Farmhouse Style Kitchen: How to Decorate Above Your Cabinets

Farmhouse style kitchens blend rustic features, natural materials and lived-in warmth, creating a timeless and comforting appeal. Characteristic of 1900s English farmhouses, this kitchen style is designed to invite gatherings, conversations and hearty meals. The beauty of it is that you don’t need to live in a country cottage to incorporate farmhouse charm into your kitchen.

Decorating the space above your cabinets gives you the perfect opportunity to add the warmth and texture intrinsic to the farmhouse style.

If you’re currently redesigning your kitchen or searching for finishing touches, here’s how to interweave the cottage-core style into your above-cabinet decor:

1. Curate Vintage-Inspired Vignettes

A key element of the farmhouse kitchen style is including pieces that evoke nostalgia. Vintage items are overflowing with stories that create a homely, inviting atmosphere. Use the space above your cabinets to display an arrangement of pieces that feel decorative and deeply personal.

Types of decor that are suitable for creating this effect include:

• Glass apothecary jars filled with dried pasta, beans or lentils to incorporate culinary elements or add dried herbs, cotton balls, and potpourri to create warmth.

• Enamelware with character, such as bowls, plates or jugs with a vintage-inspired design or extraordinary shape to bring in pattern.

• Rustic picture frames or botanical prints leaned against the wall to create a lived-in atmosphere.

• Vintage cookbooks and recipe prints can be stacked or leaned against one another to create layers within your arrangement.

Project 93: Traditional. Farmhouse. In-frame.

In Project 93, we designed a traditional farmhouse kitchen, pairing sage-green cabinetry with vintage-inspired jugs, ceramic vases and floral touches. These would work beautifully styled in a kitchen with greater above-cabinet space.

2. Bring in Baskets

To add a combined function and texture to the space above your cabinets, bring in baskets. They’re not only the perfect way to craft a rustic design, they’re actually useful too.

Select rattan, natural seagrass or wicker materials to bring texture and rustic warmth. Group your baskets in twos or threes to contribute to the popular layered effect in farmhouse-style kitchens.

To fill them up, roll or fold doilies and linens, add pinecones or soaps wrapped in paper and twine. If you’d like to incorporate light, include candles held up by sand or beans, and fairy lights draped through.

These baskets can be a simple aspect of your seasonal decor rotation. To honour spring, you can include faux eggs, chick decorations and pastel coloured items. For summer, think lemons, daisies and gingham linens. During autumn, you can incorporate mini pumpkins, cinnamon sticks and dried corn. Come winter, sprinkle berries and snow-dusted accents.

3. Lean Into Greenery

Within a farmhouse design, natural elements are always interwoven. The style holds an effortless connection between the home and the land that surrounds it. Adding greenery above your cabinets is a subtle, yet impactful, way to echo that connection and infuse your kitchen with a serene feel.

Incorporating greenery adds to the farmhouse feel and creates a peaceful environment.

The greenery you choose can be faux if you’re kitchen lets in limited light. Trailing stems such as eucalyptus, English ivy, or spider plants adorned along the tops of cabinets will breathe life into your kitchen.

Utilising greenery is an excellent opportunity to add more character to your farmhouse design by encasing your plants in wicker or ceramic pots. To intensify the farmhouse feel, these pots can be filled with olive branches or sage to reflect the natural foliage you would find in a farmhouse.

4. Add Art and Rustic Signage

The cottage charm is captured thoughtfully through a handmade sign or a softly aged piece of artwork. Art and signage above your cabinets draw attention upwards, enhancing both personality and the height of your space.

Whether it’s a botanical print, a watercolour of a peaceful scene, or a vintage sign, it sets a grounded tone while bringing character to your space. Keep your colour palette soft and muted to mimic the countryside calm of a farmhouse kitchen.

Position your pieces casually leaning against the wall, behind baskets or layered with plant garlands and dried florals. If you’re working with low ceilings, choose a long horizontal sign to decorate the area without adding bulk.

Bring the Farmhouse Style Home

Styling the space above your cabinets is a way to tell your home’s story.

The farmhouse style is rooted in meaningful, personal touches.

At Cwtch Haus, we believe every kitchen deserves to feel deeply personal. We specialise in bespoke interior design solutions tailored to your space and story.

Contact us for a free consultation with one of our experts about your design choices.

For more inspiration, visit our blog page.