10 Rustic Kitchen Designs That Embody Country Life

You re standing in your cozy rustic kitchen admiring the warm glow that only aged wood cabinets and a natural fireplace can emit, and the smell of pine trees surrounds your senses. You drop into your favorite plaid-covered chair, resting your stocking feet close to the open flame of the wood-burning stove just close enough to warm your cold toes. The logs in the fire seem to pop to the tune of the kettle boiling on your huge cooking stove ..

Were you there for just a moment? Escaping the hectic fast-paced city life and dreaming of what a quiet country life would be like.  In this article we are not talking about a country kitchen where toile fabric covers every corner and ceramic roosters perch on your window sills and countertops.

Rather, here you will find images and descriptions of rustic kitchens that feature amazing natural wood elements, old stones that have tumbled through time, rough hewn wood beams, and a few unexpected modern elements that mix surprisingly well with rustic life.  If the rustic-style is not for you, then consider reading our 10 Amazing Modern Kitchen Cabinet Styles.

Let s take a look at these time-worn treasures to see if we can create this intimate aesthetic in our own home:

This is such a cozy country-style kitchen with open shelving, hooked rug, rustic flooring and plates on the wall. Image Source: Smith and Vans

Wide wooden floor planks, wood ceiling beams, time-worn wood cabinets all of these wonderful wooden elements bring nature inside your rustic country kitchen. If you love wood-based designs then also read Timber Architecture: 10 Benefits of Wood-based Designs.

The knots in the wooden pine wall show where tree branches once grew, the grooves in the ceiling beams show where blistered hands once scraped the wood clean of bark, and the floor boards creek with age under your feet.  In order to achieve the aesthetic of a rustic kitchen, wooden elements are a must.

The intimate kitchen in the image below features plenty of dark wood that seems to radiate warmth. The hint of barn-colored red in the island adds a nice country touch, as well. Mimic this design to achieve your own cozy country kitchen.

The warm dark wood and pop of red in the island create a cozy glow in this rustic kitchen. Image Source: Bede Design

Nature has more to offer other than just wood. Stone can be an amazing feature to add to your rustic kitchen. Whether you add hints of stone in a fireplace hearth, or cover an entire wall with large tumbled river rock consider adding some element of stone to your kitchen.

If a wooden floor in your kitchen seems like too much. then maybe consider adding a flagstone floor throughout. This would certainly add a nice bit of aggregate to your home just be sure to add a few area rugs for a warm layered look.

Other rock elements could be used in your kitchen counter tops, such as quartz or granite. Essentially, any natural mineral is a fine choice for a rustic kitchen design.

The stone wall and wood beams mix perfectly together. Image Source: karl Neumann

Maybe an entirely wood-covered kitchen is not your style, but you still crave some small elements of the natural rustic aesthetic.

Take a cue from the modern kitchen featured below. Its main design is that of a contemporary kitchen with clean white cabinets, black walls and shiny stainless steel. Then look around the kitchen a bit more and you begin to notice natural wood floors, wooden stools and an amazing wooden ladder incorporated into an otherwise modern light fixture.

This kitchen design mixes modern with rustic in smart manner, allowing the homeowners to enjoy the best of both (seemingly opposing) design worlds in one cohesive kitchen.

This modern kitchen has some small rustic elements, such as the wooden ladder. Image Source: Trickle Creek Homes

Dark wood can seem too imposing for some smaller, dimly lit kitchens, so consider adding painted or bleached white wood instead.

The wooden ceiling beams in the kitchen featured below are solid wood, but are bleached with a white stain, allowing the room to seem rustic, yet large and airy, too. The cupboards are made again of solid wood, but a light-colored pine wood that is far from dark or dreary.

Everything still feels rustic and countrified, yet somehow open and modern, as well. This may be a look you could love for your rustic kitchen design.

This rustic kitchen still seems light and airy instead of dark and dreary. Image Source: Parker House

Time-worn, aged and chipping paint is essential in any rustic kitchen design.  This is not a look for all those Type A personalities that love a perfect, chip-free home (who can blame them). Instead, it s a relaxed look that says, My home is your home. Go ahead, put your feet on the coffee table.

Primitive painted pieces are easy to find at most flea markets, so go on a treasure hunt for the perfectly worn table or cabinet for your relaxed-style kitchen.

If the chipped paint is too much for you to bear, then consider repainting a few pieces, but keep the grooves, dents and dings in order to keep that rustic vibe.