Peter Salerno’s travels for design inspiration throughout France takes us today to the town of Vence, located in the far southeast of France, in the Alpes-Maritimes department of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region. The Alpes-Maritimes department directly borders Monaco and Italy to the east and has some of the most beautiful and varied topography in all of France. As its name suggests, the region is characterized mainly by the maritime Alps – but it’s also one of the few French departments to feature a Mediterranean coastline.
The most well-recognized cities in the area are Nice and Cannes; Vence is the 12th-largest town in the Alpes-Maritimes department. Located in the hills between Nice and Antibes, Vence features many awe-inspiring, existing medieval elements – for example, the town’s historic village features a fountain originally built in 1578 and an oak planted in 1538. Other aspects of Vence architecture are even older; portions of the external wall were built in the 3rd century and the town’s cathedral was erected in the 4th century.
Design in Vence is based on open flow between rooms and the usage of beautiful, easy-to-use Vence stone, located not only in the town’s walls but in many of its rustic, gorgeous country homes. In the kitchen above, featured in the outstanding publication Maison Creative (Hors Serie 2, 2013), you can see the implementation of the flat, beautiful Vence stone and the open floor plan. The result is a bright, spacious kitchen that makes full use of the sunny climes of the Alpes-Maritimes region; Nice sees almost 1.5 times as much sun per year as the rest of France.
A white wood-burning fireplace and large windows adorn the kitchen walls, and the long slab dining table ensures there will be plenty of room for good food, great wine, and cherished guests.
For more information on this kitchen and others like it, pick up a copy of Maison Creative Hors-Serie No. 2. And as always, for more information about the award-winning kitchen, bath, and custom cabinetry/woodworking designs of Peter Salerno and his staff, visit Peter Salerno Inc.’s official website or their showroom at 511 Goffle Road, Wyckoff, NJ, USA.
Design Your Lifestyle. 