Take a look around this bright country kitchen

Give your kitchen a country-style update with ideas from Ideal Home magazine. For more decorating inspiration, go to housetohome.co.uk

The owners knocked down the original bungalow and built a new two-bedroom house, complete with a bespoke hand-painted kitchen.

The base units are arranged along the rear wall, with a bank of floor-to-ceiling cabinets housing the appliances, and a central island unit.

The cabinets are painted in grey Farrow & Ball paints, with maple worktops and limestone flooring creating a relaxed, modern-country scheme.

Kitchen cabinets
Hill Farm

1/8 Cabinet paint

kitchen with grey cabinets

(Image credit: Future PLCX/Brett Charles)

Farrow & Ball

2/8 Light grey kitchen with island unit breakfast bar

grey kitchen with breakfast bar

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

The island unit was positioned to take advantage of the views over the garden and provides a place for the family to enjoy breakfast or an informal drink. Red and white striped retro straws add a quirky touch to the table setting.

Stools and seat pads

Ikea

3/8 Country kitchen with French farmhouse sink

grey kitchen with shelves

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

Open shelving frames the elegant French farmhouse sink and allows the owner to display favourite crockery and glassware. All the kitchen accessories, from the kettle to the tea towel, have been carefully chosen to blend in with the traditional-meets-contemporary scheme.

Similar shelves
Ikea
Wall paint
Farrow & Ball

4/8 Neutral kitchen with made-to-measure cabinets

kitchen with grey cabinets

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

Bespoke floor-to-ceiling cabinets house the ovens and fridge-freezer to give a sleek, clutter-free look. The integrated wine rack is used to display trinkets as well as storing favourite tipples. A mini berry wreath hanging from one of the cupboard doors helps to break up the otherwise all-neutral scheme.

Oven and combination microwave/oven
Neff

5/8 Country kitchen with crystal extractor fan

kitchen with extractor

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

The glittering crystal extractor fan/light adds a touch of glamour. The owner fell in love with it after seeing it in a local department store and managed to get it at a knockdown price. Fresh flowers add to the country farmhouse feel.

Similar extractor fan
Currys
Maple worktop
Hill Farm

6/8 Farmhouse sink

kitchen with butlers sink

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

A traditional farmhouse sink and swan-neck taps work perfectly with painted, country-style units. A cute printed tea towel adds a spash of red to prevent the look from becoming too clinical, while the natural wood tones of the work surfaces soften the greys.

Sink and tap
Hill Farm

7/8 Farmhouse-style kitchen with barn door

kitchen with white wall and wooden door

(Image credit: Future PLC/Brett Charles)

Skylights and bi-fold doors ensure the kitchen is flooded with natural light, while a tailor-made barn door with a heart-shaped window adds a cosy touch. The wall-mounted TV is tucked away in the corner so it doesn't interfere with the rest of the scheme.

Similar barn door
Oracle Window Solutions
Floor tiles
Bourne Tiles

8/8 The kitchen before the makeover

kitchen with wooden storage shelves

(Image credit: TBC)

In contrast to the old kitchen, which was dark and dated, the new space is flooded with natural light. Gadgets like the oven, fridge and microwave have been tucked away behind bespoke fitted cupboards and the pale grey colour scheme creates a soothing, united feel.

Lisa Fazzani
Deputy Editor

Lisa is Deputy Editor of Style at Home magazine and regularly contributes to sister title Ideal Home. She has written about interiors for more than 25 years and about pretty much every area of the home, from shopping and decorating, crafts and DIY to real home transformations and kitchen and bathroom makeovers. Homes and interiors have always been a passion and she never tires of nosying around gorgeous homes, whether on TV, online, in print or in person.