There are many different styles of range hood on the market, but none are quite as elegant and stylish as French country kitchen varieties. These hoods look stunning and bring a rich European homeliness to their setting.
This post begins by defining what French country stove hoods are. Then we discuss the benefits of owning them, followed by some examples from CopperSmith. By the end, you should understand what they offer, giving you more confidence to buy one.
What Is A French Kitchen Hood?
French country kitchen hoods are a type of range hood designed to emulate the rustic and elegant style you might find in Provence or Normandy kitchens. Most designs have a curved or arched shape that starts narrow at the top and then widens more suddenly as it approaches the hob. This defining characteristic feels timeless and helps you inject personality into your kitchen.
Traditionally, owners would brace metal panels, holding them together to make a chimney above an open fire or stove. The French proceeded to refine this style, making it increasingly elegant. Today, French country kitchen hoods are instantly recognizable owing to their unique flute-like shape.
Despite being traditional, our French country hoods come with fans, ducts, and filters, just like other modern designs. They are available in various sizes and power ratings, making them suitable for electric and gas ranges – whichever you use in your kitchen.
The History Of The French Kitchen Hood
Like the British, the French began incorporating chimneys in their homes during the Middle Ages. Farmers and peasants saw the health and lifestyle benefits of extracting smoke, steam, and other gasses from their stoves during cooking.
At first, these chimneys were pretty basic – often just a hole in the roof. But later, the French began cladding them to prevent smoke from cooking from escaping into the room. These fuller chimneys generated a draft that drew cold air into the fire and shot hot air out above it.
By the end of the Middle Ages, French people started distinguishing between chimneys above fireplaces to keep the home warm and those above cooking stoves. For the former, they began building chimneys into their walls directly above their fireplaces. This arrangement reduced the amount of unwanted smoke entering the room even more while providing plenty of heat. For the latter, the chimney took on a cone-like structure that extended up to the roof – something we might recognize today. It captured cooking gasses and smoke, channeling them outside. It also had space for spit-roasting meat and hanging various pots, pans, and cooking utensils.
In the sixteenth century, a new type of hood emerged in France. It was a luxury appliance for its time, featuring a vaulted oven and stove with a hood that collected fumes and steam from cooking. The design inspired Albert Dupuy, a Parisian pastry chef looking for a more consistent and precise way to cook and bake. Eventually, it became a symbol of French culinary excellence and was adopted by chefs worldwide.
At the same time, another type of French kitchen hood started developing. This design was inspired by a fashionable piece of clothing, the so-called “French hood,” which spread across France and England from 1520 onwards.
The French hood had a stiffened foundation and a curved, close-fitting cap with a veil-like fabric at the rear. Upper-class women wore it as a sign of their status. Later, stove hood designers used it as inspiration for their stove hoods, giving us the classic design we know and love today.
The Benefits Of French Kitchen Hoods
The French country hood style offers various benefits for homeowners who take the plunge and install one. Modern versions of this hood are fabulous at extracting cooking smoke and gasses and bring intangible benefits you might not experience by installing designs with a different heritage or design priorities.
Create A Rustic Ambiance
The primary benefit of French kitchen hoods is their ability to generate a rustic ambiance. Nothing quite compares to their striking design.
Virtually all French kitchen hoods start narrow at the top and widen suddenly in the lower third. This format immediately introduces a traditional aesthetic because it diverges from most contemporary proportions. You can get shorter designs if you are worried about clearance. However, manufacturers still cleverly design these with the same rapidly-increasing gradient for shorter ceilings or where there is less clearance above the hob.
French kitchen hoods also achieve a rustic appearance because of the materials used in construction. Warm espresso and brick notes help you feel like you are traveling back in time.
French kitchen hoods also feature stylistic embellishments, such as bracing and architrave. Bracing is an optional add-on that makes the hood feel more substantial, while architrave complements the rest of the room and helps the hood merge with it.
You don’t have to get a rustic-looking French kitchen hood for your home. However, we would strongly recommend it. The style lends itself naturally to older materials, as discussed in the next section. CopperSmith sells an enormous selection of French range hoods that emulate historical features.
Complement A French Kitchen
Another benefit of French range hoods is that they let you complement the rest of your French kitchen (if you have one), acting as the perfect centerpiece. You don’t have to settle for a design that clashes.
French kitchens usually have a selection of the following characteristics:-
- A neutral color palette with warm tones, such as gray, beige, and cream
- A combination of open and closed storage options, such as shelves, cabinets, racks, and baskets
- A selection of (usually) copper cookware on display
- A functional peninsula or island that serves as an additional focal point for the entire room
- A wine cooler built into the island or cabinetry
- A traditional farmhouse sink, usually made of porcelain, copper, or ceramic
- A gooseneck faucet
- A tiled or stone backsplash, often marble, granite, or limestone
- A mixture of intricate and straightforward murals on the walls
- Traditional rustic countertops made of wood, stone, or metal, often with a “distressed” finish
- A granite, stone, or chunky wood butcher’s block
- A warm and cozy lighting scheme
- Tile, wood, stone, or ceramic flooring, perhaps with a herringbone pattern
- A cozy and inviting décor theme with plenty of accessories, such as clocks, vintage baskets, mirrors, and artwork
Kitchens that fulfill some of these criteria will undoubtedly benefit from French kitchen hoods. Copper construction brings a sense of elegance and charm to rooms that you don’t get with conventional, utilitarian units.
Thrill Your Guests
Lastly, French kitchen hoods provide a unique opportunity to thrill your guests. French hoods are unique and striking, getting people in the mood for haute cuisine.
CopperSmith’s French range hood designs come with various finishes and embellishments to make them feel even more special. Our selection includes range hoods with unique apron shapes, various embellishments, and style choices that help them complement the rest of your kitchen.
The Most Common Materials For French Kitchen Hoods
In the distant past, the French made range hoods from wood, bricks, and limestone plaster. However, these often proved unreliable. French people discovered they broke or didn’t quite meet their expected standards.
More recently, materials and manufacturing improved significantly. French hoods evolved and became more robust.
This section discusses the materials designers currently use for French hoods. At CopperSmith, we offer hoods made of metal, but there are other options, as you’ll see below.
Stone
The most traditional French country range hood material is stone. People have been using it for hundreds of years.
Stone is naturally elegant and somewhat durable if built and installed correctly. It complements French kitchens because of its timeless and solid appearance, blending with the style. It’s also incredibly heat and stain-resistant, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking.
The downside is that stone tends to be heavy and expensive to install. Fittings often take several days or weeks. And variations in stone color mean it can be challenging to match designs to the rest of your kitchen. You don’t always know what it will look like until the work is done.
Wood
Another common material for French kitchen hoods is wood, as mentioned above. People used it historically because it added warmth and character to their cooking spaces.
Wood is a versatile material for French kitchen hoods, letting you paint or stain it how you want. It’s also carvable, making it easy to get something unique that evokes a French atmosphere.
With that said, it can be temperamental. It is porous, prone to warping, and flammable as a natural material. It also requires regular sealing to keep bacteria out and prevent mold growth.
These days, wooden French kitchen hoods are rare. They are an option for electric hobs but require special fire-retardant treatment to render them safe.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is another exciting French kitchen hood material option. While it is modern and sleek, it has a smooth and shiny surface that reflects light and creates a sense of spaciousness.
Stainless steel is a British invention. A researcher at Brown Firth Laboratories, Harry Bearley, made the first batch of the metal in August 1913 after combining steel with 12.8 percent chromium and 0.24 percent carbon. He discovered that it didn’t tarnish like other steels, even in the presence of vinegar and acids.
Hence, while stainless steel isn’t a strictly French material, people still include it in French kitchens because it is easy to maintain and hygienic. It’s easy to clean and helps to brighten rooms.
The downside is that it can show dust, grease, and fingermarks. For that reason, homeowners need to wipe it down regularly.
Copper
Copper is the ultimate material for French kitchen hoods. It has the quintessential warm and rustic look many people are looking for when they imagine a French kitchen.
The French began making high-quality copper cookware in the 1700s. Around this time, skilled artisans mastered hammering copper sheets into bowls, pans, and utensils.
People liked copper utensils because they offered antimicrobial action (even if they didn’t fully understand the underlying science). As such, they became more popular markets and sellers' fairs.
As copper-working techniques improved, some skilled craftspeople began making range hoods from the metal. Early hoods were essentially copper cones hammered into the canonical French style. Then, after the 1960s, some manufacturers began including more advanced features, such as fans.
French kitchen owners like using copper because it is durable, easy to clean, and heat-resistant. It also gives their kitchens the classic look they want. However, others avoid them because they are prone to tarnishing.
Fortunately, CopperSmith offers designs that incorporate zinc which provides more protection. Zinc reduces the patina and helps the metal age more gracefully.
Examples Of French Kitchen Hoods
At CopperSmith, we offer an abundance of French kitchen hoods in various styles for you to enjoy. All our hoods are customizable, letting you play around with the design and finish until you arrive at something perfect.
Here are some examples of the types of units we offer:-
Signature SX4 French Kitchen Hood
This French hood from our Signature range (the Signature SX4) looks great in copper when paired with a marble backsplash and sideboard. The design features embellishments around the apron and two attractive braces that help to make the unit feel more historical. You can see it works above a large range with six burners here.
Signature SX6 French Kitchen Hood
The Signature SX6 French Kitchen hood offers an even more quintessentially French design. The hammered copper paired with the intricate detailing makes it feel more rustic and adds a sense of coziness to your home. As you can see, it pairs beautifully with tiles and brickwork. The picture shows a classic window, but it complements French windows, too – another benefit.
Signature SX8 French Kitchen Hood
The Signature SX8 is another striking French kitchen hood design. It looks similar to the SX4 but has a handy rail for hanging items above the stove and a carefully-crafted apron. The design has the feel of a pizza oven and instantly creates ambiance. Customizable elements include the crown profile and finish, the strap finish and texture, the rivet style and finish, and the pot rail finish. You can also choose the width and height of the unit to fit your kitchen’s layout perfectly.
Signature SX11 French Kitchen Hood
The Signature SX11 is another popular option among our customers. It features three elegant straps, plenty of crown molding, and oversized embellishments at the apron. The unit has a sleek appearance and looks like a French country range hood you might find in a traditional kitchen but with modern conveniences added.
Signature SX12 French Kitchen Hood
The Signature SX12 is an excellent example of a modern take on a French kitchen hood. The style has French elements but would work equally well in a contemporary-themed kitchen. This design has a natural stainless steel body, a matte brass crown finish, and a striking crown profile. However, you can change the finish and body color to suit your style.
Classic CX1 French Range Hood
The Classic CX1 is our most simplistic French range hood, capturing the essence of the style and nothing more. Here, we show what it looks like in hammered “aged copper” because of the ambiance and beauty it offers. Each unit is a true showpiece for your kitchen, offering a stunning design you’ll struggle to find anywhere else. Don’t forget: you can customize it with various straps and rivets to get something that suits your theme.
Classic CX3 French Range Hood
The Classic CX3 French range hood is made of hammered, textured metal. Unlike the CX1, it features a straight-edged apron section with a half-moon-shaped cutout at the front to provide more visibility in the cooking space.
The Classic CX3 has a homely, welcoming feel. It invites you to walk up to your range and cook dinners for the entire family.
Classic CX5 French Range Hood
Lastly, we have the Classic CX5 French-style range hood. You can see how this unit fits seamlessly into a standard modern kitchen, offering a beautiful focal point that helps to define the room. The antique brass finish contrasts with the cream cabinets and stone countertops.
Get French Country Stove Hoods From CopperSmith
CopperSmith offers a range of delightful French country range hoods to accentuate your kitchen design. All models are highly customizable and made to order, letting you find something that works for you. They are perfect for new kitchens, renovations, or simply replacing your existing hood.
Our handmade products are all unique and have distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from mass-produced alternatives. These individual variations are not defects and add value to the design.
We love making French kitchen hoods at CopperSmith and can’t wait to install yours. Don’t forget to use our 3-D configurator to see what yours will look like in your kitchen. Get in touch with our support team, or order yours today.
