French Kitchen Style - From Paris To The Country! (10 comments)

I'm feeling especially like a Francophile this month! With the Tour de France going on all month and Bastille Day in a few days, not to mention my recent visit to Paris, I'm in a really French mood.

French kitchen design can be widely interpreted. Like many styles and themes, one has the option to move toward a higher level of authenticity or to define one's own interpretation. It's all good.

Within this ideabook, design details are selected which might contribute to the French kitchen style in a more authentic way. What is missing is an image of limestone. Limestone abounds in France, as I witnessed in my recent visit to (fabulous) Paris.

A mix of old and new, farmhouse and formal often (not always) defines a French kitchen. Elegant neutrals may be well suited in an elegant Parisian kitchen. Black and creme, so elegant! Bright colors are often seen in country tile, even cabinetry in a country setting. In the very chic Parisian apartment I recently stayed in, the kitchen had modern glossy red cabinetry and gray countertops, not formal and neutral colors as noted above but tres chic! A formal French kitchen might incorporate an uber stylized sense of glamour with gleaming surfaces, rich color and polished metal finishes for a distinctive and fabulous French theme.

So, a French kitchen is also about the passion for cooking! We often see cookware beautifully displayed, with wonderfully designed hoods that are an architectural element, and serious cooking stations. Perhaps stone countertops, rustic beams, and a use of concrete in modern French kitchens maintain a sense of history and elements from nature add to the feeling of permanence.

Curvilinear elements are assumed as mandatory, but that is not the case necessarily. For more decorative accents, add traditional toile at the windows and/or seat cushions, beautiful sconces and fabrics from a French fabric house. The accessories serve as an important "layer" within a French kitchen.

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