Archive for category Kitchen Design by Culture

Looking at the French Country Kitchen Design Style

The French country kitchen design can provide your kitchen with a French Kitchenlook and feel that brightens the spirit and can transform the kitchen into a room that is much more than just a place to dine and prepare food.

The French country kitchen is known for its elaborate designs. It creates a feeling of country living but with a unique French flair about it. It is a warm and elegant look that you can have in your kitchen regardless of its size.

Color is an important element in French country kitchen design. Sunny yellow and soft gold, burnt rust, bright grass green and dark hunter green, cobalt blue and soft ocean tones – are all colors found in French country kitchen design style.

French country kitchen design conjures up images of the Provence and the French countryside with it’s pastoral settings, lavendar fields and rustic French farmhouses. The French country kitchen represents country living that is uniquely French. In designing your French country kitchen design you discover that French country look is always very rustic, old and warm.

There are many elements that go into the French country kitchen including the use of large pieces of furniture made mainly of light colored woods and can be decorated with ornate carving.

Color & French Country Kitchen Design

Color is an important place to start the design process. You can draw inspiration from some of the principle French impressionists like Monet and Renoir, Van Gogh.

Colors that are used in the French country kitchen style can include sunny yellow or soft gold, bright red and rust, grass green, cobalt blue and soft ocean tones.

You can decorate in the style of the French country kitchen design by using vivid colors – poppy red, sunflower yellow, bright blue, meadow green, and sunset purple. Your walls and cabinets and large furniture can be painted in off white, ivory, light beige, and taupe.

Cabinets can be painted a glossy white to brighten light-filled spaces in the kitchen or they can be left as natural wood. These colors can provide a light, airy feel so you do not want to use strong colors here. In fabrics such as curtains and seat cushions you might also add paisley, stripes and floral prints to your
French Country Kitchen theme.

Natural Materials

Natural materials are an important element in walls, cabinetry and furniture that is used in the design of French country kitchens. Natural materials can be used on walls and beamed ceilings, and can be rough stained or painted plaster, or wood painted in natural colors.

Floors can be made of stone or brick and covered with wool or cotton rugs, a fireplace made of stone with a heavy beam that can serve as a mantel, and wooden shutters as window coverings. Furniture and cabinets can have a rustic or even a distressed look. Countertops can be done in ceramic tile with tile backsplashes.

 

In French country kitchen design you will find that tile, rustic urns, hand-painted European ceramics and pottery accents are used extensively. Ceramic tiles and terra cotta pottery pieces are used wherever possible. Add copper pots and a French country kitchen can can encompass many old world decorating colors.

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The Unique Tuscan Style of Kitchen Design

tuscanThe Tuscan design style has become popular trend in kitchen design, helped along by the recent film Under the Tuscan Sun. The Tuscan design style is known for it’s timeless beauty and Old World charm of natural materials, of warm and cozy colors. The Tuscan style is also marked by its unique connection to the earth by incorporating the outdoors within the inside of the home.
The Tuscan kitchen design style is probably the most romantic with the earth’s natural tones of brown, ochre, concentrated gold, blistering sunny yellow, prominent amounts of terra cotta, rusty red, coal black, and deep blue. Also the use of motifs like lemons, olives, sunflower, grapevines, and cypress trees can help creating a unique time worn look.
Tuscan kitchen design immediately conjures images of Italy and sunlight and warmth. In fact these kinds of images are just what you need to think of when coming up with the perfect Tuscan kitchen design.
Tuscany a region in north central Italy is known as a warm place almost year round an Tuscan kitchen design should reflect this. Tuscan kitchen designs are defined by colors such as siena, terra, and sepia. Tuscan Kitchen design uses a lot of soft warm colors and textures. Windows in the kitchen should provide as much natural sunlight as possible.
The Tuscan style has evolved through the centuries, influenced by Etruscan metal craft and pottery as well as the Italian Renaissance. The Tuscan style can be seen in mosiac tiles, wrought iron gates, bridges and architecture.
Tuscan kitchen design and décor can enhance the look and feel of any kitchen. You can add a big wooden table, open cupboards, along with ceramics, pots, pans and Tuscan-inspired dinnerware. These items can also make great decorations when you are not using them.
Kitchen island design in the Tuscan kitchen design style has its origins from ancient Roman times. This is the origins of the nice ornaments you will find with all tuscan kitchen design. The Tuscan kitchen island is usually of a dark color painted on oak. Sometimes the islands are given one coat of white paint. Scratches are added to give the wood a more antique look.
In Tuscany families tend to eat and cook together. A good Tuscan kitchen design should provide for adequate room for you and your family to move around the kitchen freely.
The Tuscan kitchen design style is very popular now. One reason is that this design style be quite affordable while be stylish and providing more comfortable kitchen. The Tuscan kitchen design style accessories include pottery, jars, and hand crafted tiles depicting grapevines and vineyards as well as grapes, tomatos, and olives. Having these design elements just naturally goes with Tuscan meals.
Walls – Wall should be painted in a rich Tuscan color such as rich reds, intense yellows, or strong yellows. Consider a wall treatment such as molding, or murals to create a more Tuscan feel to the walls.
Floors – Use Terra cotta or clay tiles, glazed ceramic and marble inlay in intricate patterns. Wooden floors can be left plain with natural color and finish with a Persian rug.
Furniture – For a Tuscan kitchen design use sturdy pieces of furniture that is also strong and functional. Kitchen tables and chairs should also be well-built and strong.
Cabinetry – Cabinetry should feature open shelves for displaying your ceramics, as well as baskets, and cooking utensils.
Sink – Kitchen sink should be white ceramic to be more compatible with your Tuscan kitchen design. You might also consider a large rectangular marble sink.
As for other Tuscan kitchen design ideas you can add racks to display copper pans. Also wrought iron pull for drawers, and wrought iron light fixtures. You might even want to add a brick-fired oven just like the type found in large Italian farmhouse kitchens.
By designing your kitchen with the Tuscan design style and bring in the look of old Tuscany your kitchen and home will never be quite the same.

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Adding an Italian Touch to Your Kitchen

italymapHave you always dreamed of taking vacation to Italy? It’s hard to think of Italy without automatically thinking about food – especially all the amazing foods that are so distinctive to Italy. Even if you can’t go to Italy, you can bring Italy to your life by using Tuscan kitchen designs in your home decorating.

Tuscan kitchen designs focus on bringing the warmth and comfort that is a part of Italy into your home. You can accomplish this easily by thinking of the colors and textures that are so common to Italy, especially the Tuscan region.

First, a central theme of Tuscan kitchen designs is to focus on light. The Tuscan style starts with warm colors and plenty of sunlight. Italian kitchen color basics include colors such as sienna, terra cotta, sepia, and golden sun colors. If you have a large kitchen window, you’ll want to leave it uncovered by window treatments to allow as much natural light in as possible. Another great option is to consider carefully placed sky-lights.

Italy is also the land of amazing pottery, ceramics, statues, and terraces. When you bring these elements into Tuscan kitchen design, your kitchen becomes a welcome center of the home. You can add these Tuscan touches by including mosaic tiles, wrought iron, textured plaster walls, ceramic, and Italian styled dinnerware.

Another element of Tuscan kitchen designs is casual elegance. Tuscan kitchen designs incorporate a great deal of natural wood, like a dark stained oak or natural pine. In Italian kitchens, you’ll find some open cabinets, hanging pot racks, and large family tables. Sometimes the kitchen table is weathered with lots of scratches and nicks. This doesn’t detract from the beauty of the table, rather encourages the perception that the kitchen is the center of the family – used for discussions, projects and of course, those all important family meals. Scratches give the wood an antique look which is so common with Tuscan kitchen design.

One technique that combines some of the standard elements of Tuscan kitchen design and kitchen color basics is to consider having your kitchen walls plastered with a tinted glaze. The plaster builds that traditional Italian plaster look, while the colored glaze adds warmth to the walls. A glaze will look different at various times throughout the day and reflect the sunlight throughout the kitchen.

When it comes to fitting your kitchen with fixtures, think about items like a marble sink or a farm sink. Ceramic or terra cotta tiles add warmth, or hardwood floors are another option to make that traditional Tuscan feeling.

Tuscan kitchens encourage a family to gather together in the kitchen and enjoy the warmth and comfort of the kitchen. It’s a beautiful and popular look for today’s kitchens.

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Revolutionary 3D Home Design Web Tool: Design rooms, remodel kitchens, plan landscaping and more. Check out Plan3D.com!