French country style is all about bringing inspiration from outdoors, from the colour palette to the materials and fabric patterns that you choose. This quick guide to French country kitchen design will get you started, with inspiration for which styles, colours and finishing touches to choose!
Colours
Traditional, warm colours inspired by nature are the ticket for the French farmhouse look. You'll find a lot of cornflower blues, burnt orange/reds, grass greens and soft gold yellows.
From the Farrow & Ball Range, you could try:
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Cinder Rose is great if you're looking for something a bit bold. Or for a lighter shade, Calamine |
Cook's Blue or Lulworth Blue are great colours for the French Country look | Vert de Terre is the kind of green you would expect from Farrow & Ball, and it is the perfect choice for a natural green. | For the golden yellow, Farrow's Cream is perfectly understated. |
Tables & Chairs
Rustic and elegant are the words that spring to mind when picturing a French country kitchen.
As the name implies, our French Farmhouse Table (pictured above) is the perfect choice with its slender frame and table top in rustic oak. Ladder Back Chairs are the traditional choice for creating the French country look, but you could also try something more contemporary - the Spindle Back Chairs would work well, or the Camborne Side Chairs.
Fabrics
You guessed it...we're looking for prints and designs that are inspired by the countryside and nature to complete the French country look. Botanical and floral prints, themes such as cockerels or farm animals and so on feature heavily. And don't forget the classic stripes and checks which are an integral part of the overall look and feel.
Floor
Stone flooring is probably the most traditional, but rustic wooden floorboards would work equally well.
Ceiling & Lighting
Exposed beams are the norm in the French Country kitchen, and you can have quite a lot of fun with the lighting - hunt down some vintage ceiling lights from the antique store.
Finishing Touches
Keeping things a little rustic and traditional, the finishing touches really do complete the look. Copper pots and kettles, pots of lavender growing outside on the windowsill, an eclectic mix of rustic pottery on display on a sideboard, and wire baskets for storage are all brilliant elements to add.
