Traditionally the heart of the home, the kitchen continues to be the informal center of the household, where family members meet and talk across the table at mealtimes. In the past people naturally congregated in the warmest room of the house, heated by the cooking range which was constantly stoked for boiling kettles and keeping ovens hot. In recent decades, architects’ attempts to banish messy food preparation to a small back room have been constantly foiled by homemakers who knock down partitions and open up living space so that the cook shares the “sociable kitchen” with family and friends.
Today the refinements of the modern country kitchen have banished the worst elements of the original version – smoke and dust from solid-fuel stoves, mall windows, poor ventilation – while keeping the best of its intrinsic style. The twentieth-century kitchen range, the Aga, still performs the same role general comforter and cook’s best friend.
Country living
Tradition continues through painted wooden paneling, glass-fronted cupboards that display dishes, and sturdy worktables used for both preparing and eating food. The fitted kitchen, status symbol of the fifties and sixties, is sometimes giving way again to freestanding country furniture – the hutch (dresser) and the sideboard. In an age which sees cooking as an enjoyable hobby, the country kitchen is as much in demand as ever.
An important feature of the country kitchen is the dining area, the household’s meeting and eating place. This should be both functional and inviting, incorporating storage for crockery and utensils as well as space for sitting comfortably around the table. Chairs are plain or painted wood, rather than elaborately upholstered, and floors need to be easily cleaned of crumbs and debris: stone flags, ceramic tiles, and varnished or stained boards are popular options. Displays of fruit, vegetables and flowers are colorful and welcoming.
Wild Flowers
Part of the appeal of country style lies in the unselfconscious charm of its floral patterns, so evocative of delicate wildflowers. A posy of meadow flowers has a beauty unmatched by any exotic florist’s display. Cornflowers, poppies, primroses, forget-me-nots, and many more are lovingly reproduced on chintz, embroidered textiles stenciled paint effects, china, enamelware, and so on. Floral textiles in particular have been popular for centuries: sprigged muslins were all the rage in Jane Austen’s day, and the phenomenal success of Liberty prints and Laura Ashley fabrics in recent years owed much to their distinctive floral designs. Wildflowers were also a distinctive feature or Arts and Crafts textiles, inspired by medieval tapestries and still popular today; printed on a deep, rich color base, their delicate shapes acquire strength and intensity.
Different floral prints or designs can be used together if you follow certain basic rules. One secret of success is to combine different patterns of the same size and colorway, otherwise the larger one will overwhelm the smaller. It is also safest to use fabrics of similar weight and texture: modest cottons and rich silks can sit uncomfortably together, for instance. A pretty, contemporary country look is to line floral print curtains with matching checks or stripes
