Reinventing the shaker kitchen design with some inspiration from cottage core

The latest TikTok trend of the cottage core lifestyle brought us back to the countryside, where we used to visit our grandparents and live a slow life. However, this rural feeling is more polished now, packed with cleaner aesthetics and high-quality products. Indeed, people are looking for ways to escape the city’s loudness but still make use of technology and new designs, which may be the outcome of being overwhelmed with work or general obligations.

Regardless of why you’d like to get closer to nature and surround yourself with brown tones, leveraging the shaker kitchen style is a great way to build a practical space while blending in the cottage core design will make the kitchen seem more welcoming. So, here’s how to do it. 

Insert vintage pieces 

While the shaker kitchen style asks for straightforward products, cutlery and decorations, you can still keep the prime look of the room with some vintage pieces you can find online. Some great ideas include open shelves, weathered-like cabinets and appliances that look slightly stripped and even some fun and bright elements, such as barstools that enhance one part of the kitchen. 

Of course, the shaker kitchen has some defining features, such as minimal profiling and symmetrical cabinetry, but you can easily change it based on what vintage products you can find. From teapots to clocks, you can introduce most vintage pieces in the kitchen to make it look classical. 

Don’t be afraid of floral wallpaper 

Floral wallpaper is underrated, even though it reminds us of old houses. There are so many designs nowadays that can brighten up your kitchen that you don’t need to put the same outdated Victorian wallpaper, but research the new models. It would be best to choose warm colours, such as yellow, gold, beige and creamy neutrals, to give off the shaker kitchen vibe. 

Floral wallpapers are also great because you can easily change them if you’re living in a rented space or might simply get tired of the design. Moreover, they’re the perfect solution for imperfect walls or paint, so you’ll save time and money. 

Choose distinct patterns 

Besides the floral wallpaper, you can play with patterns around the kitchen when it comes to upholstering. If you’re tired of the old chairs or want to improve the look of your bench, this process will offer a new life to your belongings. Upholstering with patterns gives you infinite arrangements, so it doesn’t have to look messy. 

Fun patterns can also be present in your cutlery and decorative pieces, but also in floor tiles, backsplash tiles and geometric forms. For instance, you can add some patterned wood to your countertops to add a rustic feel to the kitchen. 

Approach wire mesh for a dreamy look 

Wire mesh and similar-looking materials are the basis of the shaker kitchen, but also for the cottage core design, so it shouldn’t be missed in your space. There are so many ways to introduce it in the room, from decorative mesh for cabinet doors to metal mesh pot racks that are both practical and aesthetic. Even mesh fruit baskets look great if accompanied by similar designs. 

However, wire mesh can be pretty sensitive to scratches and falling, so you must be careful when choosing it for one of your kitchen decoration projects. It’s best to analyse where it can get less damage so the mesh can last a while. 

Add a lot of greenery 

In other kitchen designs, such as the industrial one, greenery is advised to be inserted scarcely to give the impression of minimalism and urbanism. On the contrary, the shaker kitchen and cottage core ideas ask for as much greenery as possible because it transforms the place to seem closer to nature. Luckily, plants are easy to introduce in the kitchen since you can find numerous products on the market;

You can place the plants and points wherever there’s enough space, but ideally, you put them in busy spots, such as above the sink, to shelving or cabinets to add more visual interest. However, creating a terrace garden, a vertical garden wall or hanging some floating shelves around the room are also great ideas. 

Use the proper colour scheme 

While there isn’t a single colour scheme that screams cottage core, the main rule of necessary tones includes muted and warm shades. This soft aesthetic comes with wood and copper materials, floral inspirations and rustic yellows blending into an imperfect kitchen. If you’re looking for inspiration, the basic tones you should approach include pink, yellow, green and blue. 

Some great colour combinations include cream and baby blues, sky blue and natural green or pink and mahogany. It’s up to you to decide which colour is for the walls or the appliances, but they’ll work great together. 

Display your favourite collection 

Whether you like to collect mugs, cups or special plates, now it’s the time to display your collection in your open shelf cabinet. Since we talk about cottage core, the collection can be messy because this is where it sustains its beauty, but if you’d like to start a collection and hunt unique vintage pieces, it’ll be easier to organise the cabinet.

At the same time, kitchen collections don’t have to revolve around one product type, so you can gather different pottery models with colours that don’t match a set. Such collected pieces will definitely impress your guests and also make you feel better when entering the kitchen since you have a new passion for the kitchen. 

Bottom line 

The shaker kitchen style is a timeless design that many can approach effortlessly, but it can sometimes get old and boring, so you might want to add a little spice to it. That’s why we combined some cottage core elements in the staple design, because it’s based on a similar concept but more polished and modern. The cottage core trend got people’s attention through the famous TikTok platform recently, and it’s been adopted in clothing and lifestyle ever since.