How To Add French Country Style To Your Kitchen

By Lee Dobbins

You don’t have to be a decorator to get a add a bit of French country style home décor to your kitchen. Little changes like adding stencils to the walls and coordinating your tablecloths and dishware can do wonders to make your kitchen seem like an old French country Inn.

You don’t have to go out and buy all new furniture, but for a great French country look, you should have some antique looking painted pieces. Anything with hand painted stenciling or chippy or aged paint will do. If your cabinets are tired, try repainting them with a worn look as this can be much less costly than buying new ones and will do wonders for the room.

Decorative accessories are vital to pulling your French country style home décor design theme together. You can totally change the appearance of your room by simply replacing the accessories! Concentrate on getting tablecloths, dishware and canisters, in colors and patterns that match your French country look. It's amazing the difference a few alterations can make! You should to add in a variety of wooden bowls in addition to chippy painted items and you can even try some scrolly decorative flea market finds as well as vintage fabrics which you can use as curtains, on the tables or hang from your cabinet and stove handles.

Lighting is key in any kitchen and your French country kitchen is no exception. When considering lighting in a kitchen, you must provide good overhead lighting as well as task lighting. If you are decorating with a French country design style, try installing a painted or crystal chandelier with crystal lamps or scones and be sure to avoid anything that is too modern with straight lines.

How you dress your windows also effects your French country style home décor look. There are multiple window coverings that go with this design, particularly if you match other fabrics or colors in the room, but you should avoid heavy contemporary fabrics. Try using a nice toile print curtain, or sheers with a great distressed paint wooden valance.

Painting your walls can be one of the biggest and least expensive changes in your French country style home décor decorating project. For this look the room colors make a big difference - you should think about using either light yellow or pale blue either in your wall color or your accessories. Try using a light colored paint with crown moldings on the walls, or if you want something different go with stenciling.

After you paint the walls - don’t forget to decorate them! Try using country style paintings with a French flair or interesting old kitchen utensils that you can hang on groupings on the wall. Buy interesting old plates and tureen covers at flea markets and yard sales and use fancy hangers or silk ribbon to hang those on the walls for an interesting effect.

Getting a great French country look in your kitchen can be as simple as just buying new decorative accessories or as involved as replacing everything. Either way, working on the details and making sure to match your furniture and decorative accessories will help you pull off a great new French country style home décor look that you can be proud of!

Lee Dobbins writes for A Kitchen Decorating Idea where you can get more great kitchen decorating ideas.

More about → How To Add French Country Style To Your Kitchen

How To Create A Spicy Mexican Kitchen

By Lee Dobbins

Show your family that spice isn’t just for cooking by decorating your kitchen with Mexican home decor!

Even if you’ve never decorated before you can get a great Mexican look in your kitchen by changing minor accessories such as tablecloths and dishware and adding some colorful paint to the walls. A good remodel can include alterations to flooring, lighting fixtures, decorative items and wall color as well as your kitchen table and chairs.

It's not critical to have a matching table and chair set but the kitchen should have a variety of bright colored or rustic furniture. To really showcase the Mexican design style, try using items with a painted distressed finish.

Your window treatments are important to your Mexican home décor design. To get a great design in your kitchen go with using a simple valance or shutters or a wooden valance painted with distressed paint. There are numerous treatments that you can match up to this decorating style especially if you match fabrics to your window treatments, but you should take care to avoid heavy drapes or modernistic looking treatments.

Decorative accessories are a must to pulling your Mexican home décor look together. Even if you can't do anything else - you can get a new look by adding different decorative items! Concentrate on buying tablecloths, dishware and canisters, in colors and patterns that match your Mexican design style. You won't believe the impact a few simple changes can make! You should to include lots of old rustic pieces in addition to wrought iron pieces and you can even try some colorful hand painted wooden pieces to get a unique look for your kitchen. Incorporating additional touches like vintage hand painted Mexican pottery can make your room appear like it was done by a professional.

What's on your floor can add to the decorating scheme, but if you can not buy new flooring in your kitchen then work with your floors by covering them with area rugs that have a Mexican look. If you do want to go with new floors, try rustic hard wood or tile floors.

Lighting is necessary in your home and the kitchen is no exception. To compliment your Mexican home décor design, you should consider light fixtures in terms of type as well as style. When you are incorporating a Mexican look, try a tin chandelier with scrolly metal wall sconces or anything wrought iron or rustic looking.

A vital ingredient when decorating your kitchen with a Mexican inspired style is your wall coverings. For this decorating style the room colors make a big difference - consider adding reds and bright blues either in your wall color or your accessories. Try using a stucco on the walls, or maybe go with faux paint that resembles plaster. You don't have to get too fancy or spend a lot of money and if you are afraid of too much color, simply paint the walls a neutral shade and put the color into your flooring and accents.

The most important and most fun part is adding art and decorations to your walls. Try adding a hand painted mural or hang some vintage Mexico travel prints to your kitchen walls to really bring out the spice of your Mexican design style. You can also fill the wall with mexican pottery plates and platters hung in wrought iron plate holders or hang shelves and fill them with colorful and interesting Mexican clay jugs.

Getting a great Mexican look in your kitchen doesn’t have to take a lot of money or time. Smart shopping for accessories and making a few simple changes can add a little zing to your room in no time!

More about → How To Create A Spicy Mexican Kitchen