6 Ways to Achieve a Traditional Look With Stone
For those seeking to create a traditional country or shaker style kitchen, stone worktops may not immediately spring to mind. For some, stone is the material of modern and contemporary styles. With its flawless smooth surface and cool texture, granite, marble and quartz do indeed work fantastically well for a modernist or minimalist concept. However, this by no means discounts this material for traditional schemes. So where do you begin to locate the perfect stone for your country kitchen design?
1. Warmth of Tone
Traditional kitchens, whether a cottage or shaker style tends to follow warm, muted colour schemes. So look to tonal stone worktops. Granite and quartz are available in a huge variety of hues. Rose and green work fantastically in traditional rooms, working to lift plainer cabinet fronts into a dedicated scheme. Or if you like the tones of wood but love the low maintenance of stone, check out beige marble or limestone varieties. The colours here reflect those of different woods but feature the durability that is so attractive about stone.
2. Natural Textures
Country kitchen styles tend to focus on natural materials and original historic features in a kitchen. So if your home is an older building and you are keen to complement these organic textures, narrow your search to the most naturally occurring stones such as marble or granite. As this stone is mined in slabs, every sheet is unique in its markings and grains. As a naturally mined stone, granite and marble will be sealed on installation which ensures optimal heat resistance and durability.
3. Edge Details
Stone worktops can be produced with edge finishing of a huge variety. The edge design of your worktop can either reflect or contrast other features of your kitchen such as cabinet panel design. A carved Ogee edge begins as a concave arch, moving into a convex arch. This is a popular granite edging that adds a hint of luxury in a traditional space. It mirrors country panelled cabinets or the edging of a traditional oak or pine dresser.
4. Reflecting Original Features
When you choose your stone worktop for traditional kitchen design, consider how the material will complement or contrast other kitchen features. This may be the tone of a wooden ceiling beam. Or perhaps the selection of brass taps over a traditional ceramic sink. Or perhaps custom fitting a worktop area within an existing alcove. When a kitchen design aims to embrace natural features of a room, that room is often more historic in age. Consequently, natural light is often more limited. In this way, the reflective properties of stone, especially those of lighter tones can help to maximise natural light.
5. Practical Benefits
The wonderful aspect of a stone sink surround is in the resistance of the material to water damage. Draining grooves can be integrated into the surface. This means that you no longer require bulky dish drainers which can spoil the historic look of the room. Similarly, the durability of the material around your oven, whether range or integrated, will mean that you will not risk the damage from hot dishes that wooden surfaces experience.
6. Add Freestanding Furniture
Provide depth to your traditional country kitchen scheme by providing contrast of materials. This works by layering your granite or marble with freestanding items which are other natural materials, like wood or metal. So from brass fireside implements to an antique oak farmhouse table, your room is full of variety.
Simply because you would like a traditional country or historic farmhouse kitchen does not mean that you are unable to benefit from the advantageous properties of stone. By choosing your material, from granite to quartz to marble, in a conscientious way, your design can be accentuated. The appearance of natural stones is striking and beautiful, and with its low maintenance high durability properties, stone worktops make life in your traditional kitchen more stress free too!
