How to furnish a Provencal kitchen: the complete guide

How nice it would be to live in a cottage in the heart of Provence! Imagine being able to go out every day in the French countryside: walking among the lavender fields, returning home with a bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers, arranging it in an old enameled jug...

Your Provencal kitchen is a small paradise with a simple, yet elegant appearance: bleached wood furniture, stone floors, pastel colors. A daydream.

...ok, let's get our feet back on the ground! Of course: packing your bags and moving to the South of France is not a viable option. But nothing prevents us from traveling with the mind transforming our home!

A few weeks ago we discovered all the secrets of Provencal style furniture. Today we will focus on the most lived-in room in the house: let's find out together how to set up a magnificent Provençal kitchen.

The identikit of Provencal-style kitchens: what are they recognizable from?

What are the features of the Provencal style? Take the refined atmosphere of the shabby, mix them with the country chic simplicity of the country houses and add a touch of old France: floral wallpapers, printed pillows, bouquets of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling.

Well, these are the general rules that apply to the whole house. In Provencal-style kitchens all this is not only present: it is amplified to the nth degree. Once the kitchen was the beating heart of old houses, the room where everyone gathered to eat together. For this reason it was perhaps not the most elegant place, but it was undoubtedly the most experienced and the one with the most warmth.

Therefore any self-respecting Provençal kitchen should have a large table with many chairs (not necessarily all the same!), Like those around which large families used to gather. For materials, always bet on natural: terracotta or stone floors, pickled wood, wrought iron accessories.

Moving on to colors, go for soft colors: dove gray and pearl gray if you want to stay on neutral; powder blue, lavender and sage green if you want to give some touches a little more lively.

Now that you have the style in mind, let's go into a little more detail and discover the must-have furniture for Provencal-style kitchens.

Vintage charm and natural wood: how to choose furniture for a Provençal kitchen

Well, we have chosen walls and floors. Now let's take action: what furniture to choose for a Provence-style kitchen?

Typical of this style is everything that has a soul, a past. Used and recycled furniture, if chosen well and combined with taste, will give your kitchen a truly unique and particular look. Vintage furniture tells a story: this is what makes it so special! An idea of great effect, for example, is not to use (or limit) the wall units in favor of ancient shelves and exposed shelves. Of course, you will have to take great care in choosing the dishes, which in this way will become an integral part of the furniture. But the effect will pay off the effort!

If you already own a kitchen and you don't have the possibility to change it, no problem: to get a perfect Provencal style environment, just remove the doors, paint everything with two coats of pickled paint (preferably white, ivory or pastel tones) and complete with dark wax in the corners for a very chic antique effect. Get some vintage ceramic knobs (even all different, why not!) And the room will be completely unrecognizable.

A Provence-style kitchen can play on chromatic harmony and have cabinets and wall units of the same color. Or it can mix two different colors, a neutral and a pastel: even more original! A blue Provencal kitchen with ivory touches, for example, is an unexpected and impressive idea.

Another much loved combination, with which you always go on the safe side, is the one between white and aged brown. If you have a wooden kitchen try to paint only the doors and leave the rest intact: you will be amazed at the result.

To tell your story in a truly personal way, try combining vintage elements with new (but themed) furniture: you will create an irresistible environment, with your own style. A unique Provençal cuisine in the world!

An impeccable Provencal-style kitchen? Play with decorations and accessories!

When it comes to furniture, attention to detail is essential. The preparation of a Provencal kitchen is no exception: walls, cabinets and floors are not everything! And, especially in such a particular style, the decorations and accessories will make the difference.

The first rule is: place flowers everywhere. To give your kitchen the bucolic atmosphere typical of the French countryside, try hanging bouquets of dried flowers on the wall (or even on the ceiling, if you're lucky enough to have exposed beams!). Otherwise, if the idea seems too extreme, just fill the kitchen with vases.

But beware, the Provence-style kitchen doesn't "want" just any pots. Have fun repurposing everyday objects: glass demijohns, ceramic jugs, metal buckets and even old pots. Seeing is believing: everything becomes more beautiful with flowers! For the second and third rules, take a look below...

Provençal sideboards: French by vocation

Question: what cannot be missing in a Provencal kitchen? Answer: a sideboard with a delicate appearance, a little worn and, above all, with an unmistakably French air!

Here, too, you can choose between the old and the new, as long as the new has all the credentials to match well with a Provence-style kitchen. All shades of white, ivory, gray and beige will look perfect. But stay away from lacquered furniture! Always prefer pickled paint or, alternatively, natural wood.

Finally, perfect Provençal sideboards should have at least one of these two characteristics: French-style lettering and fabric-lined wicker baskets. Making sure you have these elements in the room is a trick that will transform your kitchen into a perfect Provencal style setting. If you don't know how to best choose your new Provençal sideboard, take a look at the multipurpose cabinets you find in our online store: many cheap models full of that country charm that will allow you to complete the kitchen with a touch of refinement!

Vintage and rustic textiles to embellish your Provencal kitchen!

You will have a lot of fun choosing curtains for your Provencal kitchen: this style focuses a lot on fabrics!

Simple Provençal linen gauze curtains, light but rough, will be excellent if the kitchen is already full of particular details: so you won't risk weighing down the environment. Otherwise, green light for lace, crochet and delicate floral patterns. But remember that the non-plus-ultra of the Provencal style is the so-called "toile de jouy", the classic French cord-colored fabric with those very characteristic prints that are somewhat reminiscent of porcelain.

If well chosen, the curtains will change the look of your Provencal kitchen. So don't be in a hurry to buy them right away: rather go hunting for vintage fabrics in the markets, where you could find real goodies at very attractive prices.

Provencal kitchens are not an unattainable mirage!

As you can see, finally getting the Provencal cuisine of your dreams is definitely within your reach! If this simple, bucolic and chic style has stolen your heart, all you have to do is get to work to bring a bit of Southern France into your home.

Always remember that the Provencal kitchens par excellence are neither too new nor too modern: this would make them cold, devoid of that warmth and romanticism that we aim to recreate. Mixing new furniture with vintage elements, choosing the right colors and abounding with flowers and decorations is the secret to achieving success.

Otherwise, there's always plan B: pack your bags and move to Provence!