Last Updated on January 22, 2020
Country kitchens are perennially popular, but it’s now more common than ever to incorporate outdoor elements in the kitchen. From botanical patterns to a rich green colour palette, you can play up the use of garden-fresh ingredients in your kitchen and create a calming space to work and relax.
1. Use Nature-Inspired Textural Elements
There’s a dizzying array of beautiful patterns present in the natural world. These make exciting focal points when incorporated into your kitchen. Leaves, bark, flowers, and sand all can be used as inspiration for home designs. Wooden cabinets and lighting fixtures can be spruced up with botanical textures, while textured stone counters provide an earthy touch to any natural kitchen theme.
2. Grow a Living Spice Rack
Brighten up your cuisine with fresh herbs, and you’ll enliven your kitchen at the same time with a pop of fresh greenery. All you need is a small windowsill space to set up your living herb garden, which you can stock with all of your favourites from coriander to basil. These will be ready to snip when you’re cooking, and provide a bit of scenery when you’re not. The scent is heavenly and it wakes up your kitchen with a direct reference to the garden.
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3. Enhance Sunlight with Curtains
For a light and breezy kitchen, there’s nothing like cooking with the windows open. Diffusing sunlight with curtains can make the most of sunny days, although you may want blinds to control the glare. Cool greens or lemony yellows infuse natural light with a bit of colour that can give a charming glow to your kitchen space. Lightweight curtains also can be printed with floral designs to give the impression of a box full of flowers surrounding the window.
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4. Choose Botanical Patterned Kitchen Accessories
Insects and leafy prints have been hot printed patterns throughout 2012, and look set to continue as a trend for 2013. You can embrace this garden trend without overdoing it by purchasing a set of teacups in a garden pattern, or a full set of dishes if you find something you love. These dishes can be used for al fresco dining as well as serve as an accent in your kitchen. Vegetable and fruit patterns are also a popular theme, seen on many tea towels and tablecloths.
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5. Install Garden Mosaic Tiles
Mosaic tiles are a common sight in gardens, but when they’re brought into the kitchen they can provide a splash of fresh colour and texture. These can be used for the kitchen backsplash, countertops, or island fixture. Mosaic tiles can also be used as flooring, particularly if you have a passageway leading into the kitchen that is begging to be livened up. Depending on the colour theme that you choose, these can either give a warming or cooling influence to the kitchen.
Highlight your botanical kitchen accents with a large wooden fruit bowl and plenty of fresh flowers in the kitchen. Bringing in these natural elements can make your kitchen a relaxing place to prepare meals or simply gather together to enjoy the garden atmosphere on a rainy day.
Authors Bio:
Rachel MacDonald is a freelance writer specialising in travel, food, and design. She also works with www.homesales.com.au, one of Australia’s top real estate listings sites.
