- Cottage style is relaxed and casual yet purposefully pretty -- it's perfect for beautifully aged flea market finds. Accomplish a casual look by using a variety of mismatched chairs around you kitchen table. To keep the look pretty, choose chairs with charming details such as graceful, curved legs, carved backs and turned spindles. Give each chair a coat of pastel-colored paint and distress the finish for a time-worn look.
- Sun-faded pastels and bright neutrals give a feminine, romantic to the kitchen and help place emphasis on natural light coming in through the windows. Pick several soft shades and use one to paint the walls, one for furniture and still another for trim and accessories. One benefit of pastels is that they all look pretty together.
- A cottage kitchen is no place for aluminum mini blinds. Remove boring or austere window treatments and replace them with softly colored fabric ones, such as white lace panels, cute ruffled floral panels or tie-top cafe curtains with a ruffled valance. Vintage tea towels, embroidered tablecloths or even an old calico apron are clever sources for antique fabric that can be made into a whimsical curtain or valance. Use lightweight fabrics that let plenty of light filter through.
- For a charming country cottage look at the sink, remove the cabinet doors below the sink and replace them with a gathered sink skirt. Sew a rod pocket into a panel that's at least twice as wide as the opening. Hem all sides and hang it over the cabinet opening with a tension rod. Cute stripes, polka dots and florals are all good choices for sink skirt fabric.
- Cottage style embraces everyday objects as art. Remove the doors or add glass panels to at least one of your kitchen's cabinets so that its contents are put on display for artful enjoyment. Place your prettiest ceramic bowls, pitchers and china in these cabinets to help decorate the room.
Flea Market Finds
Soft Color Palette
White Lace or Pale Floral Curtains
Sink Skirt
Doorless Cabinets or Glass-front Cabinets
Source...