Charming French-Country Kitchen – Hinsdale, IL
The Setup
Imagine how thrilled we were when 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.
The 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
Cabinets:
- Perimeter: Existing – Custom Glaze
- Island: Refinished in Distressed French Blue paint
- Hutch: New Drury Select Custom Cabinetry with Vintage Finish
Countertops:
- Vermont Danby – Imperial Honed Marble
Special Features:
- True stone on walls
- Beautiful stone detail at arched doorways
- Custom stucco finish on hood
- Custom vintage paint finish on island
- Exquisitely crafted cast bronze cow brackets under hood, finished to match the island light fixture’s wrought iron look
- Custom pewter fridge hardware
- Vintage pulls on pantry armoire
Size of Space:
- 16′ x 20′
- 10′ ceiling height
Appliances / Plumbing:
- 42″ Dacor Refrigerator
- New Wolf Steam Oven
- Existing range and dishwasher
- Waterstone faucet
- Kohler Interlace Apron front sink
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.”
