13 Must-Have Farmhouse Kitchen Decor Ideas

Go With Wood Cabinetry

Farmhouse kitchens almost exclusively have wood cabinets. Wood develops an organic patina—or can be stained, painted, or sanded to have one—that helps further the modern farmhouse look and feel. Most farmhouse kitchen cabinets are white, but any color can work with complementary hardware, countertops, and accessories.

Select a Neutral Color Scheme

Kitchen color schemes are all over the color wheel, but farmhouse-style kitchens tend to have neutral tones, with white, black, and wood shades as primary elements. Gray and navy can also work in more modern farmhouse kitchens.

Opt for Open Shelving or Limited Upper Cabinets

Most farmhouse kitchens have a pared-down feel, without much upper cabinetry, helping spaces feel light and bright. They often feature open shelving for displaying kitschy décor items such as cookie jars, heirloom dishware, and antiques.

For a more open look without open shelves, consider installing glass doors on some or all of the upper cabinets. They're great for showing off treasured items without collecting dust and for breaking up the monotony of repetitive cabinet fronts. If your cabinets' contents are not something you'd like to show off, you can achieve a similar airy, clean look with frosted or textured glass fronts.

Hard-core farmhouse aficionados may want to consider replacing some cabinet door inserts with chicken wire instead of glass. It's easy and inexpensive to install, offers that airy look, and makes an unmistakable farmhouse statement.

Choose Butcherblock, Concrete, or Quartz Countertops

Farmhouse kitchen décor ideas rely on simplicity, so ornate marble and granite countertops with bold or multicolored finishes aren't typically a good fit. For the ultimate farmhouse statement, butcherblock countertops are the way to go. Their strong rustic look boosts the ambiance of a kitchen for a cozy, natural look, and their wood grain and color variations can warm up an all-white kitchen.

For kitchens already loaded with wood floors, wood cabinets, and even wood-paneled walls, butcherblock counters may be a step too far. Alternate countertop materials that evoke farmhouse style are concrete (for going more rustic), limestone, and smooth quartz (to go less rustic). Unlike butcherblock, these countertops are available in a wide range of colors: A dark shade contrasts nicely against light or white cabinets, while a light one pops against navy cabinetry and blends nicely with white.

Select a Wood, Tile, or Brick Backsplash

White subway tile with black grout is a popular backsplash in almost any decor, but especially in farmhouse kitchens. It offers a fresh, clean look that fits well with other simple, homey elements of the space. Alternatively, exposed wood and brick as a backsplash can offer an unexpected twist on the farmhouse décor style.

Install an Apron Front or Farmhouse Sink

Unsurprisingly, a farmhouse kitchen tends to feature a farmhouse sink, characterized by a large basin with an apron front. The classic white porcelain ones require regular cleaning, which may take some getting used to, but they come in stainless steel, too, and offer your kitchen a distinctive look.

Hang Lantern Pendant Lights

Devotees of farmhouse kitchens typically incorporate a lantern pendant light. These hanging fixtures offer plenty of targeted light over a cooking space, and their materials can be matched to other hardware in the space for a cohesive look.

Install Dark Hardware

Black matte hardware on cabinets, drawers, and doors are the norm for farmhouse kitchens. They pop against kitchen cabinets of all paint colors, especially white ones, and their toned-down look fits in with the farmhouse theme. Copper and bronze are also popular for a slightly warmer look.

If you have bright hardware but can't fathom switching out an entire kitchen, see if there's a way to tone down their sheen to create a patinaed tarnish. Whatever hardware you choose, find faucets in the same finish for a unified look.

Highlight Natural Wood Details

Whether on countertops, an island, or in decorative accents, exposed wood is a must for farmhouse kitchens. The use of wood floating shelves as open shelving or a kitchen island with a contrasting wood countertop are common ways to highlight wood tones. For a well-balanced aesthetic, look high and low for other places to highlight natural wood.

Wooden beams don't have to be structural to add a subtle rustic touch to a kitchen. In fact, they don't have to be real wood or real beams. You can install three-sided (U-shaped), hollow wood "beams" or even faux "wood" beams made of lightweight, easy-to-install materials to get the same look.

A hardwood floor is a popular farmhouse choice. The rough appearance of an unfinished or raw wood floor contrasts nicely with updated appliances for a special kind of cottage charm. At the other end of the spectrum, engineered wood floors give you the look of natural wood with substantially more durability, less required maintenance, and infinite widths and shades.

Install a Barn Door

Sliding barn doors have become a farmhouse mainstay and have been adapted to fit in with a wide range of other styles, too. Besides their look, they're a practical and space-saving way to hide a pantry or close off a messy kitchen.

Not all kitchens can accommodate a sliding door, but you don't need a slider to achieve a barn door look. Just a change of hardware can transform a door from generic and unnoticeable to farmhouse fab.

Choose Muted Tones and Matte Finishes

Generally, the only shiny items in a farmhouse kitchen are the apples sitting in a bowl on the counter. Almost everything else—paint finishes, flooring, hardware—is toned down for a more natural, lived-in look.

Leave candy apple red and shiny chrome to the retro diner folks and instead, go for muted tones with a powdery, chalky finish. Satin or semi-gloss paint are good choices for farmhouse style because they can withstand the heavy traffic that kitchens are usually subjected to.

Accessorize with Natural Textures

Farmhouse style evokes an era that precedes modern engineered materials, so natural accessories like linen or cotton, basketry, and wood help to convey that imagery. In addition to accessories with varied natural textures, consider old-timey materials, like glass and metal, to promote a casual feel and farmhouse charm to your kitchen. Here are a few examples of how to get the look:

Cover windows with bamboo shades.
Accessorize with mason jars or galvanized metal objects.
Install wooden racks or hooks on the wall to hang aprons, cast iron cookware, or bunches of dried herbs.
Break up a block of lower cabinet doors by replacing one or two with curtains made from antique-looking tea towels, or cotton or linen fabric.

Repurpose Furniture and Materials

Farmers are nothing if not resourceful, and they're masters at making the most of what's available. In that spirit, repurposing furniture and materials is essential to achieving an authentic farmhouse feel and also aligns with sustainable design practices.

Here are just a few examples of how repurposing can add character and uniqueness to a farmhouse kitchen: