Rustic country kitchens - dustcatcher or bliss?

As I have mentioned, my mother lives on a farm in northeast Victoria. It gets very cold and also baking hot. And when the phone lines come down in a storm, you are on your own. She has a wonderful country kitchen complete with uneven wooden floorboards, Aga wood burning stove, a second oven, a window looking out over the pomegranate tree and lots of free standing wooden cupboards for pantry and other storage.

When I recently visited I was rather taken with this little 'Celery and Chicken' arrangement my mother had over the cupboard where she stores some of her glassware.

The jugs on the top shelf are cabbage leaves, and the plate on the left is a lettuce leaf. These plates are made by Royal Doulton and I have two. Here is a close up:

I use them only for eating spinach salad. It just seems to be appropriate.

I really love rustic kitchens. They are great for warming up, being cozy, and sitting and talking. And if things get a bit messy, it doesn't matter. Another kitchen I have spent time in is that of my husband's aunt, who lives in a four storey converted mill in Leicestershire in the UK. She has a flagstone floored kitchen with a huge battered wooden table, a window seat looking out to the back garden and the mill creek and pond and an enormous Aga stove. And my goodness - the food which was magicked from that stove. I know I would never be able to cook pheasant in a wood burning stove, but she can pull it off.

Here are some images of my favourite country style kitchens.

This is my favourite. I know it has been styled to within an inch of its life but the shelf arrangement is cluttered yet clean.

This is a stunning wooden dresser.

I love the simplicity of this one, wonderful for a little cabin.

We have one of these Dualit toasters. They are very effective but boy do they take up a lot of room.

This laundry style sink which has been built into the bench is a great idea. I feel many kitchen sinks are too small.

I love these framed pictures against the industrial wall and with stainless steel too!

These pale green wrought iron chairs make this kitchen delicate and feminine.

But do you do need carefully planned storage if you are exposing your crockery to the world. Isn't this a clever solution? Completely tailored to the needs of the kitchen.

What do you think? Would the dusting get you down? Would you have to keep obsessively rearranging?

Images: (1)-(5) (9)(12)(13) House to Home (6) (11) Mairie Claire Maison (7)(8) Homes and Gardens (10) P0int Click Home (14) Elle Decor France

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