Cottage Style Farmhouse Kitchen Ideas

The essential design features of Cottage Style can turn even a new-build into the charming farmhouse-y kitchen of your dreams.

With an offer in on a fixer-upper farmette, I’ve been making a list of the renovations I would like to do in this 1980’s rancher. Oh yes, you read that right! We put an offer in on a 1980 modular rancher, a far (far) cry from the 1906 gabled farmhouse I had in mind. But, when you’re priced out of a very competitive market, where apparently everyone else also wants that cute farmhouse, you’ve got to make some concessions.  For me, that was giving up my dream of a second story on our house.

Even if we don’t end up with this particular home, I can’t help but redesign those Zillow photos, plotting out where I would put things and how I would make the space more my style. And wouldn’t you know it, the kitchen is the space that needs the most attention.

COTTAGE STYLE

So what makes a kitchen a Cottage Kitchen? As I touched on in my first post in this Cottage Style series, Cottage Style interiors are quaint and cozy with lots of old-timey details like antique furniture, chippy paint, and vintage light fixtures. In my opinion, what differs between the Modern Farmhouse Style and Cottage Style is that the new Farm Style is more minimal in colors, patterns, and the general amount of stuff inside. Whereas, a Cottage Style interior has more abundant colors (generally pale, muted colors) and patterns such as florals, as well as a slightly more cluttered appearance.  I’m somewhere in the middle of that Farmhouse-Cottage spectrum, honestly.

OPEN SHELVING

One of the best ways to achieve a quaint Cottage Style kitchen is to shed some of those matchy-matchy upper cabinets and install open shelves in their place. Two or three rows of open shelves along the wall above the lower cabinets will give the kitchen instant Cottage Style. Bonus points if the shelves are made of real wood supported by decorative brackets.

The shelves are a great place to display a mix of frequently used items like dinner plates and glasses, alongside charming vintage finds such as old cutting boards or antique scales.

APRON FRONT SINK

The next major element of the Cottage Style kitchen has got to be the apron front sink. Now these sinks come in all sorts of materials and finishes these days from copper to ceramic to stainless. Go with your preferences and budget. Personally, I’m hoping I can find an enameled cast iron sink, because I have a history of cracking ceramic sinks.

FREE STANDING APPLIANCES

Something that really sets the Cottage Style kitchen apart from modern kitchens is that the elements of Cottage kitchens don’t look too seamless and perfectly matched. Instead, you have a humble mix of items that you tie in together, as if they were added over time.

A great example of this is with appliances. Your range doesn’t have to be nestled into a slot in a wall of cabinetry with a microwave hanging overhead. No, that’s too planned. Instead, look for a vintage-look range that is perhaps a bit wider than the standard 30-inch model and make it a real focal point. Cap it off with a beautiful vent hood and perhaps a charming tile backsplash for added character.

The fridge too can be free standing, just like it would’ve been back in the day when people were essentially just finding a space for these new inventions in their existing kitchen layouts. Vintage-look refrigerators are a nice option. Another idea I have seen is creating a shallow closet in the kitchen, which houses a more modern looking fridge.

If you go with a modern-style fridge, I recommend looking for a counter-depth model. They are less deep so they stick out less.

ADDITIONAL FURNITURE

Adding in an antique or antique-looking cabinet, table, or stool is a lovely way to up the Cottage Style in your kitchen. Something that looks distressed or well-worn can really warm up a modern space like a kitchen or bathroom.

VINTAGE LIGHT FIXTURES

Of course we can’t overlook lighting. It sets the mood for the whole room. Get rid of those builder-grade overhead lights and install a twinkling chandelier or humble pendant light.

FRESH FLOWERS

Most beautifully styled Cottage interior photos you see have something in common: beautiful fresh flowers spilling out of a vase. Whether from your garden or the market, nothing says Cottage Style quite like a bouquet of flowers.

LOTS OF WOOD

Whether painted or left in it’s natural state, Cottage kitchens always have an abundance of wood sprinkled throughout. One of my favorite ways to include this element is by displaying a collection of wood cutting boards. Wooden worktables, shelves, stools, and of course lovely wood floors are also great ways to warm up a kitchen with Cottage Style.

MUTED COLORS

As you can see through these images, many of the Cottage interiors out there heavily feature white with just a dusting of pale, muted color. Of course, that is my bias, as I selected the images I am drawn to. But there are certainly others who have achieved a lovely Cottage Style kitchen with a bolder use of color such as in the image below, which I am head over heels about. If you’re looking for something a bit moodier, this kitchen is so deliciously Old World Cottage.

So there you have my two-cents on how to infuse your kitchen with cozy Cottage Style. Let me know in the comments what your favorite features of Cottage Style kitchens are.

If you love this inspiration for Cottage Style kitchens, pin the image below to your favorite Pinterest board for later.