An interiors editor on the one feature appearing in stylish rustic kitchens
As someone who looks at kitchens for a living – and sitting rooms and bathrooms and bedrooms and so on – you become adept at dissecting why a decorating scheme works so well.
It's easy to look at a room and love what you see, but good design is a sum of its parts, and it takes practice to distinguish the features that are most intriguing, the ones that tie everything together or create much needed contrast.
In the stylish kitchens that I've seen of late, the part that has stood out is rugged and reddish terracotta flooring.
Country kitchens often use flagstone or limestone – a practice I've never quite been able to get on board with because it can so often look dreary and washed out. These characterful terracotta-clad spaces by comparison radiate with warmth.
Seeing more and more kitchens – and their accompanying boot rooms and utility rooms – embrace earthy terracotta feels like an eureka moment.
"Terracotta gives us all so much of what we want from our homes," says Grazzie Wilson, Head of Creative at Ca' Pietra, whose Marlborough terracotta seems to be the tile of choice in most of the kitchens I come across.
"It’s rich and warming to look at, it’s textured and rugged to the touch, and it’s immensely easygoing to live with, so what’s not to love?"
Just as interesting as the tiles themselves are the decorating schemes they have become part of. The burnt reddish orange of terracotta is not an easy one to pair, but rather than retreating into the safety of creams or whites, these spaces are meeting bold with bold.
None have ventured into cold colours – putting grey against terracotta has the effect of storm clouds against a sunset – but I've seen lashings of bright blue, mustard, pink and green.
"When it comes to colour combinations, there are those that are known to work well – beige, creams, whites, butter whites, in fact, most neutral shades," says Grazzie. “If you are looking for colours that offer a contrast, then pink is one that works well. They are similar to one another and so complement each other well, especially if you choose a lighter shade of pink.
“If you really want to be bold, you should choose a shade of red. While this colour combination can seem a little daunting, and a little too red, it actually works incredibly well in practice."
Aside from colour, a unifying feature across these kitchens is the abundance of wood, in cabinets naturally, but also tongue-and-groove wall panelling and overhead beams.
Terracotta is a great companion to walnut, pine and oak for their matching reddish colours – which also makes it suitable among antiques and reclaimed furniture where these woods are well represented.
"When it comes to styling, you can’t go wrong with throwing in kitsch, with ruffled café curtains, open shelving and wood panelling," says Grazzie.
You Might Also Like
