Kitchens with French Doors

The ice outside has us dreaming of quite the opposite: opening our kitchens fully to a warm and verdant outdoors. Since the kitchen is such a function-heavy space, it can often feel a little cold at any time of the year. But kitchens with french doors feel so homey and welcoming. The extra light and ability to connect indoors and out make french doors a high-impact detail with endless appeal.

Here are a few french doors we spotted in kitchens that just wouldn't be the same without them:

The green outdoors is just steps away from this kitchen island in Country Living.

French doors allow this kitchen in Sunset to open completely onto an adjacent deck.

These sliding doors look like french doors but save space.

An entire wall of windows and french doors by Fowler Architects

Who wouldn't have their kitchen open given this awesome ocean view as featured in House Beautiful?

Related: A Window Over the Kitchen Sink

(Images: Country Living, Sunset, Chris Madden, Fowler Architects, Ellen McDermott/House Beautiful)

Comments (10)

Hm...I don't know...Having french doors in my house off the kitchen dining area and our 3rd bedroom/office, I kind of wish they were sliders. Better environmental protection. *shrugs*

I LOVE my French Doors in the Kitchen. I keep them open all summer long.

I also have french doors in my kitchen, as well as a stone fireplace like your other post, and while the kitchen is extremely charming, it's just not functional the way it is. Since I can't figure out a way to redesign it with those two big presences, I'm considering relocating the kitchen to a new space and turning the kitchen into a dining room. But I'm reconsidering a little after seeing your two posts. Does charm override function?

We have sliders in our kitchen and I have often thought of changing it out for french doors.

But what do you do for screens? We don't have a lot of bugs here but I really don't want even one mosquito in the house.

My SO just bought an Eichler style house and I am trying to encourage sliders/french doors in all rooms including kitchen. He won't budge. HELP! What are some reasons that would convince an engineer. We live in silicon valley where it gets very hot in summer, and there is a lot of traffic noise.

Any suggestions as to where one might find a hanging light/chandelier like the one featured in the main photo?

I like the one with the ocean view. When we redid our kitchen, everything was designed around the view.

chocofish, my wood doors swing in and the screen doors swing out. The french door set I have was salvaged and is at least 50 years old so there may be newer implementations of french screens these days. I actually have only used one side of these doors...

Tazer, an engineer? I'd say go with the ROI argument.

stickyheels - Restoration Hardware?

http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1157672&categoryId=cat1701013

We had french doors in our last house, and while I loved the look, they weren't very practical in bug-infested Missouri. There was no way to have them open and not have bugs flying into the house and attacking us.