As a magazine editor, I’ve shot more “country French” kitchens in the states than I can shake a wooden spoon at. For a long time it was the number one popular kitchen theme in the States, and it’s still a popular option. I myself had what I called a country French kitchen in Charleston before we moved, and we have a version of one here in France as well.
Here is the irony, which I learned shortly after we moved here: what Americans call a “country French” kitchen, the French call an “American kitchen”(!!).
The traditional country French kitchen in the US may be beautiful, but while it may evoke a few French elements, it is often as far from an authentic country French kitchen as you can get.
Stay with me, it’s complicated. This is the main difference: a true French country kitchen is an all or mostly UNFITTED kitchen. There may be minimal base cabinets but almost never overhead cabinets. Any kitchen in France with fitted wooden base cabinets and especially with overhead cabinets is called an “American kitchen”.
So let's take a tour of a typical country kitchen in France. First of all, it will likely not be slick, decorated, and at the center of the home. Kitchens are private family spaces, often banished to a corner of the house visitors might never enter. The main feature will usually be one or more armoires or chests, furniture pieces we would typically put in a living room or bedroom. These will hold dishes, linens, maybe pots and pans. Somewhere, often tucked in a corner where you would hardly notice it, will be a sink, frequently with little or no surrounding counter space. The stove will often be free-standing. A fireplace would not be unusual. Le frigo is frequently tucked away in an adjoining room, out of sight, or there may be a very small fridge, plus a freezer or larger fridge hidden away in a cave (cellar) or a grange (barn). In the main kitchen of the Château where we lived, for example, there were 3 fridges and a freezer, located in an adjoining passageway and in a large pantry beyond that. Number of fridges in the kitchen: zero.
There is rarely an island, this is a truly an American invention. Instead there will invariably be a dining table with chairs in the center, and the table doubles as a big workspace to spread out when you cook.
As a result, the room does not look very kitchen-y. I’ve been in French kitchens where I didn’t immediately realize I was standing in a kitchen!
Now this doesn’t mean you won’t find fitted kitchens in France. They are very popular. But when you do, they are usually modern, and are considered to be in the American style, not French.
Now that we’ve got this straightened out, I’ll share some photos with you. In two parts: this week I’m showing you some photos of real French kitchens, here in France. In a future post I’ll show you some “country French” kitchen in the States, plus mine here in here in France, and we’ll talk about the elements of the American country kitchens that give them French flair.
Photo at Top: In our friends' gorgeous Burgundy kitchen, the table and fireplace are at the heart of the room. An armoire holds linens and dishes. There are a few fitted base cabinets, mainly for the sink.
Photo below: in the main Château kitchen, a large armoire takes the place of cabinets.
The rest of the Château kitchen: a stove (gas, and a wood-burning oven) has been inserted into an old chimney. The sink is off in a corner.
Below, a friend's very European kitchen, with a wonderful marble sink and open shelves above. It's common to see a stucco base cabinet, usually left with open shelves. In this this case, they've been fitted with rustic antique doors.
In the Burgundy kitchen of dear friends, below, stucco bases are left open, and again the table is the center of the room.
In the same kitchen, a fireplace, a stucco banquette with open storage below, and a beautiful Burgundian beamed ceiling.
My beautiful Italian neighbor next door and her lovely daughters turn out the best food I've ever eaten, with fancy dishes that just keep on coming. And yet what you see here IS the kitchen, a little corner of the room where they work their magic.
Here's a quirky and charming kitchen in the small Paris flat of a friend. Here a few fitted base cabinets mix with a vintage armoire for dishes. To the right in the foreground is the requisite farmhouse table. To make the flat feel bigger, there's a glass wall between kitchen and the foyer (which also doubles as a library!).
The interior of a French kitchen armoire.
In the COMMENTS: Christine, I love the story of those lucky kitties! And thank you all so much for your kind words about Domino. Jane, you may be right, Tromper is a word for our time: to "dupe, delude, or fool." And fellow resisters Monty, Michaela, Sandy, Janet, Betty, Dawn, and others who expressed concern, thank you for your support!
Favorite Reads: my Francophone friend Gordon told me about Fat Dogs and French Estates , a series about the adventures of a British couple and their two portly pups who set off to settle in France. Looks fun!
19 thoughts on “The Conundrum of the French Country Kitchen”
This is a wonderful post on the authentic, working French kitchen and I look forward to the next one. Decor magazines in the USA promote French Country and we know it sells houses. But there is a real heart in the unfitted cabinets, the accumulated mismatched serving pieces and the food brought forth in such a kitchen.
A most interesting article
Lovely, fun post. Plan to share it with French and American friends.
Happy Spring to you.
When our French friends bought their 120 year old farmhouse in Lusignan (Poitou), the kitchen was tiny. It looked like it had been modernized in the 60’s but, fortunately the former owners kept the woodburning fireplace and the quaint locked cabinet built into the wall. About 5 years ago my friends put in a luxe “American” kitchen. They knocked down a wall that separated it from a closed corridor. The corridor was awkward, wasted space (in the 21st century) running through the center of the house. It originally permitted the 19th century owners to save heat because each room on the first floor could be completely closed off and heated separately with a fireplace. Our friends, like the previous remodelers, were able to keep the fireplace. They still use it on frosty winter mornings–very “cosy”.
Our friends are doctors, The husband, a surgeon at the nearby University Hospital of Poitiers, once had a patient who grew up in his neighborhood. The night before our friend was to perform surgery on this man, the man told him that after his surgery he would tell him the complete history of the house. This was not to be, however, because, later that night–before his surgery–the man died. The village rumors are that the original family that built this somewhat grand house were Jews who owned the local “Quincaillerie” and were deported and killed in World War II. In any case, there is a locked trapdoor beneathe a rug in the formal dining room. Whenever we visit I try to get our friend to open it but he says it’s never been opened and he refuses to do so. I don’t know why.
Very interesting! Keep it coming. Want to see the “American” interpretation of the country French kitchen now.
We bought our kitchen over from UK. All my French friends love it. It has painted units, Farrow and Ball, but no wall cupboards, we have too many windows for that anyway. Jim built me a pantry off to one side and I have a fabulous sink with an even more fabulous view. The Whirlpool fridge freezer is to the left of the sink and dishwasher.
We have a large island and a dining table and chairs.
It is a good mixture of styles and works very well.
I love these kitchens. Mine here in California is a small eat-in kitchen in a 109 year old house. I have managed 7 to fit at a table, but that’s it. I watch these TV shows here in the states where all these people want these massive kitchens with 15′ of counter space and separate dining room… and for what…many times they can’t even cook.
Lynn,these kitchens are wonderful!I so enjoy their charm,and also their practicality with use of space.Vive la difference between our styles!Your pictures really did them justice! Wow!
Now looking forward to seeing your kitchen!
I love to cook and in our kitchen want functionality and coziness above all.Actually,the only prerequisite is that Rod(my hubby) and I can both move around in there together without either hopping around or bumping into each other.
Meals–and days–are seem to be treasured more when shared with dear ones in a warm and congenial atmosphere.
Love this article! Wonderful!! Can’t wait to see more next week. Thanks so much. 🙂
I saw MY KITCHEN,( number 3 in the photos, the first kitchen photo) looking a lot neater than usual….I might add that the sink is Venetian 18th century, and a ” found ” object; thrown away by someone who installed an IKEA kitchen in it’s place…..
I love my jumbled, impractical but cosy kitchen, which is a museum of both our families and of our life of travels and explorations….
Loved your latest, Lynn. I was clueless when we finally did our kitchen but it was less money to just do shelves for dishes. I do love them like that
And I will probably do the same with our one new one in the USA. I do love the comfortable kitchens and homey kitchens in France wher we usually have coffee with friends during the morning or afternoon. Unless it is cold and we have the social time with friends in the dining room with the wood stove burning. Aren’t we the luckiest!! My dream has come true and my life is content forever! We don’t have to have all those fancy things we are expected to have with remodels in the states.
C’est vrai!!!! My dear friend Martine who lives in Vallauris has one of the smallest kitchens I’ve ever seen….the dining room table takes up the entire middle space of the kitchen and she does prep work on the tiny counter between the sink and the stove. And there are 2 armoires that house plates etc. Our American romanticism with what we conceive as “French Kitchens” among other rooms is, as you so rightly point out, completely different from what actually exists in France. The actual size of the rooms in a French house are tiny – hence the economy of where things are situated is extremely useful.
Now that is an interesting story! Thanks for sharing.
Firstly am so happy I found your blog and secondly, I love that someone has actually put this whole kitchen thing to rights. We have lived in France for a long time and we laugh out loud when people seem to think that a French country kitchen even vaguely resembles the glossy ones on display in US magazines. As our 17 year old daughter so succinctly put it, most people would faint of shock if they saw a real French country kitchen!! But I love the true version and actually a true English country kitchen, where I grew up on a working farm, is not so different either, we had a back kitchen for the sink and fridge etc, the main kitchen had a fire, an armoire and a huge table! Great photos and a great piece.
I guess because I’m half French and live in Illinois, I have a Melange Kitchen.
What a nice picture of our kitchen/dining room in France (#1 photo). I have spent a great deal of time in the States researching and designing Country French kitchens for myself and for my clients. It was with tremendous joy I discovered in France, after hauling fabric samples from the States, that I did not need to do anything to create a French kitchen, I already had one! Fireplace,stone floor, antique armoire and table and dresser, and most importantly the original 18th century beam and board ceiling. All my favorite B and F french fabrics were totally unnecessary and even looked a little ridiculous. I hung some antique linen, embroidered sheets at the windows and that was it. Can’t wait to get back there! Great article!
I love that Paris flat kitchen; it’s just a bit bigger than mine. Do most French kitchens have dishwashers? I don’t notice them in the pics. I have none in my very old fashioned galley.
My 70 yr old house has an updated all white kitchen that I plan to Redo for a French kitchen look.
So thank you for your thoughts on our American style ‘French Country Kitchens’ They just dont work for me.
I’m Ricardo Moraes from L’Atelier Paris Haute Design, where we create custom French ranges and luxury kitchens made in America. This was a great read—your reflections on the complexities of French country kitchens are insightful and well-balanced. A refreshing take on a classic style. Thank you for sharing.