I've driven by Kathy Delgado's store, Vintageweave Interiors, a dozen of times. She specializes in amazing French farmhouse style antiques and home decor. I am not sure how I got so lucky to get an invite to have lunch with her and tour her own kitchen, but I did!
When I walked through Kathy's front door I went right to the kitchen, where I promptly ooh'ed and ahh'ed. There are lots and lots of linens, and everything in the kitchen is very tactile. You could spend days looking at all the decor from France!
While Kathy was making a special salad for our time together, we talked about anything and everything like we had been friends for years (we have never met in person before). She had me laughing and practicing her accent, all of which was highly amusing. This is what cooking in the kitchen is all about, I learned: stories, laughter, smiles, beautiful design, and of course, tasty food. Thank you, Kathy, for a truly unforgettable afternoon!
10 Questions for Kathy (and Her Kitchen)
1. When translating a classic French aesthetic for your own kitchen, what are some tips?
To obtain a French aesthetic, I always prefer to stay away from anything that says "Paris" or "France" actually on it; these reproductions scream fake. Rather, buy the best kitchen accessories you can afford from an actual flea market in France or a "Made in France" item. Copper pots, warm woods, and natural linens are mainstays of a French kitchen.
2. What did your kitchen look like before and what were some of the biggest changes to the design?
As the house was built in March 1920 and I'm only the second owner, the original kitchenette was a narrow galley with laminate everything. I utilized the existing plumbing for my bar area and then added on the kitchen as it stands today, designed and built from ground up. To stay consistent with the 1920's California bungalow feel, I was careful not to go too high on my ceilings and to keep the square footage befitting a beach bungalow. Instead of a built-in island, I sketched one out on paper and found a builder in Canada. It has hidden castors so that I may roll it off to the side during large parties.
3. What are some of your favorite details in the kitchen design?
As I had the good fortune of building this kitchen from scratch, there is not one detail that was not chosen out of love. I searched endlessly for hardwood flooring that spoke to me and fell madly in love with this wide-planked Australian Cypress. I ended up putting it in the living, dining and kitchen areas of my home to give an illusion of a much larger space. With California's stringent environmental laws, I was unable to find the high gloss coating I wanted so I mixed my own and added on four coats.
The cabinetry hardware was found in the South of France and I beat it up a bit with a hammer for a more aged look. They were a small fortune so the thought of hitting them with a hammer had my cabinetry architect wanting to have me committed! However, my ultimate love is the countertops. I found large blocks of black granite which I then had honed and chisel chipped the edges; the latter is something my sub-contractor adamantly refused to do. I presented them with a waiver stating that I took full responsibility and was of sound mind in "breaking" the edges, as they called it. For 13 years a photo of my countertops has graced their catalog cover!
4. I love how you took a table runner and used it as a shade for the door. How did you come up with this idea?
Whether designing for myself or my clients, I always prefer to use items not for their intended purpose. As an antique textile dealer, I incorporate textiles I find in France throughout my entire home as standard shades just would never do!
5. What do friends love most about your kitchen design?
Friends love the sink and the stove. I am part of a dinner club and they insist on cooking at my house as often as possible. You will find friends and family gathered around the kitchen island drinking wine at least three times a week.
6. How much time to you spend cooking?
My schedule can get quite hectic if I'm in the middle of a design job, have clients in town, or traveling in France so my home cooking varies. I actually tend to cook more the busier I am as it relaxes me. After a super long day, sometimes making soup or croissants at 2AM is just what I need to relax my mind!
7. What is the most elaborate meal you have cooked in your kitchen?
I've taken cooking classes in Italy and France and most of the European meals are quite simple in nature. Once at a cooking class in Pasadena, California, I learned how to make a type of German meat pie (which I substitute with turkey sausages) which requires everything from scratch and is quite gorgeous in presentation. I often make this dish on New Year's Eve.
8. Since you travel to France often and your aesthetic clearly represents your travels, what are your biggest French cuisine indulgences?
I'm a foodie so my research of French restaurants is quite vast. Coq au vin (Le Toulouse in the 6th Arr of Paris), beurre croissants (pretty much anywhere in Paris, but I'm partial to Au Levain du Marais in the 11th), and a proper French roasted chicken (LA BASTIDE DE L'ODÉON also in the 6th Arr) are my must-haves on every single trip. When my hankering on any of these gets intense, I know I'm due for a trip across the pond! I believe exceptional food can actually call your name!!
9. Best cooking advice or tip you ever received:
I always say "Do I have so many chef clients because I'm such a foodie or am I such a foodie because I have so many chef clients?" I'm blessed to be around some of the best professionals in the business. Chef Ludo LeFebvre (see Ludo's home kitchen tour here) did brave the path of using duck fat to make fried chicken and that pretty much changed my life's chapter of comfort food.
10. Is the design finished? Are there any pending projects that would complete your dream kitchen?
As it goes with great cooking, I'm a big believer in buying the absolute best you can afford and not substituting cheaper alternatives. I do plan to tackle finding the perfect tile backsplash above the stove soon. The kitchen will have an addendum outside with the installation of a fireplace pizza oven at some point, too! Saving for these projects has proven a bit tough when a proper croissant in Paris keeps calling my name!
Resources of Note:
- Refrigerator: Sub-Zero
- Range: Dacor
- Dishwasher: Miele
- Cabinetry: Custom sketched by owner and designed by Kitchen Studio Naples
- Hardware: La Rue, Paris France
- Flooring: Australian Cypress, Australia imported
- Apron Sink: Shaws Original, England
- French Doors: Custom
- Island: Custom designed by owner, created in Canada
- Curtains (runners): Vintageweave interiors, designed in France
- Speakers/sound system: Bose
- All accessories, oil painting, sketches and architectural pieces: Imported from France, Vintageweave Interiors
- White Pottery bowl: Cote Bastide, France
- Plates: Arte Italica, Italy
- Apron: Cote Bastide, France
- Stools: Xavier Pouchard, France
- Pots: Le Creuset, France
We're always looking for real kitchens from real cooks.
Show us your kitchen here!
(Images: Marcia Prentice)
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Drool Time 10 !! I absolutely love all of the natural/ vintage elements in this kitchen! I also love the idea of not going into this Designer WHITE Kitchen, It looks like there is Soul here. Love it!
Absolutely beautiful. I'm thinking that an Artichoke and Berries painted canvas floorcloth would fit right in. (http://canvasworksfloorcloths.com/products-page/folk-art-designs-flora-and-fauna/small-artichoke-and-berries/)
I love the look and all the details, but with a kitchen tour, I would think that there would be more focus on wide kitchen shots rather than food. Please provide more photos of the overall kitchen rather than tiny vignettes and food (although it looks delectable)!
Even with the Le Creuset, bric-a-brak, controlled clutter, half filled bottles and jars of corks does not a French Kitchen make.
Gotta be honest... the clutter makes me anxious. Why is there a knife block on top of a gas range grill? I don't get it.
doesn't look like any french farmhouse I've seen, and it talks about Paris in the description, and in France I've never seen a sub-zero refrigerator, only seen very small ones, for energy, and because they still shop frequently. the cabinets don't look french at all. the "stuff" might be collected in france...
I think I love it. It's shabby chic with french class. I too though, would of loved a whole kitchen shot instead of a corner here and a table there.
Love the homey, French style of this kitchen. Beautiful floors as well! I would love to hear some tips on how to recreate this look on a very tight budget. Any ideas, anyone?
While it is not my bag, it is always nice to see how others live and enjoy their space.I have to admit that the one thing that ran through my head as I looked at the pictures was who dusts all of that stuff?
HolleyD stated exactly what I was thinking... I've been looking for just the right flooring and my mouth dropped when I saw Kathy's and read how she found and ultimately polished them... Unfortunately, my budget would probably not allow for the exact match int the large area I'd want!
Ps - I don't see the knife block being 'on' the range but rather next to it, which is where mine is also...
Great Article, Keep them coming!!!
Any recommendations on where I can get a great marble (top) dining room table? I live in San Diego, but am willing to travel to find a good one. I saw one at West Elm, but I want a larger (and wider - and thicker marble) one. Thanks!!!!
It's a bit off-putting when someone says "I'm such a foodie".
While it's certainly pretty, I see this and just think how impractical it is. There's way too much decorative stuff just lying around. Where do you put the actual food when cooking or baking? And who has time to dust all of those jars and all that bric a brac? Lovely but I think I'd hate to cook in it.
This is really "French kitchen" for Americans. I am Dutch myself but have a lot of French friends. Their kitchens are not about kitchens, but about preparing food. Just as their food is not about how it looks, but how it tastes.
I must admit the pictures are pretty!
I'm going to have to agree with several other commenters - it's really cluttered with stuff just lying around everywhere. Unless there's a large, clear prep space that the house tour photographer didn't photograph, this just looks really impractical. Can you imagine holding a hot, heavy skillet in one hand and trying to clear all the silly bottles and baskets out of the way with the other?
Count me in as one who thinks this is too cluttered. I like many of the things she has but it's just too much for me. The only thing I can really think of is all the work that goes into keeping it all clean. But then, cooking and collecting French items is Kathy's life AND her business, so given that, the amount of stuff makes sense to me. It works for her.
Oh, and a tiny point....She's not "DO" for a trip to France, she's "DUE."
This kind of country french kitchen, and indeed all themed kitchen decors, are an American invention. Maybe originating with lifestyle gurus like Martha Stewart and pushed by designers and shelter magazines. Real Europen kitchens are either practical and modern, like your Parma kitchen, or an agglomeration of appliances and old furniture without built-ins. And none I've ever seen (I lived in France for awhile) has a wood floor, which is pretty but not practical.
Have to say I agree, this is not a kitchen tour, but a "food tour" when half the pictures are closeups of food prep?
how's this?
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/french-kitchen-table/s131540
:)
wow and wow! love that a kitchen in california is NOT white, which seems to be a trend. I also love that a kitchen looks real and not so perfectly staged. Since she's an antique dealer she probably sells a lot of things directly out of her home as I know many dealers who do so the items in the kitchen make sense. The floors are to die for. As for the comments regarding not a French kitchen, the person who lives in this kitchen appears to be American living in America so it would be a French kitchen from an American perspective, and to think it would have small appliances like they do in Paris is just plain foolish. Thanks, Apartment Therapy! These tours are great and I loved this one.
Thanks for the positive love being spread. It's a real working kitchen and that day we pulled out all the working elements to create a meal. This baby ain't for show--it gets USED and a lot! I love how Apt Therapy focuses on recipes with a twist of showing the kitchen in which it was created (recipe link forthcoming I believe). If you'd like to see more of the kitchen as well as the BEFORE of my little slice of the American Dream, please visit the blog here: http://vintageweave.blogspot.com/2013/01/french-kitchen-styled-for-california.html
Again--thanks for appreciating 31 flavors and all that jazz...Merci beaucoup! Kathy Delgado
What a wonderful post and a great inspiration! I'm hoping to move to France later this year and my perfect French kitchen keeps me awake at night. I hate the uniform 'fitted' kitchen look and this working kitchen is a lovely reflection of Kathy's passion for cooking, interiors and French Vintage...simply gorgeous!
Julia at www.sujiivana.co.uk
I really love the door covering idea (using a table runner) -- I can't quite see the hardware involved. Is it a tension rod that holds the lower, longer portion? And how are the upper clips attached to the door? If there are any close up shots, would love to see them. I have two beautiful craftsman-style glass doors, and I hate to cover their beauty but could use the bit of privacy this would give. Beautiful, inspiring tour.
Hi, Mel--I answered your question on the blog itself, and also updated the blog to give detailed description of the how/what. Thank you SO MUCH for appreciating the simplicity as much as I do!
Your kitchen is so inviting It's makes you want to cook and of course eat.
merci!
Thanks for such a great post! It is great to meet the creative power behind such great sources, and Kathy definitely falls into that category. I live in LA, so www.vintageweave.com is my "go - to" source or anything I need for the home, not just for the kitchen. As for personal taste, likes and dislikes, American or French, full size or not, well, I for one, am just happy to have a peek into this lovely personal home lifestyle. Thank You. And Monkey Bread - - try Vintageweave Interiors for that table you're looking for....
Some of the comments were hilarious.
Don't be a hater.
as some may say...Don't be ugly cuz I'm beautiful.
Cuz,cause, because, it's all the same to me.
Loved the look!
@Phyllis from Northgate Woods ... thank you ... my sentiments exactly!
@Kathy Delgado, thank you for showing us your beautiful kitchen. Your sites are amazing.
This is a lovely post. I love all things French and recently wrote this article:
http://boutiqueprovencale.co.uk/blog/french-country-decor-and-how-to-transform-your-kitchen/