Kitchen style inspiration: English country house kitchens

Written by Andrew Published Nov 20, 2024 Category The Kitchen Expert

Gorgeous timbers, understated colours and traditional finishes, the English country house style interior design is all about timeless comfort. Here’s a guide to bringing the look into your kitchen...

At Naked Kitchens we can build the bespoke kitchen of your dreams: just for you, for the look you love and the way you live. The only limit is your imagination, so our Kitchen Style Inspiration series is designed to get your creative juices flowing and spark some ideas.

Having previously looked at Boho and Scandi styles, we now visit the great English country house...

What is the English country house style?

*Origins of the English country house style: The State Dining Room, Nostell Priory* *Photo © David Dixon (creative commons)*

English country house style is one of the most beloved and enduring of interior design approaches. It’s also the most quintessentially British – but it took the American designer, Nancy Lancaster, to make us realise that we Brits had something rather special when it came to interiors.

In the 1940s, Nancy bought the English interior design firm, Colefax and Fowler, where she created her signature blend that combined the American taste for luxury with traditional country house comfort and ease.

English country house could be thought of as the antithesis of modern minimalism: it’s about warmth, comfort and lots of stuff. In an English country house, every piece is significant and has a story, and there are additional touches galore, from swags, tassels, paintings and prints to sumptuous fabrics, such as velvet and silk.

But, despite traditional roots, it continues to evolve, with each generation of designers, such as Ben Pentreath, interpreting country house style in new and individual ways.

English country house interior design: the key elements

*The Library, Weston Hall. Photo: © Michael Garlick (creative commons)*

Soft furnishings – the English country house style embraces deep sofas, heavy curtains and oriental rugs, and all the frills.

Natural materials – think stone, marble and wood: wooden flooring in main rooms and flagstones or black and white tiles in kitchens and passageways.

Patina – that rich glow that we associate with cherished and well cared-for furniture: beautifully designed and distinctive pieces made of mahogany, walnut, cherry or rosewood, for example. Wood is a major feature of English country house style.

Books – books, books everywhere, with plenty of bookshelves and book rests, with reading nooks and comfortable chairs.

Open fires – There will be a large open fire with an antique fireback and fire irons in at least one of the main rooms.

Soft colours – the palette tend to be soft and muted: aqua, corn yellow, duck egg blue, lavender or a watery green.

Luxurious bathrooms – baths are always deep and bathrooms designed for warmth and relaxation.

Second-hand pieces – Despite the emphasis on luxury, English country house style can be surprisingly affordable; look out for quality pieces at local auction houses and antique markets or on online auction sites. It’s an ideal way to gradually create a home full of things you love.

Of course, you don’t need to live in a Georgian pile or a Victorian rectory to appreciate the finer points of country house style. One thing that country house owners did was to build up gradually and move things around. This layered approach to interior design allows your home to evolve with you and although the style draws heavily on traditional roots, it continues to move with the times, absorbing modern features, fabrics and finishes.

English country house style kitchens

*The Lanhydrock House kitchen (Image courtesy of What to Do at the Weekend)*

If there is a blueprint for the English country house kitchen, it must be the one Richard Coad designed for Lanhydrock House in the 1880s (above). It was cutting edge at the time, ergonomic, equipped with the latest appliances and, above all, designed to be a hardworking space in continuous use. Many of those features continue to be on the priority list for a bespoke 21st century country house kitchen…

1) Muted colours

*Understated colours in the Norfolk Vicarage kitchen*

The original English country house kitchens kept to white walls, and you still can’t go wrong with a solid matt white and exposed timber cabinetry. But you can also be a little more adventurous, introducing colour through painted cabinet doors. The key is to go for muted, understated colours – think shades and tones of white, grey, green, blue and yellow.

(Take a look at our Naked Colours range for more inspiration.)

2) Wooden worktops

*Rich walnut worktops in the Georgian Hall kitchen*

An English country house kitchen does not stint on worktops and what better than solid wood surface? From the light tones and distinctive grain of ash, via cherry, iroko, maple and oak, to the deep, rich tones of mahogany and walnut – whichever timber you love will work.

3) A substantial kitchen island

*The Brancaster Marshes kitchen is centred around an island in oak*

Traditional country house kitchens would feature a huge, very practical table in the centre of the room, used for food prep and ‘below stairs’ dining.

The kitchen island is the contemporary successor to that table and usually becomes the focus of family life: someone is cooking; someone doing their homework; someone checking their phone; someone mending something, and everyone has to eat. Practicality still rules, but practical can also be beautiful.

4) Traditional in-frame cabinetry, with luxurious details

*We think Nancy Lancaster would definitely approve of the sumptuous brass Armac Martin handles used in the Oyster Catcher kitchen*

In-frame Shaker cabinets give a kitchen that traditional country house look, especially when embellished with ornamental pelmets and cornices. And don’t overlook the finer details, such as luxurious brass drawer and cupboard handles and knobs.

5) Open shelving and glazed cabinets

*Open and glazed shelving in the Cley kitchen*

In the traditional country house kitchen it was vital to have open shelving for easily accessible cookware and glass-fronted cabinets for all the crockery, china and glassware, all of which could be spotted at a glance (no time to scrabble around trying to find the correct cucumber dish).

It’s a look that we still love for displaying vintage dishes or cookware, and no country house kitchen is complete without a collection of well-thumbed cookbooks.

6) Optional extras: Agas, butler sinks and boot rooms

*A butler sink and a range cooker: the Norfolk Vicarage kitchen boasts the ultimate country house accessories*

Some take the view that no English country house kitchen is complete without a butler’s sink and a range cooker, ideally an Aga.

And you cannot have a range cooker without a dog parked in front of it. Of course, country house dogs mean country walks, muddy paws and boots. And if you’ve got boots, why not have a boot room? (Yes, we make those too…)