I love all the elements that bring a rustic kitchen its charm.  The super old, wide plank flooring, lumpy and worn over time. The deep brown patina on an ancient  slab of butcher block or antique farmhouse table, that lovely grey that comes from adding barnboard to your space.  But when you google image search “Rustic Kitchen” all the images are dark.  Even with the lights on, these spaces seem closed in and, well, not bright at all.  If you’re searching for inspiration, it’s easy to become bogged down by all those dark kitchens and decide, maybe rustic isn’t for me.  I’ve set out to help you conquer the problem of: How do I design a rustic kitchen, but keep it light and bright?

Leann Ford Interiors

First Up, Color Palate

Keep it light.  There is nothing wrong with plain old white.  In a kitchen, white can look so gorgeous and so can a nice, light grey.  If you plan to have some deeper color cabinets or a really dark flooring, white or light grey on the walls will go a long way to brighten up your space.

Here are some ideas:

Paint your walls white or try Stonington Grey by Benjamin Moore

Try a white subway tile backsplash.  If you’re going for rustic-modern, consider a dark grey grout.

Put shiplap boards up on your walls and paint them white. Your choice whether you want to take this look all the way to the ceiling or only go to backsplash height.

 

 

The deep brown of these rustic open shelves in this kitchen really pop off of the marble backsplash. There is a hint of teal in the navy blue cabinetry and that hardware really has an old world charm. But when you view the overall picture, despite the dark cabinets and dark shelves, the space remains light.

Design Sponge

Next Up, Open Shelves

Whoever said open shelves had to be super dark old wood in order to be rustic?  Driftwood is considerably lighter in shade and is a gorgeous silvery grey color.  Try scouring your local reclaimed wood shop and see if they carry any driftwood.  Alternatively, if time is on your side, you can weather your own wood.  Buy scaffold planks at the lumber yard and set them up somewhere in your yard where they will catch a lot of sunlight from 3 angles.  If you are in a sunny enough area, your wood should be perfectly weathered in about 1 year.

Why not give these ideas a try:

Floating driftwood open shelves

For a modern twist on the rustic open shelf, consider a lighter natural wood tone like Scandinavian open shelves

Paint a regular plank of wood white and use leather straps that appear to be holding it in place.  Rustic but still white!

 

 

Workbook

Third, Look Down

What’s on your floors?  Can you stain them, or easily replace them with a tile? We all have drooled over the wide plank weathered pine boards in 1790’s traditional homes, but who actually has the budget to have those installed (if you do, lucky you! and can we please come over for dinner to admire them?). But if you are like most of us, those gorgeous aged floor planks most likely are not in your budget.  Never fear, a rustic floor can still be yours!

Here are some ideas:

Oak floors are super common and don’t have to be just covered in Polyurethane and left to turn yellow.  Why not try pickling them? The process gives the wood an almost pinkish white hue, and can be absolutely beautiful.

If budget allows, consider replacing your existing flooring with wood-look tile.  These come in all shades, including light grey and whites. Some even look like they had been painted white and then worn down over time to expose a darker wood beneath.

How about poured concrete?  Cement floors are not only fashionable, but rustic, and can be finished in any color, shade, and patina.

 

 

Clark & Co Homes

Then, Add some Brick or Stone

Those lovely brick fireplaces that are so deep and are centered in an older home actually hold up the main structure of the house and are a structural element.  Many of them have 4 fireplaces sharing one main chimney, so that 4 rooms can have a fire in them.  Before modern heating, this was essential to keeping your home warm efficiently.  But if you aren’t lucky enough to have an antique fireplace in your kitchen, you can still bring in a bit of the feeling you get from one.

Consider this:

Add a wall of brick. This can be faux or real brick, and if you want a lighter look, you can paint it white and then rub some of that paint off to get an aged appearance.

Changing the backsplash behind the stove is a common way to introduce different textures or styles into the space.  Why not try stone?

Think about a light colored stone island.  Carerra Marble, Bianco Pietra Grey, or Superwhite Quartzite are all examples of light colored natural stone you can use for your kitchen island or surrounding countertops.

 

 

 

Farmhouse Kitchen by Beach House Hustle

And Lastly, Change your Trim

Trim is something that, if it is simple and white and installed correctly, most people may not notice.  But if you take the opportunity to use trim as a design element in your kitchen, you can add a rustic touch without darkening the overall feel of the space.

How would you feel about:

Adding barnboard as your toe kick. Take it all the way around your island and at the bases of your surrounding countertops.

Try driftwood around your windows instead of classic white trim.

Using a weathered piece of wood as a new windowsill.

Hopefully you have come to realize there are plenty of ways to add rustic charm to your modern kitchen, or to transform your existing kitchen into a fantastically rustic space without darkening it up.  Feel free to comment below if you have other ideas to share or have a problem to solve in your own rustic kitchen remodel!