What is a farmhouse style kitchen?

The farmhouse style is all about an inviting country feel that uses natural materials and rustic touches to create a warm and inviting look, perfect for your kitchen and or dining space. Classic and simple, with a focus on going back to basics, the farmhouse kitchen trend can work in any size or style home. Looking to incorporate a farmhouse feel to your space? Take a look at our guide for more tips and tricks on how to incorporate this trend into your chosen room.

What is modern farmhouse style?

A traditional farmhouse style favours plenty of rustic touches and antique decorations which may not suit those looking for a modern flair. However, taking inspiration from the traditional farmhouse trend, the modern farmhouse aesthetic combines touches of rustic elements or wood accents and pairs them with a neutral colour palette, smooth surfaces and clean lines. The modern farmhouse style is a great way to add character to new builds by combining the modern elements of your new home with a more traditional style of furniture. If you’re looking to incorporate farmhouse-style furniture into your kitchen space, pieces with a natural oak finish will help you achieve that modern farmhouse look without it feeling too traditional.

What is rustic farmhouse style?

The rustic farmhouse style strays away from anything too slick and shiny, with the intention of making your kitchen or dining space appear like it has evolved over time, rather than a polished, out-of-the-box affair. Darker metals and rich tone woods embody the rustic feel and look great contrasted against dark or lighter shades. If you’ve gone for stained oak tops and pale hues on your kitchen cabinets, opt for warm rustic dining furniture to create a complementary contrast. Alternatively, blend rustic and modern and use dark painted tones or sleek solid pieces like those found in the Brooklyn range.

What is French farmhouse decor?

Inspired by the french countryside, french farmhouse or country decor is all about neutral, muted colours. White walls and distressed wood or stone floors will likely form the canvas for your kitchen design. Whilst traditional French decor can be viewed as ornate and delicate, French farmhouse decor combines this style with more traditional, rustic elements to create a more relaxed and distressed look. Our love of the French farmhouse style runs deep, so much so we’ve dedicated an entire range of furniture to this chic decor trend. Utilising the natural elements in the room, introduce personal elements and colour with black or copper kitchenware and incorporate a dresser or open shelves adorned with your favourite herbs and pots.

What is industrial farmhouse decor?

Industrial farmhouse decor draws its inspiration from the machinery used for farming. Think metal storage buckets, iron light fixtures and stainless steel appliances. Deliberately exposed piping, hanging pots and pans and exposed metal worktops all contribute to the industrial style farmhouse decor. To recreate the industrial farmhouse feel in your kitchen, blend exposed metal elements and dark toned woods with softer features and plenty of foliage.

Take a look at the Brooklyn, Boston or Mantis ranges for furniture that will help you create that industrial feel.

What is urban farmhouse style?

If you’re looking to implement a farmhouse style kitchen that blends in with city surroundings, then the urban farmhouse style is the perfect choice. Traditional kitchen items such as chairs and lamps take a modern twist, think geometrical shapes and shiny copper. Adorn your walls with white painted kitchen appliances and opt for a glossy wooden floor. Industrial furniture is a staple for this look but sleek painted furniture or scandi style pieces will also compliment your urban farmhouse kitchen.

What's the difference between rustic and farmhouse?

Both farmhouse and rustic decor favour natural elements such as exposed beams and dark wooden furniture. As opposed to more modern styles, they both foster a homey, comfortable feel that nods to the past. The rustic style is rougher, favouring sturdy pieces of furniture that are older, and that have an almost worn-out appearance. You’ll find that rustic designs favour more earthy and neutral tones, rather than bright whites or vibrant hues. The farmhouse style favours a fresher feel than rustic does. The colours are lighter, and the wood more likely to be polished or painted.

How to add farmhouse style to your home

Colour schemes that go well with farmhouse style

White walls with earthy undertones are a popular choice for those choosing a farmhouse style, helping to create the feeling of open space that the farmhouse style favours. For your cabinets and large pieces of furniture, choose painted designs with grey undertones. The inky blue of our Highgate range, or the sage grey finish of our Brindle range are suitable here.

Farmhouse decor with bright colours

If you’re looking to decorate your kitchen in a farmhouse style, but you’re also a lover of big, bright colours then knowing how to combine the two can be difficult. Farmhouse style traditionally favours a more neutral palette, so adding more daring colours needs to be done carefully so as to not ruin the farmhouse style. Start by using neutral colours to ground your brighter colours. You can either choose a bright colour for your walls and more neutral colours for your floor and and furniture, or go the other way round and choose a neutral tone for your walls and then choose brighter colours for your kitchen furniture and appliances. Add new colours sparingly, and try to keep your pops of colour to the same hue, to avoid it feeling eclectic or cluttered.

Farmhouse decor with a pop of colour

If you’re hoping to add a splash of vibrant yellow or magnificent blue to your kitchen, but you’re not sure you want to take the plunge with painting your walls or furniture, there are various ways you can add small pops of colour. Low hanging ceiling lamps with a painted metal finish can add a playful character to your room. If your kitchen has a dresser, try filling it with bright mugs and bowls to add colour to the room without being too overpowering.

What is farmhouse style furniture?

Farmhouse Style Furniture

The beauty of farmhouse style furniture is it’s focus on practicality. Focus less on frills and delicate designs and rather on sturdy, functional pieces that host lots of space for storage. Hand me downs and antiques fit perfectly in a farmhouse style kitchen, but if you’re also looking to treat yourself to something new, one of our solid oak dressers could form the focal point of your kitchen design. After all, the mixture of old and new furniture is what makes the farmhouse design so unique.

Farmhouse Table and Chairs

As opposed to the traditional dining table and chairs, a farmhouse style kitchen usually favours benches over chairs, due to their more practical nature. The dining table and benches from our Brooklyn range would complete an industrial or urban farmhouse style kitchen due to their galvanised metal legs and smooth oak top. Combining bench and chairs is another way to give your dining table the unique farmhouse appearance.

Rustic Round Dining Table

Due to its ergonomic shape, a round dining table is often the table of choice for those of you with a smaller kitchen. Our Shay dining table features a smooth top and white painted legs, aimed to add light and freshness to your kitchen. Aiming for a more rustic farmhouse style? Our Knightsbridge table might be more suited to your kitchen design.

Farmhouse Dining Chairs

The traditional farmhouse kitchen chair features a slatted back and can come in either painted or natural wood designs. The grey painted wood and slatted design of our Kemble and St. Ives dining chairs work well with a wood topped dining table to complete your farmhouse style kitchen.

Farmhouse Dresser

When picturing a modern farmhouse style kitchen, our Brindle dresser immediately comes to mind. Its elegant design with curved corners and silver handles will effortlessly finish off your kitchen design. If you favour a more rustic or French style kitchen, the dark wood of our French farmhouse dresser will add character and texture to the room.

Farmhouse Sideboard

If you’re looking for a smaller storage piece to fill your kitchen with, an oak sideboard might be a more suitable choice. We love the sideboards from our Kemble and Original Rustic range as their metal handles and smooth wooden tops really embody the farmhouse style.

Farmhouse Display Cabinet

If you’re blessed with high kitchen ceilings, a display cabinet can make the perfect statement piece to center your kitchen decoration around. Our original rustic display cabinet favours a traditional design, perfect for the unpretentious style of a rustic farmhouse look.

Farmhouse Console Table

The mix of old and new quirky antiques is what gives the farmhouse style so much of its character, but it can make your kitchen look cluttered if you don’t have sufficient storage. A small console table can tuck under a window, hosting your more functional pieces in the drawers and those more loved ornaments taking pride and place on top. The stunning design of our Burford console table lends plenty of space. Its distressed stone finish teams well with both bright colours and pale tones.

Get started on your dream kitchen today and browse our dressers, dining tables and sideboards.