From the country to the city, it seems like these days the “rustic” look is becoming more popular for kitchens. Maybe it’s the cozy feeling of being ‘at-home’ that a more natural, down-to-earth look can bring. Maybe it’s the feeling of peace that comfortable, unadorned settings can cause for many people. Or maybe they just like the look of plain wood! Whatever the reason, rustic kitchens are a popular choice for homes of any size these days. Of course, with any new decorative style in a home, especially in a room that demands as much practicality as the kitchen does, it begs the question just how are you going to use all this? If you want your kitchen to have a more rustic touch that’s still practical and usable, here’s a couple ways we think you can change both the look and function of your kitchen: Wooden wall shelves: Since most of the thinking behind the rustic look is to find bare-looking wood to decorate with and give your kitchen a more ‘farmhouse’ vibe, the first step might be to replace a lot of your more laminated or plastic-looking shelving with wooden wall shelving or rustic wall shelves. This will make sure you’re not losing out on storage space simply for aesthetic concerns and make sure everything is as functional as it is good-looking. Wooden shelf liners: The trick with rustic designs is that you want as much of a natural setting as you can go for, but not at the expense of usable counter space. If you have installations in your kitchen that can’t easily be removed, like built-in shelves or marble/plastic counter space, you may be able to use wood grain shelf liners to help bring the look together a little better. Butcher blocks: You can also achieve a similar effect with wooden butcher blocks. By placing these atop shelves or bare counter space, you can maintain a rustic look while providing more functional counter space for cooking, preparing, or serving dishes. Wooden mobile storage: Not everything in a rustic kitchen needs to be built right into the house. A lot of kitchens these days rely on mobile storage like kitchen carts to keep things organized and convenient, and keeping a few wooden kitchen islands around will contribute to your desired look and can help with the rustic mood while making sure you can still serve dinner and drinks faster than ever before.