Hacienda Home Style .com

Quite often older homes have a certain flair and old world feel regardless of the style of home. If your house is a mid-century Spanish style home, you may want to have an old world style kitchen to bring back the charm of years gone by. Here are some ideas of how you can create old world style kitchens even in modern homes.

Old world kitchens typically have large cooking hearths and distressed walls. Cabinets had raised panel doors but they may have seemed mismatched. You might also find cabinets that have cracked. The cabinets will have dish and cup racks. This style of kitchen may be traced back to the years prior to seventeenth century Europe.

Pewter or copper accents and mosaic tiles are also common in old world style kitchens. Expect to find deep, rich colors and panels that hide appliances. Stone walls and floors are also indicative of this style of kitchen.

Think about the details when you’re renovating a kitchen in the old world style. You obviously won’t want a small kitchen with modern, stainless steel appliances as the focal point. This doesn’t mean you can’t have the modern conveniences; you just don’t want them to be visible.

Natural surfaces are what you’re looking for. Wood and stone will be evident all over the kitchen. Wooden cabinets, elaborate wood trim, and even wooden paneled ceilings would help capture the old world style you’re looking for.

Don’t forget about stone surfaces to complete the look. Stone tiles and slabs can be used for the counter tops, walls, or floors. Granite and marble can be used for cabinet tops or the floor. You can either have polished surfaces or distressed for a time-worn appearance.

Metallic fixtures would be a great lighting choice in an old world style kitchen to finish off the look. Try to find wrought iron chandeliers or rustic tin wall sconces. These can be painted or left plain, but with a matte finish, so they appear to be antiques.

Remember that you’re trying to give the impression that your kitchen was moved over from the old world and put into your home. If you have actual antiques that you can place in your kitchen that would make the room seem more authentic.

If you have a hacienda or other Spanish influenced house, an old world style kitchen might be the perfect choice for your home. You may want to consider this style of kitchen if you are planning to remodel.

Check out this article on: Creating a Distressed Look on a Kitchen Island

Here is a great resource on Mexican Kitchen Decor:

Mexicocina: The Spirit and Style of the Mexican Kitchen

photo credit: NancyHugoCKD.com

I often wonder what it would be like to live in Mexico on a large hacienda with a Spanish style homes kitchen.  Kitchens are the heart of the home… and in Mexico this couldn’t be a more true statement.

Most Mexican kitchens are filled with color featuring a combination of traditional Mexican decorative arts and the hacienda or home owners’ creative style.

Colorful talavera tiles and pottery and dishware are plentiful in a hacienda style kitchen.  Usually their is a representation of San Pasqual - the patron saint of cooks and kitchens.  He blesses every kettle, pot and spoon.  I have several in my kitchen… I need all the help I can get.

Infuse your kitchen with a little flavor of Old Mexico. By combining Old World style mixed with carefully concealed contemporary innovation… it is possible to have the look and feel of a Spanish style kitchen with all the modern conveniences needed in todays’ lifestyle.

A new book (well… it is a year old) came to my attention by a reader.  Mexicocina is a tour of kitchens of Mexico, including private homes, haciendas and cooking schools.

The use of tile in every kitchen will have you drooling.  Page after page of full color photographs filled with warm, comfortable kitchens… dripping with handmade Mexican tile.  Colorful and muted counters, floors and walls fill the pages of this big glossy soft covered book. It is 175 pages and heavy… too heavy for a lazy beach day read.  This book is for serious research.

The use of color, paint and texture is always amazing and surprising to the Gringo in us all.  But… learn to be brave. Nothing done with color or paint is permanent.  It can be changed in a few years… or a few days if your partner can’t live with it.

In looking for ideas for my own kitchen remodel, most of the kitchens pictured in this book have high ceilings.  Smart choice in warm weather areas. Heat rises and it is trapped up at the ceiling letting cool breezes flow through the many doors and windows.  By having tile on the floor… it also traps the cool evening temperatures and that can feel great on your toes when it is hot and steamy outside.

The idea of a large range hood has been appealing to me. It looks authentic and traditional. Mexicocina is filled with ideas for massive stove hoods. Some are plain stucco with hand hewn beams, while others are covered with tile or murals.

The colors of historical Mexico are derived from the pigments of minerals, vegetables, insects, and seashells… creating warm yellow ochre, sumptuous indigo blue, brilliant carmine red, and pale icy purples.

Think of mixing

• Terra Cotta orange with Mediterranean Blue
• Sunny Yellow with Cobalt Blue
• Creamy White with Brick Red
• Pink, Orange and Blue
• Yellow, Green, Turquoise and Orange

These are the colors of Mexico. Always… Blue seems to be in the picture. Some kitchens are and entire feast of blue and white and other cocinas have just a touch or two.

The Mexican kitchens that fill the pages of this book are artists… and it shows. The eye for color, pattern and texture permeates the pages. In some of the photos… it seems as if they should smell of great home cooked tamales.

In fact… this book has many recipes included. Some I have never heard of…

• Chilies En Nogada
• Trufas de Chocolate Con Carne
• Gazpacho de Mango
• Quesadillas de Brie Con Salsa de Fruta

And…. we also get a tour of Casa de Alfenique in Puebla, Mexico at the Museum of the Revolution, historic kitchens from the 1800’s.

Amazing tile, recipe and colorful paint.  Ohhhh…. I am in heaven.

Mexicocina: The Spirit and Style of the Mexican Kitchen

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