Why country cool is back in for the kitchen

With the rise and rise of casual dining, kitchens at home are changing to accommodate more of our everyday lives. Driven by a return to traditional craftsmanship, classic countryside design is having a renaissance

Island life: a station like this is one of the most typical features of a country-style kitchen

When Tom Howley decided to create a kitchen empire void of soft-close, handleless, high-gloss cabinetry, the interiors industry listened and consumers duly purchased. Kitchens often fall into two groups – the sparkling, luxe, tech-driven machines (that also – sometimes – accommodate some sort of food prep), and the classic country kitchen.

Although the country style is threaded throughout Tom Howley’s collections, 75 per cent of its clients are opting for “shaker-style” beaded frames, traditional cornices, distinctive wide pantries and matte-painted finishes, a style quintessentially country-fied and unrivalled in terms of its sales and market competition. This is rather obviously a reflection of the movement in the wider kitchen design community, towards recreating traditional elements found in country kitchens for trend-conscious clients.

A return to traditional craftsmanship in the tech-driven age is boosting the country kitchen’s appeal

But what has caused the rise in popularity of country kitchens? It makes sense to ask first what distinguishing elements are involved in the country kitchen aesthetic, and why they are so appealing to the consumer. When you look at the most-pinned kitchen images on Pinterest, you are met with swathes of scroll-inches showing shaker-style cabinetry and island counters. Consumers are hungry for an authentic, traditional feel for their homes, and the kitchen island seems to be the place to start.

The rise of the shaker-style kitchen island can be read as symptomatic of the trend for informal dining. Brian Woulfe, an Interior Designer and Founder of Designed by Woulfe, believes that “informal dining is the new black”. He says that this is true across the international culinary landscape, with “restaurants such as L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Covent Garden, with its casual, bar-style seating, earning Michelin stars, we are embracing this familiar and relaxed approach to eating in the home.

The island or peninsula counter is the modern, social homeowner’s answer to the reversal of traditional, formal dining.” It is this notion of the social homeowner that is key to the increase in commissions of country kitchens, even in the last couple of months. Tom Howley reported a 51 per cent order increase in 2017, and this is only expected to rise.

Now more than ever, the kitchen is a family-centric gathering space. Tom Howley, the creative design director of the eponymous kitchen company, puts this down to the popularity of island counters. Almost all of the kitchens his team of craftspeople create feature island counters, regardless of the dimensions of the space. Howley says he has designed and created kitchens with island counters that only account for 20 per cent of the worktop space, but boast 95 per cent of the usage.

Of this eye-opening inclination we possess to use these grand central platforms as primary worktops, the designer says, “the kitchen is becoming a dual-functional space for cooking as well as eating. Not only this, but the kitchen is also a homework base, a relaxed office space and a home bar. A wide island counter or baker’s table will provide a generous and welcoming gathering place, especially when lined with barstools.”

‘A wide island counter or baker’s table will provide a generous and welcoming gathering place’

While the consumer is igniting a noticeable demand for social, intimate and informal kitchens, in such a tech-driven age, kitchen designers are also stepping back to honour more traditional craftsmanship. The option for tech innovation is certainly open to the luxury market, but brands such as Tom Howley, Smallbone and Martin Moore don’t seem to be biting. A tour of the Tom Howley factory will show you that even though incredible, computer-aided design and manufacture is used to further refine the precision of the joinery, the in-house kitchen designers do not suggest much more, tech-wise, than a Sub-Zero & Wolf wine cooler.

Although this is an excellent example of the way high-specification appliances are assimilating into traditional kitchen design, the star of the show remains the bespoke shaker cabinetry. For London Design Festival last year, Smallbone hosted a joinery workshop with two joiners from the manufacturing team – champagne flute in one hand, mallet in the other. Quality craftsmanship is the most wanted luxury accolade, and kitchen brands are going out of their way to demonstrate their own.

What better way to demonstrate graft, skill and quality, each synonymous with luxury design, than by proudly discussing it in relation to the design credentials of your brand? And within that, which style of kitchen will provide the best platform upon which to showcase these skills? It is the country kitchen, with its cornices, chamfers, intricate skirting boards, bold cabinetry and generous dimensions. A country kitchen is a mark of quality for brands and homeowners; they are social spaces and timeless additions to properties all over the world.