French country kitchens bring an old world rustic look and feel to your modern-day home.
The focus of this style is to create a space that is warm and inviting for every day living and special entertaining.
This look is easy to achieve whether you are remodeling your current kitchen or building a new home.
One of the key aspects of this style is the color you use. Think earth tones. The most popular colors used are browns, deep reds, olive greens, cream and of course terracotta or burnt orange.
Keep in mind when choosing your cabinet finish, dark, rustic and worn will compliment your possible kitchen color schemes. You may even want to consider lighter woods that show the character of the species like knotty pine cabinets.
Using color and texture is very important. In addition to colors being earthy, French Country kitchens showcases natural outdoor materials inside the home. Think about having exposed posts and beams on the ceiling.
For the walls, old world homes were often made of plaster. But by using special paint colors, skip troweled or faux finishes, you can get the same look.
Another way to bring texture and nature into your kitchen design is by using brick or stone in the layout. A great option for this is to add stone or brick to a wall or a section of wall for that “old-world feel.” Expand on that by using hardwood or terracotta tiles on the floor. Think about using a distressed or scraped hardwood floor for added texture.
French Country kitchens will boast beautiful kitchen granite countertops, tile or wood counter tops. If you can’t decide, think about using a combination of the materials. For example, use granite on your main countertop, but add a hardwood top to your island or vice versa. If hardwood is not your first choice, try a different color in the same substance.
Accessorize
This elegant kitchen style often features shelving, alcoves and hanging pots as décor. When possible add a kitchen pot rack above your island. Hang shelves on the walls and create niches or alcoves within the walls.
Unique to this style is the hanging of copper pots. This can be done on a wrought iron rack above your island or stove top, or simply on the walls.
If you have an island prep sink, choose a copper bar sink to go along with this style. The combination of copper and wrought iron is also an eye-catcher. You may want to look at using a copper kitchen sink to compliment this kitchen style as well.
Consider using wrought iron hardware on your cabinets, or lantern style lighting fixtures to tie your kitchen together.
In French European kitchen design the kitchen was often a gathering place as it is today. For that reason, over-sized furniture pieces such as a table and seating was common.
Whether you are looking for a dramatic new kitchen design done by specialist, or you are doing the work yourself, you must start with great kitchen layout design. To achieve the warm, inviting atmosphere that French country kitchens offer, carefully choose your colors, textures and materials for the area.
Use any and all available space for shelving and storage, and enhance the look with key decorative pieces that speak to the time.
Your kitchen will be the focal point of your home and a place friends and family will enjoy gathering for hours.
