I don’t know if you’re a fan of rustic room designs or, to say the least, rustic kitchens. To give you a better idea, you either love it or hate it. But if you want to have a better outlook just take yourself back to Critter Country at Disneyland.
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Unlike the old-west themed part of their park, Critter Country has lots of rustic and rich decoration values. If I could have my kitchen themed-up to look just like the Country Bear Jamboree lobby and waiting room?… I think you’ll get a better idea just how rustic interior kitchens should look.
Now before you set your mind in another direction, a rustic kitchen is supposed to be welcoming. It’s a reminder of those old days when a home is where the heart is. Add two parts log cabin charm and a dash of that classic ‘days gone past’ powder. Rustic doesn’t have to look new, in fact, most of the time these kitchen cabinets are aged-down with painting effects. Darkened shadowy areas and weathered streaks on the edges. You might swear that the concept for rustic kitchen interiors was developed by Disney Imagineers…
Now rustic cabinets are all different so no two styles need to be compared. It all becomes relevant to how this style is used. You can choose any style you like as long as it looks lived-in. The best part about rustic is the ability to recycle old materials and make them into something new. Old wood can be refinished and resealed, especially if it was used in some country kitchen 100 years ago. Then again all it takes is a bit of creativity to repurpose used cabinets from 10 or 20 years ago as well.
If you know how to work with wood stain and you have natural wood cabinets, you’re in luck! It won’t take much to make rustic cabinets look incredible working on a budget. It doesn’t end there since you can also choose to put in old slate or thin river shale on the walls. Make your oven wall look more than it is with a stone frame or mantle around it. Use your imagination and collect lots of old pictures of country kitchens for inspiration.
Your kitchen can easily have a country rustic look with minimal effort. The real secret is how you use that minimalism. The rustic cabinets in your kitchen should stand out as a source of richness they can’t afford anymore. I’m not talking about money here, the fact that these cabinets were typically hand-carved with decorative panel edging. So what if you can see (or feel) the wood grain, you can add more depth to your kitchen using visual impact cues. Find your style and your favorite colors, but stick to the theme so that rustic feeling isn’t lost with modern design.
Keep the windows refreshingly wide open, but don’t forget that mood lighting sets-off all those cabinet shapes and angles. Especially when you consider how good stone wall slabs tend to look with the right lighting accents. The same goes for adding colors. Using earthy tones like blue and grey bring back that unmistakable Shaker’ style. Or try a little Post-Victorian grace with etched-glass windows in the cabinet panel doors? It’s the immediate touch of class that makes your kitchen look like you spent a whole fortune remodeling.
But that’s still not the point, it’s all about mood and making your kitchen a place you want to be. It should be a place where old stories can be started and finished. Where new ideas can emerge and develop. It should be your home away from home, lost somewhere between Knott’s Berry Farm and Main Street USA. Making any kitchen into the ultimate rustic retreat might sound like a crazy idea, but who says you can make it yourself? All you need are some old kitchen cabinets that can find new life as rustic cabinet upgrades.
If you’re tired of your kitchen and are looking for something different, you can’t beat the coziness of rustic kitchens. And if you like DIY projects, this is one way to beautify your home for a fraction of the cost you thought it might cost you!
