French Country Kitchens: Authentic French Kitchen Design from Simple to Spectacular Review

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(More customer reviews)Kitchens To Cherish
I bought this book after reading a New York Times review that mentioned that the book featured kitchens in the French countryside that were "cherished." Now I cherish this book! It presents a very interesting selection of kitchens from Paris to the Berry to Provence, and they're not all fancy, designer-created affairs seen in high-end catalogues and glossy interior magazines. Each one seems to have its own personality and style, and an interesting story to go with it. I especially liked the quirky kitchen in Clermont-Ferrand where everything, even the appliances, is on wheels, and the chapter featuring three tiny, charming kitchens, because it gives me lots of ideas about how to upgrade my own small space. I also found the chapters that define various elements of French country style - the tiles, the colors, the furniture - helpful and fun to leaf through.



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"When I think back on all the homes I've visited in the French countryside—and I've visited hundreds over the last twenty-five years—it is almost always the kitchens I remember most clearly and recall with the most affection." —From the introductionThe kitchen is truly the heart of the home, and nowhere is this exemplified with more style and personality than in France. Distinguished by striking craftsmanship, bold colors, and vintage accents, the French country kitchen—whether a rustic retreat or an urban oasis—is always unique and inviting. In this beautiful celebration of France's real-life kitchens, French style authority Linda Dannenberg invites us into dozens of kitchens that capture the spirit of their regions, carefully examining the design, the priorities of the owners, and the details—from color palettes to collectibles—that create inviting, functional, and personal spaces. You'll visit a remarkable new "eighteenth-century" kitchen in the heart of Paris's old garment district designed entirely with elements dating from the 1700s; an airy, open family kitchen in a Provençal house that was once a grain mill; a dramatic kitchen, bold in color and scale, in an elegant farmhouse in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence; a romantic country kitchen, illuminated by a Palladian-style window from an old abbey, in a welcoming village surrounded by the farmland of the Île-de France; and a casual Parisian space—once an atelier occupied by Pablo Picasso—featuring a kitchen with subtle, restrained mosaics. Distinctive elements that characterize these welcoming spaces are examined in depth, from tile work to the French way with color. You'll even find recipes that capture the spirit of the French kitchen. With an extensive directory of sources, more than 200 full-color photographs, and evocative text highlighting a bounty of original ideas, French Country Kitchens is a lush and inspiring guide to re-creating a little corner of France in the heart of your own home.

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