Crafting rustic charm: essential elements of farmhouse kitchens
Kitchens have always been at the centre of Australian homes. As well as being practical places where food is prepared, meals eaten and clothes washed, they’re also social hubs for the family, and often for guests too.
Given all the time we spend in our kitchens, it’s important that we actually enjoy being there. One of the most enduring kitchen aesthetics in Australia is the traditional farmhouse style.
Even in otherwise modern feeling properties there’s something welcoming and warm about a farmhouse kitchen that immediately draws you in and makes you feel at home. So, how do you go about creating one? Well, it’s all about the fittings, and here we’ll show you exactly what you need.
How to create a farmhouse kitchen
1. Get the sink right
If kitchens are central to the home, then your kitchen sink is the very centre. This goes back to the traditional function of a real farmhouse kitchen – the sink is where the food was washed and prepared, and then the dishes cleaned after everyone had enjoyed their meal.
There are two key elements to choosing the perfect farmhouse kitchen sink:
Size: to put it simply, farmhouse-style kitchen sinks tend to be big. You could either go for a single large bowl, like the Chambord HENRI, or decide to double up with the Chambord Clotaire.
Material: the classic materials for farmhouse kitchen sinks are porcelain and fireclay. While similar in appearance, the firing process makes for some differences in how they are manufactured. The biggest difference is that while fireclay sinks can be given straight lines, and therefore a square or rectangular shape, this is harder with porcelain, which tends to lend itself well to basin style kitchen sinks.
Bonus tip: You might have noticed that we mentioned two Chambord sinks above. These products are made in an authentic French craft house which specialises in producing rustic style sinks. So, if this is what you’re looking for, we highly recommend checking out their range.
2. Use timber
Zooming out to your farmhouse kitchen as a whole, timber is a great product to use, whether in cabinetry, benchtops or just as accents around the space.
To be precise, you want to go for satin, oiled or raw timber finishes. While it might be tempting to go for something glossy, if rustic is the aim of the game, you’re ultimately going to be far more satisfied with earthier, natural tones. Keen on an eco-conscious kitchen? Seek out reclaimed timber – rustic and environmentally sound.
3. Include a central island
To further accentuate the centrality of your farmhouse kitchen as the focal point of your home, include a kitchen island with chairs. As well as being another place to have dinner or drinks with family and friends, this can double as an extra worktop for those big entertaining evenings like Christmas, where you really need all the space you can get.
4. Don’t overlook the little things
While you might be thinking on a macro scale to start, a great rustic vibe can be ruined by forgetting to pay attention to smaller details within the space.
Taps and mixers are great examples of this – you don’t want to put heaps of thought into picking out the perfect farmhouse-style kitchen sink, only for the effect to be spoiled by your choice of tap or mixer.
As with the rest of your farmhouse kitchen, you want your taps or mixers to be elegant and timeless. A perfect choice would be something like this Palais Kitchen Mixer by Italian Manufacturer Armando Vicario. As well as its rustic design, you can select this mixer with a rustic burnished bronze finish that will complement other earthy tones in your kitchen.
We hope this has got your imagination firing on how you can create your own rustic farmhouse-style kitchen. For more information and inspiration, get in touch with the friendly team at Abey Australia today.