2. Set the mood with vintage lighting.

Next stop are your light fixtures. Forget about fluorescent lights and plain yellow bulbs. Country styles are all about the vintage look and what better way to set the mood than adding a chic chandelier?

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Tiffany style lamp and knic knacs – Photo Courtesy: Valerie Everett

Now you don’t have to buy a new one. There are tons of classic, shabby chandeliers in flea markets and second hand shops. You can get one that looks just as beautiful for half the price.

Oh, and another trick would be a tiffany-style lamp and place it on one of the shelves or on a small table to act as dim light.

3. Opt for a clawfoot tub or its modern reproductions.

7 Tips to Design a Country Home Bathroom 4 Colorful bathroom with awesome clawfoot tub – Photo Courtesy: Tim Crowe

If there’s one thing that truly exudes a country style bathroom, it’s the clawfoot tub. Some of these may be expensive and hard to find but there are a lot of its modern reproductions you can get at a better price.

It doesn’t matter if you got a white, painted or even iron one. All it takes is for you to complement it with the other furniture and fixtures.

Don’t forget to finish it off with a towel resting on one of the tub’s corners.

4. Put in more wooden and woven touches.

Replace your plastic trash bins with woven baskets. You can even add a big wooden basket of flowers if you have a spacious bathroom to accentuate it.

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Vintage Wire Basket with Wicker Rim – Image Courtesy: Wicker Paradise

Also, consider replacing your shelves with those unused cupboards stuck in the kitchen. Instead of just letting it go to waste, make use of these wooden wonders and incorporate them to your bathroom.

5. Consider your colors carefully.

Warm colors never fail to give off a country feel. So opt for the warm reds, yellows and blues and blend them for design.

Whether it’s through the towels, walls, tiles or other fixtures you’ll put in, consider the colors carefully.

6. It’s all about the extras!

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Porcelain Faucets – Imperial Blue™ design on Vas® (left) and Cerana™ design on Vas® (right) available at KOHLER

Now that you’ve got the foundation of a country style bathroom, it’s time for the extras, which I consider the best part! Small things like a porcelain hot-and-cold faucet, glass doorknobs, floral curtains and throw rugs make a big difference.

7. Roughen it up.

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Vintage cabinet top detail with flowers – Photo by Stuart Webster

In this case, the sandpaper is your best friend. Rub a 150-girt against the edges of your drawers and cabinets. You can even go as far as rubbing your cabinet’s surface until it shows its raw appearance.

Remember not to over think. The beauty of country style homes is its rustic and organic look, which should extend to every room in the house. So have a go at these easy but clever ways to beautify your country style bathroom.

Kole Tesamon loves coming home to a cozy space after a long day of work. Apart from sharing tips for better living, she works as a freelance writer for a post tensioning system company that helps build great structures at maximum strength and with minimum construction materials.

Filed Under: Country Kitchens Tagged With: bathroom decor, country homes

Getting the Country Kitchen Look

by Nathan Stevens · Leave a Comment

A beautiful Country Kitchen – Photo Courtesy: Susan Serra

Interior Design has seen a move away from the stark, harsh schemes of a decade ago, which were all about white, stainless steel and lack of clutter. In recent years, we have started to rediscover traditional style, with the country kitchen look making a comeback in a big way. Although it’s not practical to completely revamp your kitchen every time trends change, there are a lot of ways of injecting some country flair into your home, even if you are on a restricted budget.

Units

Photo Courtesy: Susan Serra

A traditional country kitchen has wooden units, generally made from solid wood. If changing your entire kitchen is not an option, think about changing the doors only. Unit doors can be bought cheaply online and it is worth keeping an eye open for local DIY stores having a sale as end of range items can generally be snapped up at bargain basement prices. Keep the old unit doors just in case you tire of the country kitchen look.

Other Furniture

Getting the Country Kitchen Look 3 - salisbury-rustic-oak-hutch

Salisbury Rustic Oak Hutch by National Furniture, UK

A country kitchen wouldn’t be the same without a large unit to display crockery, and oak dressers are firmly back in fashion. Try to source a second hand dresser where possible, but oak dressers are also sold through many high street stores and internet retailers. Don’t go for a matching look with your crockery; it is far better to mix and match pieces with different designs and colors. A dresser is also the ideal way to display family photographs and other items which have special sentimental value. Swap formal, modern dining chairs for a wooden chair with comfortable cushions and hang pots and pans on display rather than hiding everything away in cupboards or drawers.

Accessories

French Country Kitchen by Susan Serra

The cheapest way to get a country feel into your kitchen is to invest in some new accessories such as tea cosies, tea towels or small appliances such as kettles or toasters. Choose bright colors such as red or green, and patterns such as gingham or spots. Changing the blind or curtain at the window for a more traditional design will also help complete the look. Opt for a tablecloth in durable oilcloth, which looks good and is very easy to care for too. Less is often more when it comes to the country kitchen look though, and one of the pitfalls is going too far and the kitchen ending up looking overly cluttered and fussy.

Walls

Warm Yellow color wall by Celine Nadeau

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the color of a country style kitchen, but warm shades of cream, yellow or green work well. Wallpaper is often not a practical choice for a kitchen as it is less easy to clean. Decorate the walls with chalkboards to write shopping lists on, pin boards to hold all of the children’s latest artwork and party invitations, and get some traditional style prints or pictures to brighten up any empty spaces. Add to the look little by little so you can get the ideal look without going too far and regretting the switch away from ultra-modern.

For a stunning range of Oak Dressers, perfect for your country kitchen, head to the National Furniture UK online store.

Filed Under: Country Kitchens Tagged With: country homes, country life, countryside, decorating, interior decorating, interior design, kitchen, kitchen design

Country Kitchen

by Jennifer Carter · Leave a Comment

A beautiful and inviting Country Kitchen – Photo Courtesy: Susan Serra (Certified Kitchen Designer)

When you’re looking to design a kitchen, you’ll need to consider functionality, as well as design. The country kitchen is often called ‘the heart of the home’; it’s where food is lovingly prepared and families gather to cook together. It’s so important to make sure you have a country kitchen design that really fits your lifestyle, and also look beautiful.

Look to the classic simplicity of kitchen’s of the past for inspiration – they were built humbly and with very few extras. They worked, and were lived in, and looked perhaps slightly hotchpotch, but were essentially beautiful. The stove was the centerpiece, and the family nestled closely on cold nights to warm up. There weren’t any kitchen “gadgets”, so storage needs were minimal, and each item was made to last and be used.

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A Vintage Swedish Kitchen

When you’re thinking about your kitchen, consider how many of your things you actually use; a re-design is a great opportunity to de-clutter! Keep accessories to a minimum and get rid of second-rate duplicates that take up valuable space.

Contemporary kitchen design is practical but often monotonous; instead of choosing the latest trend, opt for traditional, well-made fittings and cabinets that will continue to last for many years. Oak or pine is a good option, especially if you have contact with a good carpenter that can help build a bespoke kitchen for your home.

Look to inspiration from caravan living and shepherds chalets in the Swiss mountains – the little details matter. Be selective about each detail, and finish everything off with a cute twist of ribbon or fancy carpentry. Stick to a simple color scheme made up of natural hues that compliments the color of the ingredients you cook with.

English Country Kitchen Ideas

The awesome AGA stove/oven in Dan and Lisa’s kitchen – Photo Courtesy: Tony

The typical English farmhouse would not be complete without an Aga or classic stove as the central focus of the room. In classic dark red, blue, green or cream, these large multi-fuel stoves are a great centerpiece to design the rest of your space around. Look out for second-hand or restored stoves online or in your local paper.

Pretty tiles as your sink splash back are both practical and pretty, if you stick to simple colors and designs. And cute lace curtains or wooden blinds will add a bit of rural Swedish charm to finish the edges of the room.

Cottage Designs and Inspiration

A Cute Cottage Kitchen – Look at the neat row of jars in the corner, the Aga Stove, tiled floor and fresh flowers on the table – Photo by Paul Flint & Company (Carpenters of Distinction)

Quaint cottages deserve cute vintage crockery and antique accessories, as well as a small wooden table with fresh flowers at the center. Tiled floors are also great – with underfloor heating they are even better – as it’s easy to wipe up mess and brush clean.

When designing a cottage from scratch, think about how you’d like your room laid out – how much work surface space do you really need? how much storage? if you often go to the fridge, does it need to be placed close to a chopping board? do you need certain items at eye level, in order to find them more easily?

Write down a list of things you often do in the kitchen, or just keep in mind how you currently use the space and where your kitchen could be improved in its functionality. Keep notes.

Consider if you’ll be doing any entertaining, and if you have a large family, whether you ought to have a big presentation space for birthday and special occasion buffet style dining. If you have a lot of other people round for coffee or tea, do you require a special place to display your homemade cakes and pastries? Or a well organized drinks cabinet?

Filed Under: Country Kitchens Tagged With: country kitchen, kitchen design, kitchen interior