Everything to Know About French Country Architecture
The très chic French country home style combines natural comforts with luxury.
Highlights
French country home styles flourished in the U.S. after World War I.
You'll find many variations and sizes of French country homes.
Most designs feature symmetrical facades, natural materials, and quaint decor.
Newly constructed homes still incorporate the French country style today.
As easy as it is to daydream about running off to the French countryside, you can enjoy the rustic elegance of Provence architecture without even leaving home. French country homes combine the quaint, natural elegance of early 20th-century France with American architecture from Louisiana to California. If you're longing for that old coffee-by-the-fireplace, Juliet-balcony, wildflower-garden feeling, look at the French country home style.
What Is French Country Architecture?
In the U.S., French country homes—aka French provincial homes or Provencal homes—emulate a building and decor style inspired by the quaint countryside architecture of rural France. Think stone facades, highly pitched roofs, exposed wooden beams, and a roaring hearth that create a humble but romantic aesthetic.
When WWI soldiers returned home, they brought back elements of style they'd seen everywhere from Provence to Normandy. Provencal and Norman architectural styles incorporate elements of today's Americanized version.
And because soldiers lived across the country, the French country home style adapted to wherever they called home. You'll find French country home elements in New Orleans row homes, mountaintop chalet homes in the hills outside of L.A., and sprawling villas in New England.
Exterior Features of a French Country Home
French country homes are easy to identify when driving down the street. And while the style has modernized over the past century, it retains a standard set of features.
1. Symmetrical Facade
No matter the size or age of an American French country home, the exterior is often symmetrical—if not heavily balanced on both sides. Many original French country homes featured two chimneys on either side of the roof, matching pairs of windows, and symmetrical elements like balconies, railings, or doors.
2. Steep Hipped Roofs
Highly sloped roofs are one of the most common features of a French country home. Roofs are typically hipped with four steeply sloping sides and topped with slate, clay, or stone overlapping shingles. You may also spot dormer windows, copper trim, and an occasional round tower.
3. Natural Building Materials
The French country style fully exposes its natural building materials from the walkway to the facade. Stone, brick, stucco, and plaster are common depending on the region of the U.S., as are exposed wooden beams. This gives each home a neutral color palette of white, cream, tan, brown, red, gray, and blue.
4. Ornate Windows
While most countryside homes remain as subtle as possible, you will find touches of ornate elegance in the window design. Tall, thin, multi-paned French windows and doors are common, particularly on the second floor. Windows may feature curved tops, decorative lintels, and colorful shutters.
5. Country Garden
Depending on the region of the country, many French country homes feature a complimentary garden style. For example, English and French country garden styles encourage lush wildflowers, tall grasses, and winding walkways. In this case, the garden's whimsical style mirrors the natural, romantic home.
Interior Features of a French Country Home
Like other architectural styles like Arts and Crafts or colonial homes, the interior style of French country homes directly dictates the decor and general energy of the space.
1. Exposed Beams, Stone, and Plaster
Choosing building materials for a French country home is akin to walking through the countryside itself. Step inside a French country home, and you'll find the natural building materials showcased just as much as they were on the facade. Wood-planked ceilings are incredibly common, for example. Designers either paint them to match the color of the walls or leave them their original hardwood finish. You'll also find white stone or plaster walls with or without exposed beams. Stone and hardwood floors are also popular—specifically in herringbone patterns.
2. Symmetrical Layouts
Quaint French country homes feature two stories with similar, if not identical, types of floor layouts. They often include a primary entrance area and a rectangular floor plan split into equivalent parts left open for access to the hearth. The layout is often relatively flexible and open, providing options to streamline from the living space to the kitchen.
More ornate styles will incorporate more complex layouts, multiple separate rooms, and additional floors.
3. Simple Color Palette
The color palette inside a French country home mirrors the exterior's natural and soft qualities. You'll find white, cream, red, gray, and brown straight from various natural building materials and complementary paint colors. And since these homes often feature multiple windows, natural light can reflect off the softly colored walls and surfaces to open up the space further.
4. Distressed, Yet Elegant, Design
Perhaps most importantly, the American interpretation of the French country home style strikes a balance between lived-in comfort and chic elegance, making it a nice balanced option when considering different house styles. If the interior does feature trim or ornamentation, it is subtle and balanced. For example, luxury touches such as European-style lighting stand out against white plaster walls, wood beams, and marble countertops.
Pros and Cons of French Country Homes
Like other home styles, this cozy and rustic home style has pros and cons worth considering. This is one reason you may want to review key questions to ask a home builder before you embark on a house of this style. Here are some of the main ones to consider:
Pros
They’re versatile. The French country homestyle allows for versatility regardless of your budget and taste. There are plenty of ways you can customize things to suit what you want for a home.
The style is timeless. Given that this style has been around for a while, it’s safe to say that it’s pretty timeless. Even if you make modifications to suit a more modern lifestyle, the French country style offers plenty of curb appeal.
They’re functional. Even though the design might make you think otherwise, don’t judge a house by its beautiful exterior. French country-style homes are also very liveable, never exchanging looks for functionality.
Cons
High maintenance. Because of all the natural materials incorporated into this home style, it can be high maintenance to properly maintain the natural wood and stone and the fabrics used for interior decoration.
They can be expensive. French country homes can be costly, especially if you want the most authentic look. High-quality, natural materials can quickly add up.
Not always energy efficient. Because these homes are typically bigger and have many windows and doors, a solid heating and cooling system is required, which can rack up your energy bill.
How to Incorporate French Country Style Into Your Home
If you’re a fan of the French country style home but don’t want to take the plunge on doing an entire home that way, you can incorporate the style into your home in these smaller ways:
Display antiques.
Decorate with soft pastel colors.
Install French doors.
Use natural materials for furniture and decor.
Incorporate rustic details like an old-school tea kettle.
French Country Home Renovation and Care
French country homes built just after World War I often require the care of an experienced local home remodeler to maintain its historic integrity and bring it up to code. Plaster walls, original wiring, and lack of HVAC capabilities can be costly, but they are common issues in a century-old home.
The original features that make the style unique are also important to consider in your restoration budget. For example, restoring wall and floor stones, updating wooden beans, and replacing copper trim are all quite common. And while the steep roofs on French Country homes should have protected against ice dams and snow damage, the traditional stone, slate, and clay tile is not your cheapest option.
That said, French country architecture remains popular in new home construction. Designers add modern amenities to new homes without losing the original quaint and cozy style that launched the trend.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a handful of patterns that fall under the French country style. These patterns include stripes, plaid, checks, gingham, and delicate florals—especially if they have a weathered, rustic, or antique look. Incorporating these patterns through wallpaper, art, or other decor can amp up the French country style of any home.
The main difference between French country and farmhouse style is that French country incorporates rural, rustic elements elegantly, while farmhouse style opts to approach rurality more clearly. For instance, in a French country-style home, you'll have antique kitchenware next to a backdrop of refined florals, while a farmhouse style caters more to a casual look, opting for more shabby antiques.
While they originated in France, in the U.S., French country homes are most commonly found in Mississippi, Louisiana, specifically New Orleans, and other cities, including St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. Even though these U.S. cities take the cake in terms of the most common for having French country homes, you can always reach out to an architect near you if you want to develop this kind of home for yourself.