| Deer Skye Quilt and Home Design

French Country with its simplistic yet elegant style along with its European ambience is still widely used in kitchen design. It’s comfortable, casual and elegance make it a desirable design. If you are debating about designing your kitchen in this style, don’t worry! It is here to stay.

French Country style is timeless. It is alive and well! You continue to see elements of French Country Design used often in kitchen design. Weathered wood, ceiling beams, decorative range hoods, tile, natural stone, brick , and wood flooring, distressed and painted French Country furniture, vintage accessories, copper accents, toile fabrics, cabinetry while traditional looking may have molding or carvings, corbels, neutral or soft paint colors, and hanging chandeliers all elements and evidence of the French Country look still shows up often in kitchen design. People love the comfortable and casual elegance of this style making it desirable in the kitchen. Even major design magazines showcase kitchens that are designed in French Country style. Because this style is a traditional based design, it will last. If you are considering decorating your kitchen in French Country you will be in good company because it will most likely be around for a very long time. You often see French Country Accents in wallpaper, matching sconces, lavender filled baskets, cement crocks, or white pitchers, large round glass or wooden clocks with roman numerals, and the fleur de lis symbol. You can design your kitchen with a more modern vibe and still create a French Country look. Or keep it on the old world side, decorating around the traditional style of this interior design.

Timeless Style

Elements of French Design are timeless, meaning they never go out of style. I love French country design. It is anything but boring and won’t disappear. Having studied abroad in Europe, I am drawn to aspects and ambience of European kitchen design especially French Country and French Farmhouse. A great quote I came across by Coco Chanel demonstrates how important timeless design is,” Fashion changes, but style endures.” Elements of French Country such as weathered wood and exposed beams have that timeless look that endures.

Weathered wood can be found in flooring, cabinetry, and accents such as wooden bread boards, wooden bowls wooden trays, wooden risers, and wooden spoons. Exposed wooden beams count too but they are beautiful and timeless in and of themselves.Wooden beams add a majestic look to any home and especially French Country Design. This style is demonstrated in many homes today. Only one aspect of French Country Kitchen Design. You can even DIY wooden beams in your own kitchen.

Elements of French Country Design

I talked about a couple of timeless elements above and there are many more that make French Country the stylish design that it is.

Decorative Range Hood- Plaster hoods have such a beautiful European look to them. So streamlined and simply elegant looking in a kitchen! Wood, brick and copper hoods have a striking look to them as well. Each room should have a focal point and a French Country range hood would steal the show! You see decorative range hoods often in kitchens.
Tile flooring- checkerboard and other hand painted tiles can be visually pleasing in a French Country kitchen. Even a simple white or cream tile design could be timeless.
Brick- as flooring has French Country charm to it. It gives your space a relaxed unique look.
Natural Stone- is very European looking when done in a matte white, cream, greige, or tan. Especially really large stones set in place on your kitchen floor I’m talking like bigger than the typical 12″ x 12″.
Wood flooring- such a nice touch. There is something timeless and stylish when you choose the right wood flooring for your kitchen space. For a French Country wood floor, you can choose an aged wood look, a lighter wood look, a herring bone look, you have a lot of leeway here.
French Country Furniture- includes curved lines, paint distressed or paint glazed chairs and armoires, painted white or soft colors, tufted wingback chairs or sofa and pillows with the traditional canvas fabric pillows with a black on white bee or crown design. Lots of great options for stylish and traditional furniture that fits the French Country vibe.
Vintage Accessories- this is where I can go crazy! Love the vintage that is typical of French Country. From a simple silver rusted bucket filled with fresh or faux flowers to a gold gilded mirror you can find all sorts of vintage at your local thrift store and work into your French Country decor.
Copper Accents- got copper pans perfect! If you can add some copper touches, to your kitchen, it has the French look!
Toile fabrics-are beautiful and meet the timeless factor! Toile is used in French Country kitchens. You can incorporate it in greens, blues, reds, blacks, etc…and use it for curtains, toile covered chair seats, and table linens. It provides an interesting backdrop to French Country kitchens.
Cabinetry- traditional in design and then put up a notch with beautiful detailed moldings and or carvings. Cabinetry can be as fancy or toned down as you like. For some Country French kitchens it is all about the muted colors such as green or blue.
Corbels-I love the look of wooden or metal corbels but particularly wooden corbels. Put them under your island and to hold up your wooden shelves. They can be very ornate and also just displayed on a shelf or countertop as kitchen decor. Wood or plaster are typical materials that corbels are made out of.
Neutral Soft Paint Colors-whites and creams are often seen in French Country Kitchen design. You can introduce a soft French Blue, some pale greens, pinks, and other soft colors to enhance your main neutral paint color.It’s okay to get creative just keep simple and some rustic elegance in mind.
Chandelier heaven-comes in different shapes and sizes from gold arms displaying crystal jewelry on them to wooden chic chandelier designs and black metal designs. Lighting can make all the difference in your kitchen. Really elevate your look or downplay it for a more simple look Find what you like best, and choose the right size for your kitchen to get that French Country style that best defines YOU in your kitchen.

Comfortable, Casual, Rustic, Elegant, And Traditional In The Kitchen

The appeal of French Country starts with traditional bones. This is one reason this style is timeless and here to stay. It presents a comfortable, casual elegance that doesn’t overwhelm or look gaudy. I think you can interpret French Country design in your kitchen as bold or as soft as you want to. Whatever you are comfortable with. You can go all out natural stone on the walls, backsplash, range hood and then some aged wood flooring. Or get a more subtle French Country look using soft muted green tone cabinets with a stone or plaster range hood and wood or tile floor. The choices are endless and you can still get what classifies as French Country or Country French.

The elegance of this style can be displayed into decor in several ways.

1. Lighting can be upscale or more simplistic just depending on how elegant you want your French Country kitchen to look. Chandeliers would be included in this discussion because they indicate French Country.

2.French styled furniture can be formal and add elegance to your kitchen. Most furniture has curved legs, tufting on sofas. Beautiful wing back chairs are a work of art. White painted chairs that have been distressed add a French charm to your dining room decor.

3. Gilded gold mirrors add elegance to your kitchen. Also touches of gold on cabinetry and accessories indicate French Country. There is a trend to display mirrors in kitchens. Mirrors with a fancy trimmed frame in gold or white or aged gold leans toward the French look. Very chic and beautiful displayed the right way in a French Country kitchen.

4. Corbels have a beautiful elegant style all their own. I love corbels! They can be used in French Country kitchen decor so many ways! You will see them used in doorways, under shelves, as decor laying on a counter, and under the counter on an island. Some use corbels on their cabinetry which clues you in right away that you are standing in a Country French kitchen.

Magazines Spotlight French Country Kitchen

If you look through a variety of magazines you will find evidence of French Country kitchen design. It pops up on a consistent basis. You can find it online as well. There are actually magazines such as Country French and Victoria Magazine expressly for this type of style. However you will find examples of this style in a variety of kitchen decor magazines. A sure sign that French Country is still alive and very much in style.

I recognize there are trends and trends come and go but true style stays. You can decorate your kitchen in comfort, style, and design with what you like and are comfortable with. I am drawn to French Country because of the European appeal. To me it is welcoming and has an aged warmth about it that is enduring and I love the ambience it gives. It isn’t cookie cutter design like a lot of houses that are built which means the same cabinetry and the same design. Creativity is always at its best in French Country style. Merging the old with the new gives your kitchen a sense of uniqueness and fun when done tastefully.

French Country style has evolved over the years and has a modern feel to it. It also can have a farmhouse vibe to it. It’s charming and stylish at the same time. There can be a rustic feel to it as well. You just have to identify your sense of style and what you like when it comes to French Country. All of these aspects make it a beautiful option when designing a European kitchen combined with a bit of American farmhouse.

French Country Accents Sticking Around

Notice as you visit homes and as you browse rooms online notice how much people use French Country accents. You know those huge wooden round clocks you see in farmhouse decor count that as French Country too. A glass round clock with roman numerals fits in that French Country style too.

Another beautiful simple touch of French Country is a cement crock, a basket or a tin bucket filled with lavender. Love this look! I actually have an old white ceramic pitcher filled with lavender from my yard.There is just something so romantic about fresh or dried lavender in an aged container.

Fleur de lis or lily in French is a design you often see in decor. It is a strong indication that French Country isn’t going anywhere. Sconces, candlesticks, candelabra, vases of romantic bouquets of fresh or faux flowers have the French Country vibe to them.

Don’t discount wallpaper.There are plenty of wallpaper designs that display French Country such as large flowers, again fleur de lis symbols, a variety of tiny florals, vines, etc…

White picture frames with elegant trim and cement containers filled with faux flowers, the list goes on but the important thing to remember is that you can rest assured French Country decorated kitchens are really “a thing” as the lingo goes and they are in style!

Modern French Or Old World Traditional

If you prefer a more modern look to your kitchen decor you can still create a Country French look with a more modern and sleek line to it. Or keep your kitchen on the traditional French Country style with an old world decor flavor. Take French Country style and run with it. Make it your own. Just remember don’t over do and design it with comfort, and casual elegance (which is so inviting to people) in mind.

Are French Country Kitchens Still In Style?