Comparing The French Country And English Country Kitchen Design Styles

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July 6, 2017

The french country and english country kitchen design styles, while similar, are actually quite different.

For a rustic, cozy, and traditional kitchen, you likely angle toward a country design. So it begs the question, “Is your style english country or french country?

The confusion is understandable.  The two styles are similar, yet they utilize and feature different textures, fabrics, and colors.

Let’s go through both design styles.

FRENCH COUNTRY KITCHEN

The french country kitchen design features toile fabrics, orderly florals, farm animal decor, as well as earthy colors.

French country is marked with bright notes of polish, elegance, and sophistication, yet still manages to uphold its ode to country living.  For instance, in a true French country kitchen, you’ll see characteristic warm reds and mustard yellow, both reflecting the surrounding countryside theme.

The french country kitchen contains earthier tones, while english country tones are far purer.  For instance, a french country kitchen may feature a mossy green, while an english country kitchen has a hunter green.

Another example is when you upholster your kitchen furniture.  French fabrics delineate a very sophisticated sense of elegance.

With french fabrics, you’ll see flowers lined up in a somewhat organized way.

Toile fabrics are also very popular in french country kitchens.  They delineate fountains, gardens, and other sanctuaries of french elegance.

When it comes to kitchen furniture, french country kitchens feature exhibit pieces with moldings and scrolls.  The english country design exhibits more rigid, straight lines and extremely weathered surfaces.

The bottom line is that there are fussier architectural elements and motifs in the french country design than in the english country design.  There are many more materials involved in the french country style, whereas the english country style is far simpler.

French country decor is very unique.  It employs a blend of common farm animals with elegant, quaint birds.  You’re also going to see far more formal tapestries in a french country kitchen than in an english country kitchen.

Now let’s briefly discuss the english country kitchen design style.

ENGLISH COUNTRY KITCHEN

The english country kitchen design features chintz florals, hunting scenes, and rustic, lived-in furniture.

While the french country kitchen embraces elegance and sophistication, the english country kitchen design style celebrates and features a lived-in atmosphere.

The tone of the english country kitchen showcases years of entertaining and enjoying life.  It’s very cozy, warm, and inviting.  There might even be scuff marks on the furniture.  And that’s ok, as it’s part of the style and character.

English country kitchen styling celebrates friends, animals, and children, bringing personality to the country life.  Some people even go as far as customizing their tile with dog and horse illustrations, to show their love of these animals.

Instead of frilly toile fabrics or organized florals, english country kitchen patterns delineate and depict less groomed foliage, such as chintz florals and even wildflowers.  The casual english country style kitchen employs natural colors, and straightforward hues.

The english country kitchen features deep tones.  For instance, a far truer more pronounced red than that used in french country style kitchen.  Natural browns are also commonplace in the english country design.

While french country décor usually involves small birds, and farm animals, english wall décor typically includes hunting scenes with horses and dogs.  It also showcases nature prints and botanical prints.

Dark wood floors with wide boards are usually seen in both the french and english country kitchen styles.

Hopefully you learned quite a bit about the french country vs. english country kitchen style.

For more information, schedule a FREE KITCHEN DESIGN CONSULTATION with an Edge Showroom Kitchen & Bath Designer by clicking here.

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