Please note that this post may contain affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward us a small commission – at no extra cost for you.
It’s true what they say, kitchens are the heart of the home. Whether you love to cook or cook enough just to get by, everybody needs a kitchen. And since you’re in there so much, you might as well have one that suits your style! But oh, there are so many interior styles. How do you know which one you like and if you’re doing it correctly?
A while ago I did a post about the differences between some key home styles (French Country included) and it sparked a lot of great conversation about what’s real, what’s not, and what people actually think they like. I’m taking that post a step further and diving into something that is so widely misconstrued: the French Country Kitchen.
But before we get into what authentic French Country kitchens are, we’ll have to start with what they’re not.
Look at the below picture as an example of what most Americans think French Country kitchens are:
What do you see?
Glazed cabinets. Granite countertops. Intricate molding. Cabinet after cabinet after cabinet. Huge kitchen islands.
Though these kitchens look expensive and grand (and there’s nothing wrong if this is what you like), they’re far from authentic. And as we look at pictures of what is authentic, you will see why.
Just so you know, I pulled the below pictures from French real estate sites & Airbnb so we can find the similarities of “real” kitchens, not Americanized ones. These homes are actually being sold in the country.
Let’s check them out!
Above you’ll notice vintage-inspired appliances, a farmhouse sink, pretty basic cabinets, and no kitchen island or upper cabinets. You’ll also notice the lower cabinets are painted blue (not white or glazed). A kitchen table takes the place of an island.
Above you’ll also notice that there are no upper cabinets and no kitchen island. The lower cabinets are a blueish color instead of white. This kitchen also has great stonework, awesome beams, and a cabinet for easy access to dishes. A dining table rests in the center of the kitchen.
Above you’ll notice that there actually are white cabinets this time and some upper cabinets, though some doors are left off for easy access. Once again, thee’s no kitchen island, and instead, a dining table takes its place. This kitchen feels homey, not grand, with the brick fireplace and tile floors.
Above you’ll see this kitchen has quite a bit of color compared to the other photos, but there are lots of similarities as well. You’ll notice the fireplace, china cabinet, beams, painted cabinets, and lack of upper cabinets as well. You’ll also notice lots of plates and dishes are on display.
Above you’ll notice the table in the kitchen, farmhouse sink, mix of countertops, tile floors, and lack of upper cabinets. Also, how beautiful is that French range?
Above you’ll find hanging copper pots, natural brick elements, open shelving for glasses, tile floors, no upper cabinets, and once again, a table in the kitchen.
My last example has to be a picture of Mimi Thorisson’s kitchen. She’s a French cook and author who has written books on French Country cooking. I can’t think of anyone more qualified to take a peek at their kitchen!
Mimi’s kitchen is a more styled version perhaps, but it sums up everything we’ve seen in the photos so far: tile floors, stonework, a big kitchen table for dining instead of an island, hanging copper pots, fireplace, little to no cabinets, and lots of earthy, warm tones instead of white, white, white.
Farmhouse kitchens and French kitchens in the country are workhorses of the home. Not everything is pure, white, and fancy, and it gives off a feeling of homeyness, rather than grandness.
It celebrates a simple, yet full type of life. Most Americans may find this kitchen style to be darker and rougher than what they like, but the kitchen is designed to be used and cooked in – all the while withstanding the country elements.
To be fair, I’m not saying that everyone needs to change their kitchen to what is authentic. Sometimes it’s just good to know what it is. Though I personally love the style, I don’t think everything translates super well here to America, especially for resale.
But at the end of the day, you should definitely do what you want – it’s your house after all! Though I think most Americans would probably flip out to see no upper cabinets because you know, storage! 😉
Check out the graphic below to see what elements you need to have an authentic French Country kitchen.
You can see how I’m translating the look into my own kitchen renovation!
I absolutely LOVE this! Realizing what’s more authentic can be super helpful in dictating what you actually like and how you want to imitate the style. I enjoy finding inspiration – and you’ve certainly inspired me with these cozy farmhouse kitchens!
So glad you loved this and you’re right- knowing what’s authentic can help you decorate better!
I just remodeled/redecorated my French Normandy home …to my specs of pink and teals and whites. New backslash is deep teal with a mermaid tail design, handcrafted in Oregon. Blush stools and chairs at a granite round table with a HUGE teal sofa, and the quarter shared island is a distressed black walnut chunk of wood. Cabinwets are for STORAGE in an almond white with glam knobs. My entire home was completely redone, all new wallpaper in every room. I can’t send photos…wrong size 🙁
This was interesting –I really enjoy your home decor posts.
Aw! Happy to hear that, Shannon. 🙂
Thank you so much . I just bought a ranch house from 1935 FOR ME AND MY BORDER COLLIE I LOVE IT 💘 HE LOVES THE HUGE YARD 😉 I HAD A BIG FANCY HOUSE UNTIL MY HUSBAND RECENTLY PASSED. I LOVE THIS HOUSE SO MUCH MORE . IM COUNTRY NOT FANCY. I HAVE SO MANY OF THE ELEMENTS ALREADY HERE THAT YOU. SPOKE ABOUT CANT WAIT TO ADD A STONE WALL AND RIP THE UPPER CABNETS OUT !! THANK YOU AGAIN 😊
Oh, that sounds GORGEOUS!
Loved seeing the real deal on authentic French kitchens. I never did care for the over the top, grandiose American version. My idea of a country kitchen should be a cozy gathering place to prepare a meal with family and friends to help. The kitchen does not have to be too large or stark in color. Color and texture can be found in warm, worn wood, copper, pottery, old baskets and functional items. Now, if I can environment, I would be smiling.
Love that! I’m all about coziness and warm tones. Sounds perfect.
Function over fancy wins for me. A convenient layout, un cluttered, easy to clean and keeps dry goods safe. Signs of wear scream I’ve been well used and loved.
Carolyn, I live upstairs in an old farmhouse. We’ve rented here over 30 years and raised our son here. With 70 year old metal cabinets and crooked floors, but so peaceful. All the rooms were originally bedrooms, long and narrow so very difficult to decorate and be functional. Your post on real French country kitchens made me actually love my kitchen, nasty cabinets and pealing wallpaper and all. I have the original farmhouse sink and big kitchen with our kitchen table. We have no dining room so that’s it. I also have radiant heat with the metal radiators along the floor. Love the constant temperature, I just painted them the same color as the woodwork. I’m enjoying your blog. It’s relaxing. Thanks.
I’m really glad you are enjoying my blog, Mary! I love that you are embracing your home and finding things to love about it. I know many people (myself included) that would love to live in a farmhouse! So much character and quirky things to embrace 🙂
I absolutely love these kitchens. My dream kitchen doesn’t have an island or a bunch upper cabinets (I’m short so they are wasted space). I like the idea of having shelves next to the stove but some uppers for food/dish storage. I want to have space next to my stove for prep not on an island so I won’t make a mess on the floor moving things “across the room” to the stove. And I definately don’t want to eat at an island – give me a breakfast nook with a bay window to watch nature while I drink my coffee each morning.
I’ll take that breakfast nook with a bay window any day! These kitchens are some of my favorites too. Our dream kitchens sound similar!
LOVE this article and the pictures! Thank you!
So happy to hear that. Thanks, Jinny!
Awesome Carolyn, i have always loved European style especially the French country homes with their lovely kitchen style. When i see pictures of thos kitchens, i imagined the large group of French family members and guests busy making their traditional meals with talking and laughter being heard mixed with the tasty smells of the cooking and baking being done, Wow double Wow!!!!!
Thank you so much for acknowledging that there is a difference between the American French kitchen and the French kitchen that exists in France!
I am in the middle of an addition in which I am creating an authentic French kitchen, beams, etc, minus the fireplace, sadly. I’ve had to pour over many books that were photographed in France because the American French kitchens are exactly that!!
My kitchen designers insist I need upper cabinets when in fact I have hanging shelving and antique European doors which I am having constructed into a cabinet. They have beautiful trellis wire for the authentically painted arched door openings.
In addition I found a late 18th century beautiful French pine armoire with a carved fruit basket in the top arch for $3500 versus the $20,000 that was estimated for the same space for custom cabinets!!!
Again thank you for acknowledging there is an a significant difference.
Bonne journée!!!
Thanks for this! I must say that I MUCH prefer the Americanized “French Country Kitchen” over the authentic one. 🙂
Most of the photos don’t load.
We’ll look into that. Thanks for the heads up!
I have spent many happy moments in France. Born and raised in the UK, travel wasn’t difficult to pop over. Oddly, I now live in New Mexico and I crave European culture, especially French. So, I have attempted to bring into my home treasures and decorating my home interior using themes of Provence and having lavender all over. I am not completely finished, but working hard. My kitchen is dark amethyst with stenciled designs. Lots of rustic jugs and old framed art.
Me too. Don’t wanna give up my cabinets for shelves that collect dust and really love my island for prep and serving buffets, but still love my round European table nearby. It’s really a blend with copper accents and wood floor. All light and weathered whitewash. Signed, content with my style.
My French friends agree w me that upper shelves next to the stovetop are just as bad an idea as chandeliers in kitchens. Real kitchen that get COOKED IN produce smoke and aerosolized greases and spatters so those are bears to keep clean. Heat proof and easy to clean are the keys in a smart kitchen. Note also the Euro refrigerators are so much smaller than American ones. A French kitchen is built for daily visits to shops not monthly trips to Costco.
Nothing wrong w anyone’s personal take on what they want to live with and cook with as long as they don’t end up w a kitchen designed for SHOW only…unless that’s what they want.
I also am not able to get the photos to load and was looking forward to seeing this post.
I will check back to see if it has been fixed. Thanks.
I just completely remodeled my French Normandy home using my intuition: amazing on my fav colors of pinks and teals. It ended up French glam cottage coastal and works beautifully. My iPh will not allow photos/ size..
I’ve designed quite a few kitchens (we’ve moved a lot!) without any “style” in mind…just a kitchen that works in each house. Over the years, we’ve added brick walls, no upper cabinets, tables rather than islands, furniture pieces rather than cabinets, wood plank floors, you get the picture. I happen to be half French but never considered it my design aesthetic, but based on this blog, I guess French Country is my natural inclination! LOL.
Haha! It sounds like you hit the nail on the head…without even trying 😉
Oh! I almost forgot to add….the first single family home we built (in 1972) was called the “Loire Valley Chateau” by the designer! How ironic is that?
Thank you for this. I’ve been trying to relay and research French country style as I know it to be and have been mostly unsuccessful, as most sites show pictures like your first one-gaudy,heavy,elaborate…. I know FC to be what you are showing-simple,humble and usable. Now I have some actual photos to show what I really want. Thank you.
You’re welcome 🙂
For me, you have clearly outlined the elements of authentic French country kitchens. We are remodeling our chalet that was built by an Austrian couple in 1982. We wanted to stay true to the Alpine country style even if making it a fit kitchen for today. After a year of combing through Air b&B (like you), too many hours on sites like yours, and even 3 trips to Europe to pick up ideas (and to hike, take cooking courses, and language courses) our kitchen almost follows your rules to a T! Beams, stone floors (opting for greyish pavers from the Loire Vally), a wood burning French bread oven, All lower cabinets except for one small upper tucked behind a Armoir style pantry, farm house sink, antique plate rack, a corner display/china hutch, open shelving, and hanging copper pots. Counters are soap stone. The only nod to modern/American kitchen is the peninsula which adds more needed storage space and a small area to place a couple of stools to keep guests out of the kitchen with their drink while I cook. We would have opted for a large table in the middle instead but the space is too narrow to accommodate. The other thing we couldn’t make work was more stand alone furniture which is also a common trait of Euro Country kitchens. So, we will have what the French call a “fitted” kitchen and which happens to also be common in many new country kitchens in France and around Europe. The one thing an authentic French country kitchen would also have is that it will honor the past, but not be a slave to it. The French will add modern elements that make sense and their lives easie.
Your article is as authentic as these kitchens, and your comment about it not translating well in America is spot on! We are planning to purchase a small home in Brittany next year. It may require some renovation so my interest will be in attempting to recreate with authenticity.
I’ve enjoyed your viewpoint of great French country designs. I will appreciate one more when I see one. Thanks.
cnelson.ga@gmail.com
Glad you like it!
The appliances in your first example are not vintage.
Edited to add vintage-inspired appliances
I love this! Years ago, we built a large “French Country” McMansion, decor complete with gold glazed walls and red toile and roosters. Then I went to France….bubble burst. 😉 Now I am working diligently to remodel the home we live in now to an aesthetic similar to a B and B we stayed in near Aix-en-Provence. I’ve been telling my husband what we think is French country is definitely NOT! So happy to have this article to share with him. Thank you!
It’s okay to switch it up…you only knew what you knew at the time! Good luck with your remodel. 🙂
Thank you for portraying what, in my admittedly limited experience, is the reality of the middle class European home across the board. And, the reason I love them. Simple, creative, authentic, homey. While I have no plans to get rid of my upper cupboards, (I like them too much) living next door to and making friends with a young woman from France for a couple of years was an eye opening experience for me. She took what she could easily obtain and made her less than ideal rental into a charming home. It’s a lesson that has made my less than ideal homes through the years so much more enjoyable. Many of the elements here – a nice table, attractive dishes and cook ware, art, a pretty cupboard etc. – are far more obtainable than the high-end cabinetry and perfectly matched kitchens we tend to think of as ideal here in the US. Yet I find those high end kitchens are often missing the cozy family centered vibe that I have enjoyed so much in European B and Bs and the homes of friends there. Thank you again for the reality check!
I grew up in a Pennsylvania dairy farmhome with mostly Swiss and German derivative relatives. These “French” kitchens look the same to me.
Finally an article that is try to the French country style. Of all the articles I’ve read about French farmhouse kitchens I have felt continually let down by the overly grand, American versions that keep popping up in my feed.
My husband and I just purchased a 315 year old farmhouse in Brittany and plan to move in at the end of this month. We are American and the previous owners were from England. EVERY TIME I show pictures of the existing kitchen to my French friends their first comments are always, “They must be British!” ARGH! I wish to recapture the original look and feel of the old home by first restoring the integrity and authenticity of the French country kitchen. Most of all, I want my French friends and neighbors to feel as at home in my kitchen as I know I will.
So, thanks to your article, we will be tearing down the upper cabinets and replacing with a ceiling height tile backsplash so that we can hang our pots and pans within reach of the range then exposing the stone on one of the walls. We’ll be painting the all white lower cabinets a warm pale blue, installing a large French range and an old farm sink (or trough or whatever we may find at the brocante) and adding a skirt below. I’ll move some of the freestanding cabinets from other parts of the house into the space to hold dishes and crockware. Finally, I will be swapping out the legs of the too perfect English style kitchen table and painting and distressing them to look like an old French farmhouse table. Luckily we already have exposed beams and original terracotta tile floors. I can’t wait to see how she turns out. Thank you so much for steering me in the right direction. You are a godsend!
*true
What a lovely plan you have. It sounds like it’s going to be an amazing kitchen and I’m excited for you! I’m so glad this research was able to point you in the right direction.
I have lived in my home for 57 years which is incredible. As a child I was always moving and never got rooted anywhere until now. Being a lover of antiques since age seventeen I have changed tastes many times. What I found comforting is a mix of French/English along with contemporary couches. Our kitchen is white with blue transferware pieces and a Belgian pine cabinet that houses all small appliances and white serving pieces of all sizes and shapes. My best friend is a designer and has excellent taste. However, she tries to convince me to convert the Armoire (cabinet) using that area for a built in unit instead. Never going to happen. I love the mix.
I love that you found a style for you. Your home sounds lovely!