Kitchen remodel: French kitchens are inviting

Achieve versatility in a kitchen remodel: French kitchens range from a country look to a formal chateau feeling. Either way, light infuses a French kitchen through the frequent use of light-toned cabinets, whether painted or wood.

Colors alone can give your kitchen a French flavor. Cabinets can be a soft butter color against pale blue or green walls. Decorative patterned tiles and linens add texture. Create your own palette with touches of apricot or red.

Country French cabinets can have relatively unadorned door frames and black door pulls. These kitchens often make use of racks and baskets for hanging pots, pans, sausages, onions and apples. Formal French kitchens have fluted accents in the stained-wood cabinets and crown moldings. Either country or formal may have multiple panes in the cabinets or kitchen window, and perhaps an arched wood cornice over the sink.