This Stunning Cabinet Door Idea Will Give Your Kitchen A Gorgeous Rustic Feel

The best rustic-designed rooms have an abundance of texture and visual interest. This includes kitchens, which can employ a number of elements that cement the look, including wood pieces with a lot of wear and charm, richly-patinated metals, and ruddy textures like woven fabrics and hand-hewn pottery. While popular cabinetry options for rustic kitchens include everything from classic Shaker-style cabinets to glass-fronted doors, one overlooked option can add additional rustic charm to your kitchen as an alternative. Shuttered and slatted doors can provide even more texture and sculptural interest, as well as a nod to kitchens of the past.

These shutter-style doors, sometimes called louvered doors, are great as an alternative to other kinds of cabinets that may read too sleek and modern in rustic spaces. They can also fill in as stylish replacements for outdated styles, like raised-panel or completely flat doors popular in the last 40 years. Shuttered cabinet doors can also be a great way to upcycle unused window shutters from an older home that are still in great condition.

Very often evoking charming old French countryside kitchens, shutter doors can be a stunning accent in newer kitchens, especially when given a look of age and wear. They also give a feeling of openness and airflow, while still allowing you to hide the contents of the cabinets. "An excellent choice for bringing in a rustic, warm feel," Chris Alexakis of Cabinet Select tells Livingetc, "shutters add texture to your kitchen and give a casual and inviting aesthetic."

Alexakis also explains that, "In terms of space, shutters — especially when painted in light colors — can reflect light and make the area feel larger." While many cabinet doors can feel heavy or flat, making the space feel like it is closing in, the horizontal texture of shutter-style doors can have the opposite effect. This can be great for smaller kitchens, especially those in tiny homes or studio apartments where the cabinets are usually visible from other zones of the home.

Louvered doors work well on larger spans of cabinetry, or as a limited accent with other varieties of cabinet doors for an eclectic look, including other popular rustic approaches like open shelving, chicken wire, and beadboard. Try a set of long doors as a way to conceal a pantry or as a great front for a hidden fridge or appliance garage. They also make stylish doors for freestanding or hanging cupboards and pantries, adding even more dimension and texture to modern-farmhouse, coastal, or cottage-style kitchens. If you want the look of shutters but cannot change out your cabinets, consider adding some old shutter doors as a wall accent to hang pots or mugs off of, or use large shutters as a hinged room divider. Old shutters also make great DIY plate racks.

While the rustic French country style revels in chipped paint and worn finishes, you can also paint shuttered doors for a cleaner and more modern effect that will complement many of today's more contemporary design schemes, including Balinese or tropical-inspired aesthetics. For these more streamlined styles, try matte black, neutral shades, or natural light wood as a finish.