When talking to most people and house décor professionals about your new kitchen, you’ll first be asked if you’re going for an American or European kitchen.
Unlike the larger, more storage-oriented American kitchens, European-style kitchens are geared towards efficiency. Subtle differences are also seen in the style of cabinets, with European kitchen cabinets being frameless and thus flush to the door.
But the conversation doesn’t end there. As far as European kitchen designs go, there is a flurry of options you can choose from. These include English Country, Tuscan, Belgian, and, in the context of this piece, French Country.
French Country European Kitchen Design Ideas For Your Next Remodel
So, what is the French Country’s European kitchen design? This is a European kitchen design that feels both elegant and homey. It is characterized by cabinetry resembling traditional furniture, fancy oven hoods, and rustic accents.
The fancy oven hoods have either scalloped edges or crown molding, which forms a key part of the design aesthetic of French country kitchens. Moreover, the accents are more Parisian chubby chic and less rural than English country décor.
But that’s more of what traditional French country kitchens are.
Today, contemporary accents have made their way into the design, making French Country kitchens desirable in this modern age. This piece’ll explore ideas you can incorporate into your French country’s European kitchen design. So, read on.
1. French Style Range Hoods
French-styled range hoods are a classic French country kitchen addition that makes a chic statement in any design. This architectural feature can add authenticity to your French country kitchen design.
But don’t make it the only feature. For instance, you can have a contrasting color scheme of a sage kitchen island coupled with crisp white cabinetry. You can contrast these colors even further using a light jungle green backsplash.
Since this design is more towards authenticity, you can go all out by adding two other features of French country kitchen design. These are the lantern-style lighting and a vintage wood box planter.
You can hang the lantern-style lighting over the sage kitchen island. You can get some herbs for the vintage wood box planter and place it at the window for that final touch of European flair.
2. Experiment with Stone Walls and Authentic Dishware
Stone Walls and Authentic Dishware
This is yet another kitchen design variation that strives to preserve most of the authenticity of French country European kitchen design.
The stone wall is the center stone in this design. It adds character to the kitchen while creating a rustic feel—something that was common in most French country kitchen designs in the past.
These stone walls need to be coupled with authentic French country kitchen cabinets. You can make a china cabinet out of distressed wood. This will add even more European charm to the design.
Since you’ve taken a design route focused on authenticity, the china cabinet should be fitted with dishware inspired by the French. White would be a perfect color choice for these dishes.
3. Get Rid of the Cabinet Doors
If you are remodeling your kitchen to a French-country European design, stripping everything off and putting it back together might not be necessary. Just getting rid of the cabinet doors might be all you need.
However, your China and Moscow mule glasses must have been bought already. The idea behind this design is to use the china and Moscow mule glasses as décor instead of having them tucked in the cabinets for purely functional use.
If you are not a fan of completely open cabinets, you can alternatively opt for glass doors. As long as China can be seen, the French Country's authenticity in the design will be well represented.
Can you start afresh completely? Yes. The third option is to remove your old cabinets completely and install floating wood shelves instead. These shelves add a rustic element to the design, making it even more French country authentic than simply ripping the cabinet doors off the hinges.
4. Pendant Lighting
Pendant lighting is a predominant feature in most French country European kitchen designs. If you want to quickly and easily remodel your existing kitchen into a French country design, this is among the first things you should consider.
Which lamps should you choose? Ideally, industrial pendant lamps with classic French brass elements should be your go-to option. However, your exact pick will depend on your color choice. Brass-element industrial pendant lamps blend nicely with a neutral color palette and natural, finished wood textures.
The choice of furniture should also be country, with finishes almost the same as wood textures. For instance, wicker bar chairs might be a great addition to the kitchen island.
If the industrial pendants don’t tickle your fancy, chandeliers can also work great. They add great French authenticity to your design and more depth and lighting to the kitchen.
5. Go with Eclectic Seating
In design, chaos sometimes births masterpieces. And as far as this French country's European kitchen design is concerned, a mix-and-match of seats is the x-factor.
The mix-and-match, however, is not purely chaotic. For instance, one row of seats would consist of chairs, while the other row would be a bench for the center table that sits in place of a kitchen island. The wood should not have shiny lacquer since the goal here is to create a rustic French country feeling.
The seats themselves can have different colors. However, instead of a chaotic spatter of colors, you can have one row of seats in dark wood, which you’ll use in the antique tableware and cabinetry. For the bench, you can use a subtle lime green, which you would use in the cabinet doors.
Okay, the colors are getting quite dull. If you love a bright kitchen, white subway tiles for the backsplash will never disappoint you.
6. Use Appliances Inspired by French Retro
Appliances Inspired by French Retro
Shifting from a completely modern kitchen to a French country kitchen might be arduous, especially if you are strongly inclined towards modern flair.
So, how do you balance the two? By going for French retro-inspired appliances. You can predominantly use a trendy but timeless color in the kitchen (sky blue, for instance). This can be combined with light touches of a more retro color, like dark wood, splashed more predominantly on your kitchen appliances, like the stove.
This provides a great way of balancing the modern with the retro while maintaining that French countryside feeling.
7. Go all White
If the last French-retro and modern mashup didn’t sound good to you, then this might be the easiest way to make your modern kitchen look all French country without losing much of its modern flair.
Paint all kitchen cabinet finishes white. This strategy results in a modern farmhouse look and a white monochromatic accent that rarely goes wrong.
A little bit of refurbishing might be needed before the kitchen cabinets are painted white. Plus, you can leave a bit of unfinished darker wood accents around and on the kitchen island. This will provide a modern French country rustic feeling to the entire design, ensuring you’re still as authentic as possible.
Are the counters all I need to take care of? Not really. If you have wooden elements on your window frame or floor, you can paint them white, too.
