This beautiful kitchen exudes tons of Old World charm. You can almost feel the comforting warmth of the golden hues and smell the roasting eggplant Parmesan and garlic bread. It's no easy feat to create a room design that evokes all of these senses with just a picture. This room is well worth analyzing to see how this was achieved.
It's rather frustrating when you come across decor photos that boast fantastic spaces that are not doable in a realistic way. You know the ones; floor-to-ceiling windows in a room with 12-foot ceilings on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Meanwhile, you live in a bungalow with eight-foot ceilings on a city street. One tends to give up before one starts when the outcome seems unachievable. While our feature photograph, courtesy of Moen, boasts a kitchen that is spacious and looks like it belongs in an inn in Tuscany, the decor style is achievable on a smaller scale. Even if you live in an apartment and can't paint, there are things you can do to accomplish a similar look and feel in your space. Don't be deterred.
Dissecting the design
An Old World decor encompasses faded, time-worn finishes to give the illusion of age and history to the space. Part of the charm of this style of decor is the impression of the history of years of family meals and gatherings that a room has garnered. Therefore, the sun-faded, aged finishes are quite fitting. In our feature room, the use of soft yellow wall colour and the warm undertones of the woodwork provide the visual elements required to create a homey atmosphere. For your own kitchen, choose a soft yellow paint colour for the walls and a co-ordinating creamy yellow for the cabinets as a starting point.
Another option is to find a similar-toned wallpaper with a textural finish that mimics a worn plaster effect. This is a good solution because it not only provides the right colours, you also get the textural finish, which is perfect for this style of decor. Paintable wallpaper is another option if you can't find the exact wallpaper colour you desire. Wallpaper has come a long way and you may be able to find papers with stone, brick or plaster designs that will add architectural interest if needed.
Kitchen cabinets
If you don't want to (or can't) paint your dark cabinets, work with them. As seen in our feature photograph, the room is enhanced with the dark stand-alone cabinet and kitchen island.
If you have flat-fronted cabinets you may be able to cover the door fronts with wallpaper to give them a lighter look. This is a non-permanent solution if you are renting. If painting them is a good fit then use a creamy, warm colour that will work with the other elements in the space.
Whether renting or not, cabinet hardware can be updated to add to the Old World charm of your new decor. Two of the cabinets in our feature photograph have glass-fronted doors. You could create a similar detail by simply removing doors from a few cabinets to create a decorative open storage area.
You'll notice the use of two arch designs in our feature kitchen; the arched window and the arched front on the bookcase to the lower left. You can mimic the arched window with a simple swag window treatment in an arched design. Another way to infuse the arch design into your kitchen is to hang an arched mirror or picture frame in the room. I found a decorative chalkboard at the thrift store years ago that has an arched frame around the chalkboard boasting decorative grapes and vines. There are also wallpaper murals on the market that contain arches that might work on a feature wall. Anything along these lines could work so keep your eyes open for opportunities to add a graceful arch to your kitchen. Update a plain, square bookcase or cabinet by installing an arched opening on the front, (similar to the bookcase in our feature photograph).
Hanging pots are not only a decorative element in a kitchen but also free up storage space. Purchase or create a hanging ceiling or wall pot rack to give your kitchen that lived-in look. I simply installed cup hooks on the underside the upper kitchen cabinets and hang the pots from them. If you can't install a pot rack on the wall or from the ceiling, purchase strong magnet hooks and hang them on the side of the fridge if there's room or hang pots on the inside of a closet or pantry door using cup hooks. Over-the-door hooks may also be a solution, depending upon your situation and kitchen layout.
Accessories
Inexpensive everyday items can be used as accessories in your Old World kitchen. Bottles of olive oil, a basket of garlic bulbs, fresh herbs in clay pots on a windowsill, dried pasta in clear containers, great cookbooks and vintage pots are all fodder for your updated space.
This decor style is all about casual comfort, family and home. What's not to like?
connieoliver@shaw.ca
