Resolution: Create a French Country Kitchen

Jessica Ackerman - Ah, the appeal of the French country kitchen! More and more homeowners are falling in love with the French country look, especially in the busiest room in the house. And what’s not to love? The French country styled kitchen is an embodiment of warmth, delicious food, wonderful wine, and fine art. Just a few simple modifications to your current kitchen decor will create this popular look in your own home. 

French Country Walls

The true French country kitchen has roughly, yet beautifully, plastered walls. You can accomplish this look for your walls easily enough by mixing some joint compound with your favorite color of paint. This fun technique, which is known as pouncing, will help you to create a rustic, vintage look on your walls that will remind you of a French country kitchen.  You can also choose to sponge paint in the kitchen to give a textured look if you are not comfortable with pouncing. 

French Country Color Palette

When considering your new ooh-la-la kitchen wall color and general color palette for a French country kitchen, there are many possibilities. Deep olive green, deep ocean blue, burnt orange, sage green, rich gold, earthy brown, and tan are all commonly found in the French country kitchen. 

French Country Flooring

The flooring in your French country kitchen decorative scheme should be in the form of wooden floor boards, slate, marble, terra cotta, limestone, or even granite. The most cost effective of these options is typically the wooden floor, but that depends on the region of the country where you live. 

French Country Furniture

When choosing furniture for your French country kitchen, opt for sturdy, simplistic, farm house type furniture that has a vintage, weathered look. A large wooden table should be a part of an eat-in style French country kitchen, since families like to gather for large feasts and relaxed conversation. 

French Country Accents

The accessories that you choose for your French country kitchen can either make or break its style. Here are some of our favorites tips:

• Go for hanging copper pots that are suspended from pot racks on the ceiling.  

• Wrought iron decor is very much at home in a French country kitchen, whether in the form of wall art or a wine rack to hold your favorite wines. 

• Cut pieces of chicken wire or folksy fabric to insert into the fronts of your cupboards and cabinets.  

• Distress or antique your cupboard or other furniture (including your table and chairs) with a crackle glaze finish.  

• Replace the knobs on newer kitchen cabinets with ceramic knobs; do the same for drawer pulls.   

• Display bright terra cotta pottery on open shelving above your cupboard.  

• Keep your French country kitchen window treatments airy and light. Start with sheers and then add a  floral swag filled with olive branches and grape pods at the top of the window. Accentuate the window treatment and swag with grapes wall hangings.  

• Display beans, pasta, and other dried goods in copper or glass containers with lids, and make your own oils and display them in cut glass containers.  

• Stencil a border of grapes around the top of the wall or onto plain furniture.  

Jessica Ackerman is a Design Specialist on the Wall Decor & Home Accents website team.