History

• The presence of formal country kitchens was a point of pride in prominent homes of the past. Wealthy landowners and their wives needed full-scale kitchens to stage elaborate dinners and parties for their business and society associates. Later, other influences such as the industrial age and the relaxed attitude of the 20th century would have a permanent effect on the features and functions of the country kitchen style.
  
  

Formal Country Kitchen

• The elements of formal Victorian country kitchen style consisted of open brick hearths for heating and cooking. Butter churns and stamps, as well as copper and bronze cooking pots, and earthenware mixing bowls also adorned the room. Victorian homeowners took great pride in their kitchen appliances and gadgetry and, according to Mark Girouard, author of Life in the English Country House, often had multiple types of appliances for kitchen tasks. Since there were no built-in countertops, large wooden tables were used for work spaces, and large dresser-like cabinets, along with wide-open shelves, were used for storing food items and dishes. Although considered one of the most important rooms in the house, formal country kitchens in England were usually as far away from the front of the house as possible, because wealthy Victorians disliked the smells of the kitchen.
  
  

Staffing

• It is important to know that, historically, the lady of the house did neither the cleaning nor the cooking. Therefore, the formal country kitchens of stately homes were equipped with a full working domestic staff, usually including several cooks, kitchen maids, a dairy maid for milking and churning and a caretaker and yard hands, who also oversaw the slaughterhouse. Very wealthy homes often had butlers whose rooms were just off the kitchen, private breweries and separate baking houses.
  
  

Farmhouse Country Kitchen

• According to wentworthfurniture.com, the emphasis in a farmhouse kitchen was on functionality and practical use, rather than formality. Natural materials native to the land and area were used to build the kitchen and its interior elements. Cooking was done on a stone or brick stove, and the clay sink, supported on a brick foundation, also served as a washbasin for laundry. Being smaller and far less lavish than formal country kitchens, farmhouse country kitchens had fewer pieces of furniture for storage, used plate racks to dry dishes rather than to display fine crockery and had simple cabinet doors screened with chicken wire and nails.
  
  

Modern Country Kitchen

• The 20th century introduced an attitude of relaxation and ease, especially in the United States. Country kitchens today are still designed to be functional, but comfort and aesthetic charm are equally important. Today's kitchens allow homeowners to incorporate historical elements through the use of accessories made of copper and wrought iron and slate, as well as elements of nature and simple country life through wallpapers, paints and dishes, while still enjoying the benefits of modern appliances.