Rustic Kitchen Ideas

Century-old details, rough-hewn surfaces, and faded finishes stack up to create welcoming rustic kitchens that let families efficiently host modern gatherings amid patinas of the past.

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Rethinking Rustic

What's Your Decorating Style?

Lighter wood finishes, shiny surfaces, and sculptural accents update traditional rustic kitchen designs. Opt for plank floors and wood ceilings that have been limed or whitewashed to brighten the view. Glossy colored tiles and open shelves refresh walls and show off dishware, while the rich tone of bronze pendant lights perfectly complements rustic schemes.

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Age-Old Charm

Check salvage yards and reclamation centers for architectural elements you can use to establish rustic appeal. Reclaimed beams, floorboards, and mantels contribute century-old style and striking structures that instantly age a kitchen's look.

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Northwoods Spirit

Knotty pine boards bring rustic cabin appeal to new and old kitchens. Whitewashed or naturally finished, the wood adds warmth underfoot and fashions good-looking walls. Pair pine with exposed beams, a worn utility cart, and galvanized containers for a rich and rugged work space.

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Magical Medley

Fuse sleek and rough surfaces to create a high-impact kitchen that spans the past and present. In this space, rustic beams and reclaimed floors stylishly sandwich fittings rendered in fun colors. Horizontal wall boards create a streamlined backdrop that allows both manufactured and natural features to stand out.

Popular Kitchen Cabinet Colors

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Historic Revival

Materials salvaged from razed warehouses, barns, and residences build kitchens that overflow with rustic style. Reclaimed lumber topped with salvaged marble boasting irregular edges creates this rustic workstation. White paint highlights the splintery surfaces of unsanded boards installed on the walls and ceiling.

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Top White Cabinet Colors

Enhance the rustic style of your kitchen with our best white paint colors for cabinetry.

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Distinctive Features

Geometry and ingenuity unite in a plush kitchen that artistically fuses elegance and rusticity. Ceiling beams take on chic shine thanks to coats of stain and sealer; large floor tiles laid in a seemingly random fashion generate a pillowed effect; and smaller, light-tone tiles that run from countertop to ceiling set the perimeter aglow. Outfitted with dramatic sweeps of marble, the range and island become focal points.

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Subtle Shades

Do you enjoy just a hint of rustic style with your morning cup of coffee? Paint cabinets a cheery hue and balance the lighter tone with a woodsy detail. Use pine boards to create a fetching (and inexpensive) backsplash for shelves. Stain and seal the boards to protect them from grease and water splatters.

Tips for Painting Cabinetry

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Calm and Composed

The earliest kitchens came together slowly, with cupboards, workstations, and fixtures added at different times. These homeowners achieved a similar built-over-time look in their new kitchen by opting for different weathered cabinetry finishes, a mix of cabinet styles, and two types of countertops. Rustic ceiling beams, foot-worn stone floors, and antiqued plaster walls complete the old-world composition.

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Period-Spanning Panache

Vintage and modern combine with coarse and lustrous finishes in this nifty kitchen. Rough-hewn shelves support glossy vases and contemporary dishware. Limed cabinetry, a weighty wood range hood, and scraped floorboards showcase various wood grains, enhancing the rustic feel. Lucite barstools highlight the island base's beat-up boards.

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Fine-Tuned Furnishings

Rustic kitchen decor should look as if it has been around for centuries. Likely once employed in a factory, this weathered worktable sports casters that allow it to be moved as needed. Unpolished heirloom silver displayed in a far corner supplies tarnished patinas that perfectly suit the rustic scheme.

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Striking Silhouettes

Change a classic kitchen's outlook by adding unexpected rugged touches. Here, a pair of weathered window frames fashion whimsical pass-throughs that allow natural light to move between adjacent spaces. The window frames contribute profiles that capture attention and ease the formality of more refined fittings.

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Breezy Blend

White Kitchen Design Ideas

This primarily white kitchen could have easily taken a frosty turn. But thanks to just a few organic additions, the work space feels warm and welcoming. Stone floors and backsplashes combine with wood-seat stools and a primitive island to boost interest without disturbing the room's bright spirit.

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Bygone Beauty

Rustic kitchens should appear as if they were furnished over time. This kitchen does so with a rough-texture tiled backsplash that pulls together the room's red, green, and brown tones. Ceiling beams, wood floors, and antiqued cabinet finishes play happily with shiny copper pans and dangling baskets that contribute at-hand utility.

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Set in Stone

Rustic workstations equipped with modern appliances beautifully accommodate today's needs. Stonework walls and a carved-stone sink complement upper cabinets that sport exposed nailheads and hardware. Although visible, the dishwasher recedes into its distinctive surroundings. Base cabinets wear dark iron pulls that pick up on the tones of a bronze faucet.

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Finely Finished

Create a pleasing balance between wood and painted finishes to ensure your kitchen operates as an inviting hub for gathering family and friends. Accentuate wood expanses with white trim, cabinets, and marble countertops to bring rustic designs out of the shadows and into a cheerfully updated light.

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Natural Beauty

Calming colors, fashionable finishes, and vintage forms encourage lingering in this soothing kitchen design. Rustic elements, such as brick walls, hardwood floors, and exposed ceiling beams, add layers of warmth that complement natural wood cabinetry and green glazed finishes.

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