Our Best Cottage Kitchens

Decorative touches—like green soapstone counters and tole fronts on the upper cabinets—add color and style to the white kitchen without taking up space. The marble-and-iron table also doubles as an island work surface.

Push-out casement windows and panked walls add to the kitchen's vintage feel.

This kitchen was designed to be the biggest room in the house. There's no formal dining space except for the large farm table. And the industrial island offers a utilitarian twist to contrast with the room's old-world style.

Tour the rest of this New Orleans cottage house

Clean and simple materials help this kitchen be both stylish and functional.

Tour the rest of this Birmingham kitchen makeover

A small but efficient island holds refrigerator drawers and a bookcase for cookbooks. Painted deep gray to contrast with the lighter color of the cabinets and topped with marble, it feels vintage and authentic to the homes' architecture.

Tour the rest of this Cape Cod-style makeover

At first glance, the cool blue cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and quartz countertops portray a clean, sleek, modern style. But look closer and such details as beaded board and open shelving show a casual side.

Tour the rest of this his-and-hers dream kitchen

The owners transformed their ranch-style house into a cottage with this family-room-turned-kitchen as the star. The counters and island are topped with an African wood called iroko, which is highly resistant to moisture and easy to maintain.

A large framed opening keeps everything airy and well connected, while a combination of closed-front cabinets and open shelves maximizes space in the small kitchen and keeps it from feeling static. The movable butcher-block-topped island also provides extra prep space.

Tour the rest of this prefabricated cottage home with coastal style

The homeowners mixed old and new materials, decorating with found objects, like the shrimpers’ rope that accents the edge of their countertop.

Tour the rest of this Alabama country cottage

Large spaces–like this bright, roomy kitchen–can convey a cottage feel, too. The owner added 15 feet to the room and a row of French doors for maximum light and a view of the garden out back.

A rustic farm table takes the place of a central island in the kitchen, creating a spot for casual meals.

Tour the rest of this South Carolina renovation

The patterned floor, created by a local artist, anchors the cool, colorful cabinets.

An added vegetable sink creates two prep areas in this efficient galley kitchen.

Tour the rest of this Florida cottage home

New maple-veneer cabinets inspired by 1950s furniture continue the cottage's mid-century feel.

Tour the rest of this real-life cottage relocation

Classic colors in the kitchen make it feel airy and clean. The blue accents add warmth and interest, and tier curtains maintain privacy without blocking natural light.

The homeowners chose details that forgive wear and tear, like the Virginia slate countertops and custom sink made out of the same dark slate.

Tour the rest of this Virginia designer home

In this updated kitchen, which presented little opportunity for adding softness, the homeowner evoked warmth with color and texture. Against a backdrop of bright white open shelves and stainless steel appliances, she added a soft-black painted island topped with butcher-block. She also made sure to match the room's longleaf pine floors to the original boards that run throughout the downstairs.

• See more of this Country Texas Farmhouse