French Provincial kitchen in barn-style house

Authenticity is everything when you wish to replicate a particular look or period. And for the designer-builder of this French farmhouse kitchen, that extended to the craftsmanship as well as the materials.

Jon and Susan Reiter of Reiter Fine Home Building wanted to ensure the kitchen in this great room would complement the home's barn-style architecture by Victor Conforti.

The team working on the house had already created the perfect backdrop. Custom plaster, colored to provide a bleached look, was troweled on the walls, and the concrete floors were slow cured with wet hay to provide an aged patina. The high wood-lined ceiling, exposed oak trusses and beams were also specified to evoke the character of an old European barn.

"The kitchen is positioned at one end of this great room, and is anchored by an oversized plastered hood in the French Provincial style," says Reiter. "To reinforce the look, we added a heavy fir mantle that was milled on site from a tree on the property. We deliberately chose a large, gnarly piece with cracking it needed to look as though it had been there for years."

The hood sits above a large 87in Lacanche Sully range, which is framed by concrete cabinets in the traditional European farmhouse style. Painted panel doors continue the country look.

Wood features on the front and sides of the island the wood was stained and stripped back to create a weathered finish. Concrete forms the main island countertop, while the bar top is in limestone with embedded fossil remains.

Three pendant lights above the island were made from old plough discs and lengths of pipe. Similarly, the large light fixture above the dining table was custom built to match the scale of the great room. This features solid oak beams reclaimed from an old barn in France.

Reiter says much of the food preparation and clean-up takes place in the butler's kitchen immediately behind the main kitchen. This room has a glass-front refrigerator, pantry, sink, espresso machine and additional dishwashers. There is also a farmhouse sink within the perimeter cabinets in the main kitchen.

Story by: Trendsideas