French Country or Traditional style kitchen
Take a step back to a time when the kitchen was truly the heart of the home. Where the kitchen was cheery and welcoming, painted in warm, earthy colours - where the entire family gathered together to relax and partake in home cooked meals and casual conversation.
French Country and traditional style kitchens have always had a timeless design that never seems to go out of style. Here are a few tips on how you can turn a bland kitchen into a space with atmosphere and warmth, without the exuberant price tag.
Wood surfaces that have acquired a patina of age, in muted colour, and with architectural detail, are typical of the French Country kitchen. Slight ornamentation and crown moulding often adorns upper cabinets. Knotted pine and walnut wood cabinets are rich in textures but light in appearance.
Dark woods and painted cabinetry are combined with the lighter cabinets to give French Country style a more modern edge
As the heart of the home, celebrating life's accomplishments is historically how families and friends gathered around the kitchen. A combination of natural materials, architectural details and design work together to re-create the timeless appeal of a French Country or country kitchen.
The centrepiece of a true reproduction kitchen is the centre island. Finished in granite, marble, and wood, with additional seating - the island brings guests and host together in the true tradition of French Country styling. Countertops adorned with plate racks, porcelain sinks and brass fittings are just a few final touches that makes a French Country kitchen desirable
Elegant lighting is a fundamental element of a traditional kitchen, whether you choose a classic chandelier or wrought iron candelabra. Iron, brushed oil, copper and metal with aged patinas are a truly wonderful feature when combined with a rack of hanging copper pots set above a countertop or sink.
Scouring secondhand and pawn shops, checking out online bargains, as well as the occasional estate auction, may surprise you with the bargains that you can pick up. With a little elbow grease and a can or two of Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint, you can transform junk into practical and beautiful pieces for your kitchen.
Create the look:
The beauty of Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint is that is paints on wood, plastic, metal, concrete, glass, vinyl, and more. All that is required is a little light sanding to remove old or flaking paint, before taking the chandelier outdoors for a coat of paint.
Be on the lookout for vintage items, as these will add to the overall sense of authenticity. What is most important is the general look and feel overall. If you love the feel of it, you have probably created a cohesive and beautiful French Country kitchen!
Who doesn't love gathering around a roaring fire, or baking a pizza in an authentic brick oven? In most French Country and traditional kitchens you'll find a replica of a fireplace that is replicated by adding fume hoods and decorative brick or stone arches throughout the kitchen to give the feeling of a hearth.
Unlike other design styles, French Country and traditional kitchens are about evoking a familiar feeling of the traditional, simpler life and all the amenities that it offers.
Today's take on a French Country kitchen is to incorporate all the traditional design elements with a few modern touches:. Cabinets and doors finished in a distressed, Milk painted finish, natural stone tiled walls, and floors that make use of sustainable materials such as brick, tile and bamboo.
In you are renovating your kitchen as a do-it-yourself project, and you’re not working with true antique or vintage items, take the time to apply the right techniques to give a distressed and weathered appearance to your walls, furniture, or other items. For example, antique furniture tends to have many layers of paint built up over the many years it has existed.
One great tip for achieving the look of Old Worlde finish on walls is to use a textured paint and glaze to give it a decoratively distressed appearance.
Choose soft earth tones for your French Country kitchen: ivory, cream, taupe and pale gold with splashes of golden yellows, moss green, burgundy reds, teal and French blue. Add interest, texture and additional colour with woven baskets, floral motifs, decorative shelves and trim to add to the atmosphere.
Accent colours should be convincing in their intensity: When using red, seek out reds more on the orange side, and when using yellow, look for golden shades. Be careful with greens and blues, which should be more subdued.
Accessories should look as though they’ve been collected over time and are cherished possessions with a patina that comes from decades of dusting and polishing. Decorative, ceramic tiles and terracotta displays on walls or counters are perfect for a French Country kitchen. Add hand-painted ceramics with rooster, fleur-de-lis, and flower motifs in plates, sugar and flour pots, and vases.
