​​​​​​​​Kitchen in the country: tips for choosing, what to look for

Layout nuances

First of all, it is always important to understand what kind of layout the small kitchen will ultimately have. It is chosen in accordance with your preferences and the geometry of the room. It is possible to use several options for furniture arrangement, each of which is based on the principle of the working triangle. So, its tops are the sink, refrigerator and stove. This is done for the convenience of the housewife and the opportunity to engage in the cooking process without carrying out unnecessary manipulations.

In most cases, in a small country kitchen, rectilinear, L-shaped or parallel layout options are used. The linear type of kitchen layout in the country involves placing furniture along one of the walls. In particularly small country kitchens, this option becomes the most optimal for creating the right space, since other solutions are simply not suitable due to the lack of sufficient space.

In the second case, the set occupies two adjacent walls of the kitchen. This is the optimal layout when it is necessary to accommodate a large number of utensils and create sufficient working area, which is simply necessary for a summer house.

The parallel arrangement implies that the furniture will be located along the two longest walls in the kitchen in the country. This is convenient when the kitchen is narrow and long.

Advice! If the kitchen of the dacha is so small that it is unlikely to fit anything in it, then it is better to think about combining it with another nearby room, for example, the living room.

Connecting the kitchen with the living room will allow you to create even an island layout in your dacha. This option will imply the location of the island, which will become an excellent element for zoning the space.

Some owners decide to make a U-shaped kitchen layout in their country house, but it is worth remembering that it is only possible in medium-sized kitchens. In this case, the countertop with the sink can be placed directly under the window, which will give the work area additional illumination.

The principles of modern kitchen design are:

• efficiency;
• conciseness;
• practicality;
• elegance.

Even in a small kitchen, you can combine them and get exactly the room in which it will be convenient not only to cook, but also to spend time. So, you should immediately understand that a person spends most of his time at the dacha on the street. As a rule, each country house has a separate summer kitchen. This allows you to exclude some elements from the kitchen space located inside the building. For example, if the kitchen is very small, you should not focus on the possible processing of crops in it, since this process can easily be carried out in a summer kitchen.

How to decorate the floor, walls, ceiling

When designing a kitchen in a private home, you should use mainly natural materials. By subordinating the interior decoration to the idea of ​​unity with nature, you can fully experience the benefits and atmosphere of country life.

In finishing, you should avoid using fashionable vinyl wallpaper, PVC cladding panels, double-glazed windows, linoleum, etc. It is better to use textured plasters, lay parquet, cork or solid wood on the floor, and decorate the walls with ceramic tiles or wood panels. Also appropriate would be paper and textile wallpaper, jute mats, and stone that can be used to decorate doorways and arches.

However, this rule does not need to be followed fanatically. Natural materials can be replaced with artificial ones. For example, nothing will prevent you from choosing a wood-look laminate or an acrylic countertop instead of a natural marble one. The main thing is to maintain a balance between practicality and appropriateness of materials in a country house, in close proximity to nature.

Expert opinion

Olga Kovalenko

Since 2010 I have been engaged in interior design and architectural design.

It is necessary to consider not only compliance with style, but also safety. The finishing will be subject to greater stress than in a city kitchen, and therefore the materials must be durable and undemanding in maintenance.

Popular stylistic trends

A kitchen in a country house, like the one that everyone has in a city apartment, should be decorated in accordance with a certain style. There are no special restrictions here, everything depends only on the desires of the owner himself and the area he has. Typically, a country kitchen is designed so that it resembles a rustic interior. The following styles are quite suitable for this:

Provence is a delicate design that will be appropriate even for a small kitchen space in the country. The light design of all surfaces and furniture will give the effect of visually enlarging the space. It is best to use white as a background color, on which pastel shades of lilac, turquoise, pink or blue look great. Typically, the furniture for such a kitchen interior is selected to be slightly aged, which will allow you to significantly save on furnishings if there are items that cannot be placed in the apartment, and they have migrated to the dacha. Cute floral patterns, an abundance of textiles and various little details that are pleasing to the eye will allow you to create the atmosphere of a French province in a small country kitchen.

Russian. This colorful direction is chosen mainly by those who have a Russian stove in their dacha kitchen, which becomes the main object of attention. Carvings, handmade napkins, homespun rugs and old furniture are used in large quantities here. All elements in combination with each other resemble the decoration of a Russian hut.

Country is a trend that is rooted in the ethnic style of the American village. There is a place for a lot of wood, stone, and forged elements. Textiles used in the country are mainly those with a checkered print. This design is best suited for a kitchen in a country house, which is combined with a dining room. So, in the dining area there is a massive table with benches or wicker chairs around. At the same time, a small kitchen, or rather its work area, will no longer stand apart if it is decorated with rough-finished cabinets. Particular attention is paid to the kitchen ceiling, since it does not even have to be decorated; it is better to leave the supporting beams in their original form. This will only add a certain flavor to this small room in the country.

Communications for the dacha

The installation of utility networks is one of the first tasks that will need to be solved. The kitchen contains a large amount of equipment. When placing it, you should consider the following basic rules:

1. First, a place is determined for the dishwasher and washing machine (if you plan to use them). They need to be supplied with water.

1. Then the location of the stove is selected. If the country cottage is gasified, you will need to connect the equipment to communications.

1. Furniture should not block the ventilation system. Otherwise, it will be impossible to be in the kitchen.

1. It is better to place all technical devices in one part of the room. This allows you to shorten the wiring, and therefore save on laying utilities.

1. Heating appliances are installed near ventilation. Thanks to this, fewer connections are required and the system becomes coherent.

1. Calculation of the power of the electrical network is done based on the total energy consumption. It is better to create a project that indicates the location of all sockets and switches.

1. The sink and hob should not be close together. Because of this, expensive equipment may be damaged.

When arranging communications, the main thing is to take into account security requirements.

Expert opinion

Olga Kovalenko

Since 2010 I have been engaged in interior design and architectural design.

When creating a utility network, you should follow the installation instructions for the selected equipment. It is advisable to show the project to professionals who will check it for compliance with technical requirements.

Design and arrangement

It’s not enough just to choose a style for the kitchen; you need to correctly bring it to life in the cramped space of the dacha. If you approach the matter with all seriousness, you can get a unique interior that will amaze all the guests of the dacha.

Surface decoration

A country kitchen usually involves preserving the original appearance of all surfaces on it, but other alternative options are also possible. For example, when it comes to finishing the floor in a small country kitchen, you should choose those coatings that are highly resistant to wear and practicality, since they will need to be washed frequently. It is important to pay attention to moisture resistance. At the dacha in the kitchen, ceramic tiles, laminate or natural wood can be used, treated in a special way to prevent damage by pests and fungi.

The walls in the kitchen, if the cottage is made of rounded logs and the general concept of the intended style allows, are left unchanged. In some cases, vinyl or non-woven wallpaper is used in a country kitchen, and tiles are used for the apron area. But still, it is recommended to leave the surfaces without making any special changes.

Advice! If the cottage is made of brick, then leaving the brickwork exposed will be a good solution to make the kitchen stylish and in line with modern trends.

To decorate the ceiling in a country house, ordinary paint is usually used. Less often, the choice of owners falls on decorative panels. For some stylistic trends, wooden beams on the ceiling in the kitchen that do not hide are an excellent addition. By the way, they can make the kitchen space visually larger.

Most often, to decorate surfaces in the country, in particular in the kitchen, they try to use natural materials. It can be stone and wood. As for the first, its natural varieties are quite expensive, so artificial ones are used, which are difficult to distinguish from the original in appearance. They are a good addition to decorate a kitchen apron. Together with the same countertop, the design will harmoniously fit into the interior of the kitchen.

Wood is a classic material that is good not only as a base for various surfaces, but also as an option for making garden furniture.

Color palette

On the one hand, for a country kitchen it is best to use non-staining, dark shades. This way, various contaminants will be less noticeable on them. Natural brown and ocher colors usually look good in the interior of a country kitchen.

But, in the design of a small kitchen, dark color is taboo. It visually makes the room even smaller, so it’s better to opt for something more cheerful and bright. Here we are talking about milky, soft blue, powdery pink, beige, lilac and other similar shades. This will significantly expand the scope of the kitchen in the country. In this case, the furniture can also be light, but the best option would be the color of natural wood, which will look advantageous in the interior of any, even small kitchen in the country, as it sends us towards a rustic and natural orientation.

Using different color combinations, a small kitchen in a country house can be zoned. This will allow you to place emphasis on certain areas and highlight the working and dining areas without the need to install partitions.

Let's talk about furniture

In most cases, a small kitchen does not have room for a large number of furniture items and all of them are not new, but brought from the apartment after renovation. This in no way detracts from the merits of such kitchen furnishings in the country, only if the elements are not completely dilapidated. Any previously unnecessary cabinet can be slightly restored by simply removing the old covering and creating a new one. The decoupage technique also comes to the rescue, allowing you to decorate furniture with interesting designs.

This solution is quite practical, since full cooking usually takes place in a country kitchen, especially if there is no summer equivalent. They also do canning work here. And under the constant influence of temperature changes, humidity and fumes, furniture can become unusable. Such a turn is less destructive for old furniture than for recently acquired furniture.

A small country kitchen should not be filled with a large number of cabinets. It must have a sink, a stove, a refrigerator, several cabinets for storing utensils and food, covered with a common countertop that forms a work area. Such a minimal set will fit even into the cramped space of a country kitchen. If, for example, there is not enough space for something, then you can move the refrigerator, say, into the living room or onto the veranda.

An interesting solution that opens up new storage possibilities is the installation of wall cabinets that reach the ceiling. This will allow you to increase storage space without affecting the free space in the kitchen.

Stove or stove

This confrontation is relevant for those dachas that the owners inherited from grandparents who were accustomed to using stoves. Some new dacha owners want to replace the stove with a modern electric stove, and some want to leave it as the main attribute of village life.

A gas or electric stove is much easier to use, since you just need to connect it to the electrical network and turn the handle so that the burner starts to heat up. And the stove will have to be heated for a long time, constantly cleaned of ash, prepared and chopped firewood for kindling. Beginners in this business may simply not be able to cope with so many responsibilities. But the atmosphere at the dacha and the unique taste of food cooked in the oven make all those preparation processes completely insignificant.

If possible, it is best, of course, to use the oven. Among other things, it has an impressive cooking surface, which is the main advantage for a dacha. If you do not plan to use the stove, you can still leave it and use an electric stove. The stove will add a certain flavor to the design.

Decorating the space

The decor of a small kitchen in the country should be highly functional and practical. This means that there should be no unnecessary trinkets here. All elements necessarily have their place and role in the country house. For example, dishes with an interesting design, napkins and holders for them, towels, jars for bulk products, pepper shakers and salt shakers - these are the decorative details that can decorate a small kitchen in the country, but will not overload it and will serve a specific role.

Important! Purely decorative objects that decorate the work area can simply interfere with the cooking process.

Particularly relevant in the interior of the kitchen space in the country are those elements that are made by hand. Their inclusion will give the room warmth and comfort. This can be embroidery on tablecloths, napkins and towels, wooden and clay products created with your own hands, various culinary panels, homemade photo frames placed on the wall and other decorations.

Natural fabrics such as linen or cotton are suitable for window curtains and other textiles, but mixed fabrics will be much more practical, so in most cases they are recommended. Such fabrics are washed faster from various contaminants and dry instantly.

Styles for the garden

The interior for the kitchen should be chosen taking into account the architecture of the house and its location. In this case, everything will look harmonious.

Some practical tips to help you make your choice:

1. If the architecture of a country house is classical, the interior needs a corresponding one. Traditional options are suitable - Empire, Art Deco, English and American designs.

1. For a kitchen in a cottage built of wood, rustic interiors - country and Provence - are best suited. You can stylize it as a Russian hut or a noble estate, and lovers of gentle romance will appreciate shabby chic.

1. If the house has modern architecture and panoramic windows, minimalism or hi-tech would be the ideal option. A restrained Scandinavian style is also suitable.

1. When a cottage is used primarily for winter recreation, this can be reflected in the design. The kitchen will take on a harmonious look if you choose the Swiss chalet style for decoration.

1. Dachas located near water, be it a lake, river or sea, require appropriate design. The best option would be a Mediterranean interior.

These are just the basic and most obvious solutions. Any style is suitable for a country kitchen, if you play it correctly.

Streamline storage

Whatever you say, the dacha is the place where a large number of various kitchen utensils brought from home accumulate. It can be a pity to throw away all this stuff, so it is stored this way in a small room. To more rationally place everything that is available here, you can use some interesting ideas:

• In the area of ​​the working area, a shield with small holes is placed on the wall. Bend the required number of S-shaped hooks and place them in the holes. So, you can save space in cabinets in a small kitchen by simply hanging kitchen utensils on such a board.

  

• If you attach a small holder to the wall or the back of the cabinet door, you can conveniently use this place to store pot lids.
• Doors in the kitchen or cabinet doors can become storage for small items and even jars with preparations. To do this, it is enough to make a canvas out of thick fabric with pockets sewn onto it, into which everything you need fits.
• Spices or grains do not need to be placed in cabinets; the lower surface of hanging shelves can be used. It is enough to attach screw roofs to this surface, and already to them containers with cereals and pasta, as shown in the photo.

  

• By creating a hanging box with cells in which jars of spices can be placed horizontally, you can get a good element of decor for a small kitchen space in the country.

Features of the kitchen in the country

The place where food is prepared and family members gather for meals and gatherings is, without exaggeration, the heart of the home. When arranging a kitchen in a country house, it is important to consider the following features:

• size and shape of the room;
• dimensions and number of windows;
• communication systems, which are often laid at the discretion of the owners.

In addition, the location of the private house should be taken into account. It is surrounded by picturesque nature, and therefore it is better to create an interior that will be a continuation of such a pleasant “neighborhood”.

Types of summer kitchens

Before realizing your desired dream, it is important to decide on the type of future construction. They are of the following types:

• Opening kitchen area with fireplace and multiple cabinets.
• Enclosed premises with a roof.
• Decorations from several walls, with a canopy and without ceilings.

An open summer kitchen does not allow you to leave food and utensils here, but it is the best option for cooking barbecue, fish, and eating over a fire. Closing buildings are the most functional, they are installed:

• in the garden, a gazebo option (the lack of nearby residential properties increases construction costs);
• extension to the house with a canopy (proximity of communications eliminates unnecessary expenses).
• in the veranda or on the terrace - this is the most comfortable arrangement option, where you can have a good rest and try aromatic kebabs.

Important qualities of summer kitchens

The summer kitchen is being built near a residential building, which is economically convenient. It would be good if there was a water drain nearby, and the house itself was equipped with a stove. During the cold season, such a building is used as a warehouse for gardening tools, and in the summer food is prepared and eaten here. With little spending on your personal savings, you can make a vacation spot yourself. You can understand how to build a summer kitchen by studying the main points of installation.

This design can be attached to the house or built separately, which significantly saves space. Its main purpose:

• reducing the load on the main kitchen;
• preparing dishes during the warm period;
• storage of objects and things;
• organization of recreation;
• a place to sleep.

What should the furniture be like?

Choosing furniture for a country kitchen is a special matter. Many styles feature the use of old furniture. You can decorate the kitchen set for your dacha with your own hands by repainting it, decorating it with egg shells, fabric, original drawings or stenciled ornaments.

For decoration in the spirit of a modern design school, inexpensive furniture made from wood composites (chipboard, MDF, OSB) laminated with plastic is suitable. There is no point in purchasing more expensive varieties: from kitchen fumes and steam, even the most expensive furniture will quickly become unusable.