Ideabook 911: Giving a Kitchen a Farmhouse Feel

Judy B. hit The Buzz Board up this morning with a kitchen dilemma:

I have what I guess is a traditional kitchen. 24 cherry cabinets and drawers that I just can not paint although I love painted cabinets. Any suggestions on how to get more of a farmhouse look... It looks somewhat like this...cabinets are a bit lighter . Oak floors. Looks similar to this picture. Thanks! judy b

Judy B. I'm not having the best luck finding cherry cabinets in some of our iconic farmhouse kitchen files, but that doesn't mean it cannot be done! My parents have cherry cabinets with bin pulls and granite counters in our Maine cottage and it still has a rustic feel. You can keep your permanent features and will be adding the farmhouse feel via accessories and styling.

It sounds like you have a very crisp traditional kitchen, and I am not advocating filling it up with too much "kountry klutter" here! If you edit carefully you can make your kitchen comfortable and streamlined at the same time. The purpose of this ideabook is to give you a bunch of options so that you can pick and choose what works for you.

Try to see beyond all of the white and off white cabinets in the photos below. As for your counters, you should bring a sample of the cherry to the stone warehouse to try and pick up on the warm colors you have going on. Here are a few suggestions on how to get that farmhouse look - please pick and choose whatever works for you:

1) Lighten the floors. Consider a painted wood floor or a light colored tile.

2) If number one is not possible, add a few small rugs. A rag rug below the kitchen sink can add a good dash of farmhouse charm.

3) Switch out your hardware. Rustic hardware can transform your cabinets to a farmhouse feel - consider bin pulls or something in a black iron.

4) Add folk art accessories. I've seen a lot of charming farmhouse kitchens that have a well-placed wood carved cow or a horse weathervane serving as art pieces.

5) Try removing a cabinet door or two and replacing it with a clear glass door. You can show off your plates, glasses, or perhaps rows of mason jars in these cabinets.

5) Here's a larger commitment: Replace your kitchen island with a more rustic one. You can use a different counter on these - perhaps it's a piece with lighter colored planks, tile or stainless steel on top.

6) Speaking of islands, find stools that seem like they are from the farm. I'd go with very simple round stools or some Marais-style metal French cafe stools.

7) Add a potrack. Martha Stewart's original kitchen with the miles of copper pots and pans will always be stuck in my head when I think of a farmhouse kitchen!

8) If it's an eat-in kitchen, add a farmhouse table and some rustic chairs. These chairs can be a total mix of inexpensive antiques you'll have fun finding. Again, I really like the Marais chair. You can introduce color via these chairs and their seat cushions.

9) Bring in texture with table top accessories and organizing elements. Metal buckets, woven baskets, antique glass vases - you get the idea (and I'll show you some below).

10) Pick out some new lighting fixtures that have a more rustic look. Schoolhouse vintage fixtures, metal fixtures, lanterns, perhaps even a small table lamp on a counter.

Alright, enough list-making from me, let's take a look at the goods in the images below.