6 features you'll find in every stylish modern country kitchen diner – the ingredients you need to curate a relaxed space for your family
Cook, eat and lounge
While a separate kitchen and dining room were traditionally the norm, the shift towards open-plan living has seen multifunctional kitchen-diners become a staple of modern houses. The benefits of combining the two spaces are plentiful. It can be a great way of opening up a small kitchen to create more prep and cooking space, not to mention creating a larger and more sociable dining area with space for the family to gather, eat and entertain.
When it comes to kitchen-diner decor, a country-style kitchen vibe offers the perfect fit. Relaxed and informal, fresh and bright, country style is cosy and easy to live with and one of the easiest looks to put together.
Let your kitchen cabinets be the starting point when it comes to the kitchen colour scheme, whether country-style creams, whites and soft yellows or warmer tones of wood, sage green and taupe. Repeat these same shades in the dining area of the room on furniture, paintwork and accessories to create a cohesive look throughout the two spaces, layering in woven rattan, timber, natural linens and greenery to add extra colour and dimension.
Chester Pure White extending dining table, £899; spindleback chairs, £250 for two, all Cotswold Company
1. Dual-purpose layout
Combining a kitchen and dining room into an open-plan multi-functional space is a great way of creating a more practical and sociable kitchen layout. Divide the area according to how you plan to use it; you might prefer more kitchen space, or a roomier dining area for the whole family. An island or breakfast bar helps create a visual divide.
2. Relaxed colour scheme
Gingham tablecloth in Warm Stone, £165; Bees tea towel, £13; Bees oven gloves, £28, all Sophie Allport
Tie the two areas together by keeping to the same soft palette throughout. Mix subtle country-style greens and muted neutrals on kitchen cabinets and painted furniture alongside pretty tableware and linens, seat cushions and window treatments.
3. Generous dining table
The table is a key element of the room. Choose a size that suits the layout. Round or square tables are ideal if space is tight; they can work well in a corner or nook with banquette seating. And rectangular tables are best if you have a little more floor space to play with.
4. Mix-and-match seating
Keep your country-style space relaxed and informal with a mix of seating at the dining end of the room. An assortment of vintage chairs or wooden benches topped with cheery seat cushions can be fun. Or squeeze in extra seating with a built-in banquette that has the added bonus of hidden storage underneath.
5. Storage and display
While kitchen cabinets take care of much of the room’s practical storage, incorporating display space for your decorative items, such as crockery, glassware and linens, is a must. Try a run of open shelving, a vintage-style plate rack or house everything together inside a glazed wooden cabinet.
6. Practical flooring
In a kitchen-diner, your floor needs to balance practicality with style. Durable and hardwearing, it should also run seamlessly across both areas, so that the space feels cohesive and connected, whether it’s a fully tiled floor, stone flags or wooden boards.
Get the look
You can't go wrong with a country-inspired kitchen-diner, especially when you have these key ingredients in your space.
