My Favorite Kitchen Finish Combination for Warm, Earthy Kitchens
Every time I’ve seen a particular kitchen finish combo lately, I’ve had to stop in my tracks and study it. I’m talking about wood-finish cabinetry paired with rustic tile. This combination is breathing new life into kitchen design, an area beset with trends and formulas.
The wood cabinetry transcends popular colors, and offers so many opportunities for customization. It can also be hardier and more durable, hiding fingerprints and resisting chipping.
Rustic tile includes zellige, brick, and anything with color or textural variation. I look for tile with iron spots, uneven glazes that reveal the ceramic color beneath, and color shifts. You can also always mix two or three close colors into one batch for something really unique.
Read on for inspiration and a glimpse of the many moods and effects possible within this combination of finishes.
1.
Soft Color
I love neutrals because they are so full of color. This isn’t a position everyone takes—understandable! It may come from years of obsessing over mixing just the right grays and browns in my watercolor palette, but I see so much color in neutrals, and I love the gentle way they invite the eye to linger and discern.
This kitchen is great illustration of what I mean. When paired together, simple white oak cabinetry and off-white tile provide a rich contrast of warm and cool tones; a spectrum of warm, peachy hues, and iridescent green-grays.
2.
Dark Roast
We’ve heard so much about dark and moody interiors (love them, by the way), but what about dark and joyful ones?
This combo of walnut cabinetry, bronze hardware, and rustic olive tile reminds me of chocolate, coffee, and banana bread. It reminds me of the relief of coming into a cool, dark room after too much time in the sun.
I love the commitment to dark-hued materials in this room, as well as the choice to carry the tile from the wall to the floor, creating simplicity and continuity.
3.
Natural Geometry
Rustic tile and natural wood don’t have to lean wabi-sabi (a japanese aesthetic celebrating the beauty of imperfection.) This kitchen illustrates that these materials can achieve clean, modern lines too. Especially when you emphasize geometric shapes in the hardware and tile, and select a wood varietal with a straight grain.
4.
Variation + Texture
There is so much movement and interest in this kitchen. I am struck right away at the variation in hue in the green tile—each piece looks hand-made and carefully selected for a one-of-a-kind installation. The strong wood grain pattern in the cabinets provides the perfect balance.
5.
Focus on Materials
For me, minimalism is really about allowing one’s attention focus on the special and particular qualities of something. Paired with a neutral white oak countertop, the the color variation in these quiet white tiles comes to life. The placement of another ceramic piece, the modern sconce, right upon them, emphasizes the material’s beauty.
6.
No Hardware
One way to really emphasize the beauty of natural wood finish cabinetry is to forgo hardware and build pulls directly into its form. This custom look draws attention to craftsmanship and celebrate’s the material’s down-to-earth beauty.
7.
Cabinetry as Furniture
Conversely, wood cabinetry can acquire the upscale look of fine furniture when fitted with hardware as special as this. The rustic zellige tile gives this pairing a timeless, old-world feel that will never look dated.
8.
Perfectly Imperfect
Kitchens are spaces for creativity, gathering, and experimentation. For this reason, I love a wabi sabi kitchen that embraces a bit of wobbliness, accumulates patina, and feels connected to nature and its materials. Wood cabinetry, with all its knots and grain, when combined with rustic tile, is a classic combination that easily achieves this handcrafted, natural, homey feel.
Here’s one more showstopper that has it all; custom wood cabinetry with very special details in contrasting varieties, offset with the glimmer and ethereal color of white zellige tile.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you’ve gathered some inspiration for your dream kitchen!