Charming French-Country Kitchen
THE SETUP
Imagine how thrilled Diana was when she was approached about designing a kitchen for a client who is an avid traveler and Francophile. ‘French-country’ is a very specific category of traditional design that combines French provincial elegance with rustic comforts. The look draws on soothing hues, antique accents and a wonderful fusion of polished and relic’d finishes.
Her client wanted to feel like she was in the south of France every time she walked into her kitchen. She wanted real honed marble counters, vintage finishes and authentic heavy stone walls like you’d find in a 400-year old château in Les Baux-de-Provence.
Diana’s mission: capture the client’s vision, design it and utilize Drury Design’s sourcing and building expertise to bring it to life.
Design Objectives:
Create the feel of an authentic vintage French-country kitchen
Include natural materials that would have been used in an old French château
Add a second oven
Omit an unused desk area in favor of a large, tall pantry armoire
THE REMODEL
Design Challenges:
Finding real stone for the walls, and the craftsmen to install it
Accommodate for the thickness of the stones
Replicating château beam architecture
Replicating authentic French-country finishes
Find a spot for a new steam oven
Design Solutions:
Source and sort true stone. Utilize veteran craftsmen to apply to the walls using old-world techniques
Furr out interior window casings to adjust for the thicker stone walls
Source true reclaimed beams
Utilize veteran craftsmen for authentic finishes and distressing for the island, tall pantry armoire and stucco hood
Modify the butler’s pantry base cabinet to accommodate the new steam oven
THE RENEWED SPACE
Before we started work on her new French-country kitchen, the homeowner told us the kitchen that came with the house was “not my kitchen.”
“I felt like a stranger,” she told us during the photoshoot. “It wasn’t my color, it wasn’t my texture. It wasn’t my style… I didn’t have my stamp on it.”
And now?
“I love the fact that my family can come in here, wrap their arms around it and feel comfortable,” she said. “It’s like a big hug.”