Country Cottage: Charming Ideas for an Adorable Kitchen Home Decoration Home Furniture Home Improvement by Brooke Chaplan - December 11, 2014 Country Cottage: Ways to love your kitchen! The kitchen is the center of any home or cottage and is easily the best place to invest in upgrades. Need some charming ideas? Read on for a few that can help turn a boring kitchen into a place the whole family can gather. Add an Island If you’re looking to invest in a major Newmarket renovation in the kitchen without breaking the bank, adding an island is a functional, impressive change. A simple job for most contractors, consider adding an island with a beaded board base painted to contrast with the cabinetry. Taupe or grey are great choices for color that is homey without being too bright. Top it with a slab of lightly colored marble to upgrade the entire room, while staying true to the home’s character. Open shelving underneath shelves will serve as extra storage space for beautiful serving ware or a collection of classic cookbooks. Add a couple of simple, low slung bar stools for a casual spot to dine and chit chat over dinner preparation. Image Credit – Flicker.com A New Statement Table Nothing brings an adorable kitchen together like a large farm table for the family to gather around. A rustic statement piece in reclaimed wood, or classic pine will serve as the perfect platform to bring each season’s decor into the kitchen and to smooth the transition from living to dining to kitchen. This is a great time to find an investment piece while saving money, since trendy furniture today seems to be full of reclaimed wood. It’s also the perfect excuse to seek out a great flea market find. Refinishing an old table brings new life to a little piece of the past, and a cozy feel to any cottage kitchen. A Dash of Brass Take a look at the cabinets. How old are those drawer pulls? Do they bring the room together, or detract from its cozy vibe? If it’s the latter, think about switching out the kitchen hardware with oil rubbed brass or antiqued copper. This is another minor project that will have major impact, and could be a DIY project or make quick work for any licensed Newmarket custom home builder. Take home a few of your favorites from any local hardware store and change out the three major offenders. After you’ve lived with them for a couple of days, decide which feels the most authentic to the home’s architecture before dismantling all of the cabinetry and purchasing the corresponding drawer pulls and hinges. Keep it simple. When decorating a country cottage, think classic, cozy and functional. Small changes make big impacts when done thoughtfully, so choose carefully but don’t be afraid of going out on a limb.