Tan France’s New Kitchen is a Dream Come True | Home at Last | Architectural Digest

Tan France is back with AD for a new edition of ‘Home at Last’. In this edition, the ‘Queer Eye’ star sets out to design a beautiful new kitchen and dining area for his family, and the result is a dream come true.

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– Hello everyone, my name is Tan France. You may know me from the likes of “Next in Fashion”, or “Queer Eye”, but today I’m letting you in on my most personal project yet, the build of my dream home. I’m gonna take you through to the likes of my spice kitchen,

My cottage, my closet, the exterior, interior, and pretty much everything in between. You’re gonna love it, I promise. Join me, won’t you? [upbeat classical music] [door clicks open] My family were raised in a small town in a working-class community. I’ve got a very large family, me and my sister and my mom

And my sister-in-laws love to cook together. I need this kitchen to feel social. I love to cook for my kids, I love to cook for my friends, I love to cook for my family. I want it to feel like a communal space where we can be really comfortable. [calm classical music]

– I’m Tom Fox with the Fox Group. – And I’m Cara Fox, welcome to our office. We are helping Tan and Rob build their dream home. Yay, welcome! – Hello, [indistinct]. Hi, thank you for having us. – Hi, dear. I know that everyone says the kitchen is the heart

Of the home, but so many times I hear that and I think, “You’ve never cooked a day in your life.” For me, it really is the heart of my home. You know how obsessed we are with getting this kitchen just spot on. – Sure. [upbeat classical music]

As a kid, my issue was my mom would cook South Asian food, which smells really strong, and then we’d go to school and the kids would make fun of us, saying, “Why do you smell like that?” I would love to not traumatize my kids.

So I want my kids to be able to eat and hang in the main kitchen with their dad, and for me to be able to cook in the spice kitchen, close off the door, and make sure that smell doesn’t enter the rest of the house. We wanna go for two-tone cabinets.

– Neutral, light, airy, but not white. – Light will hit it, so we can see there’s a texture to it. So it doesn’t just feel flat like that. I want the spice kitchen to feel Asian. Do you remember that geo print that we have all over South Asia, the star?

– Mm-hmm. – Is there a world where we could engrave it into that, or laser cut it? – Yes. – I will come up with something. – I will check your work. That banquette area in the corner is really important. We can sit around that as a family.

I know we have a dining room, but that’s more formal. – I think it will really play off well with these black and white floors. And we have a more tumbled or a more straight edge. – I prefer the straight edge. – I prefer the straight edge. Countertops, we’re over marble.

No shade, but we’re over marble. Is this quartzite? – Quartzite. – I love this. – I love it. – And it’ll be easy for me to clean. – Are you a messy cook? – No. – He would say no. – The answer is no. [upbeat classical music]

This is a home for my family, and therefore it needs to function a certain way. The dining space that we have, making sure that it can cater to a larger group of people. The kitchen, South Asians center their whole world around the kitchen, that’s where families are really made.

I wanted to create a home that catered to all of that. This space here is going to be my kitchen. I could not be more excited about this space. I wanted to have a massive stove, but we want to enclose it so it feels really old worldy.

And then I really wanted to have a space here, a nook, that my kids feel like they can hang out, they can do homework, they can eat, they can do whatever they need to do, but I can keep an eye on them and I want to feel like we’re always together.

And then the thing I’m most excited about in this space, instead of just a regular pantry, this here is going to be my spice kitchen. We wanted a contained space where we could cook Indian food. The fact that I get a spice kitchen where I can close that door, cook with my family,

Cook for my family, and still have my kids go out into the world, my husband go out into the world, and not smell like they live in a restaurant, that’s gold for me. Any brown person will understand that completely. And then this connects over to the dining room.

This space will probably be used for socializing more than any other space in the house. I’m a very keen host, I wanted to have a dining table that would fit 12 people around it. Okay, I’m gonna bring Tom and Cara in, who are gonna explain the design even more.

So, should we talk about wallpaper? – Let’s do it, yes. We have a few different options from De Gournay. – The middle one’s still the one I love so much. I want to use this as the thing that we pull colors from. The blues in particular, I think, on this are gorgeous.

And I just saw this. – [Cara] Oh yes. – Okay. [Cara laughs] So this isn’t actually the finished thing. – [Tom] So this is a prototype, but we wanted to show you the overall design that you designed. – Yeah, so this design is such a typical South Asian design.

You see it all over India and Pakistan. And we wanted that to be incorporated into the house. I don’t want this just to feel like an old English house. And so this on this in the end will be absolutely gorgeous. I’m so excited about it. – It’s so full of character,

It’s so you, I love it. – Yeah, okay, so this is the spice kitchen. The stove is gonna go here, but it’s not gonna be as big a stove here as it is there, which is completely understandable. – This is more of a utility stove.

We have lots of shelving in here, open shelving, just like pantry and also cooking. – This is my space. – This is really you. – I am such a cook. – Yeah. – This is my space. [Cara and Tom laugh] [upbeat classical music] [upbeat classical music continues]

So I am on my way to the property, the build. I’ve not seen the house within the last couple of months. – I’m actually really excited to have him see it. – 100%. – Just ’cause so much has changed. – All the fun things are happening.

Like, think of the crown molding in the dining room. – That’s so custom and pieced together, exactly how he wanted it. – The flooring Rob has been extremely particular about. Rob wanted smaller tiles. I wanted slightly bigger tiles. I’m just praying that they don’t feel too small for the large space.

[joyful classical music] [footsteps thumping] I actually don’t have relevant English for this. I can’t articulate how much I love it. – [Cara] Well, you designed it. – [Tan] It’s so good. – [Cara] It’s amazing. – After we figured out the actual scaling. – Yeah. – Right, because a lot

Of times when you do five-piece crown, it just gets so big, and it just gets so kind of almost obnoxious. – Yeah, Rob was saying, “Is it too much?” I was saying, “Too much is not a bad thing.” I wanted this dining room to feel just incredible.

I have this term where I say, I wanna make the eye dance, with clothes, and that’s what I want in this space. And now it does, with all of your tools and apparatus in here, I can’t wait to invite friends over. – We’re gonna leave those

As a house warming gift. – Keep ’em. That orange thing can be my dining table. What is that? A [indistinct] sized toolbox, what is it? – Exactly. – Exactly. – Great, that could be the dining table. Then should we talk about the fireplace? – [Cara] Yes. – I mean, we can, sure.

– How’s it coming along? [laughs] When are we getting it? – Mantles are in production. – Okay. – We are probably getting those in about three weeks. – So we haven’t received the wallpaper for the primary bedroom yet. How’s this one coming on? – [chuckles] We’re in the same boat,

But I know it’s in production, I’ve seen pictures. – [Tan] Okay, good. – It’s being hand painted, it takes a lot of time. But they’re promising us, you know, mid September, yeah. – Chris and the table. Has he started on the table? – Oh yes, yeah. The table’s gonna be spectacular.

It’s a custom size. It’s gonna fit perfectly for this room. Your dinner guests will never- – Leave? – Will never leave. [laughs] – That’s a problem. I only like guests for two hours maximum, then get the heck out of the house. Get out my house. [Cara laughs] Okay, I know you’ll remember,

My biggest concern was mini tiles, that’s gonna look insane. Rob’s right. Perfect. – [Tom] It’s an eight inch, and it fits really well with the scale of your kitchen. – Yeah, it’s gorgeous, yeah. – Looks really great. – And I like that it’s not too shiny. – Yeah. – The beams.

I’m so glad we went with beams. – I know, those white oak beams are amazing. Still missing that small little bead detail on the corner, but- – Still missing the stain. – That’s okay. – Yeah. – That’s okay. Even just this- – The color is coming. – Create some warmth to the kitchen.

– [Cara] Yeah. – Now, this isn’t warm, this question. You’re gonna get real frosty. [Cara and Tom chuckle] Him. – I think it’s pretty great as it is. [Tan laughs] – [Tom] You mean the custom-made steel window, kitchen- – Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it ready or not, Tom?

– No. – But I will say, Bellstone is sending me pictures daily and it is looking out of this world. – Yeah, I mean, listen, we just did all these, the curvature and the glass and some of the- – And we did throw that

On them, because once they said we can make it curved, like you originally wanted, I said, “Go for it.” – Well, does that mean that the rest of the kitchen can’t be done, like the cabinets can’t be done because the window’s not in? – So, you’re right.

To finish the exterior, to finish the countertops, this has to be in. – So if it arrives end of September, you’ve only got like 15, 20 days to get the kitchen done? – Yep. – Yep. – Yeah. – All the cabinets are ready. Everything is ready to just come in.

The floor will be done, this furniture piece will be done. So it’s just a matter of install. – Okay. I love how calm you are about that, because I’m freaking out inside. – [Cara] I feel good. – There is so much custom work in this house. Hello, Chris, how are you?

Good to see ya. – Good to see you. – I went to Chris’s workshop to see just what the progress was of this millwork. – Okay, so this door is for the spice kitchen. It’s one of the upper cabinets, and it has a treat for its panel. – It has what?

– A treat. And flip it. – That is pretty magical, isn’t it? [laughs] It turned out great. It turned out great. Is this the color? – This is the color, this is the final color. This is French Canvas and this is the Jacobean oak stain. – Okay, wait, this is French Canvas?

– Mm-hmm. – Huh. – We have a swatch book if you wanna see it. – No, that’s okay, I thought it was slightly creamier. – [Employee] Are you having second thoughts on the white? – I think my concern is, I love this so much, and I love the design so much.

I wonder if this just needs to be slightly creamier so it’s not so stark. – So you know, this color is going from the kitchen. – [Tan] I know. – To the spice kitchen. – I know. – So would you wanna isolate the spice kitchen and make it a different color?

That’s not too late. – I think it’s wise to do so. – Okay. – As long as it’s still in a neutral family, I think it works. – So then we can review some other colors. Something that’s a bit darker. – Just a little bit. But here’s what, here’s my honest reasoning.

This feels beautifully modern, and that feels really- – Dark, yeah. – Antique. And so I think to just marry the two, we just need to change it up slightly. I like this family. – [Chris] Okay. – [Tan] Do I think that’s better? No, that’s too close still. I think it’s that.

– Okay, Albescent, we can do that. Just take this off, throw it away and [indistinct]. [Tan laughs] – Can it not just be repainted? You have to throw it away? Oh no. – You can have it. – I’m so sorry, Chris. – With a piece of glass, gonna be a little mirror.

– But it really, I… Do you see what I… Do you agree or am I… – I do. – I know I’m a nightmare with detail, but it, I think it’s gonna make such a difference. – We can do that. Scott, write that down. – Thanks, Scott. All right, thanks.

Other than that, I love it so much. I think it’s, I think the design is incredible, incredible. It’s gonna be a bitch to clean, but it’s incredible. – Just don’t get it dirty. – I know. – Okay, we have the kitchen hood mantle to look at next. Right over here.

Here is the rendering of that to get a visual. – [Tan] Gosh, it’s good. That Indian scallop there is [kisses]. – And this texture, we actually wire brush this a little bit, to give it some texture, so when it’s painted- – It feels a lot more aged, not brand new? – Yep,

It’s gonna look like it’s an old piece that’s been restored, if you will. Repainted, yeah. – Love. And this, just to confirm, is gonna be the same black as the oven, the stove. – Yes. – Similar. – Yep. – Now more importantly, can we see this upright? – Yes. [Tan claps]

– God, that’s massive. Wow, is that how wide the stove is? – Yeah, I’m pretty sure I measured it four times. – You know what the funny thing is? It actually looks old English. It doesn’t… You wouldn’t know immediately that’s from an Indian palace. It’s gorgeous. Honestly, better than I ever expected. Yeah.

[fast-paced classical music] – All right, we’re on our way to the site. And how are we on timeline? – It’s fast approaching. I think the unique challenge for me, or for us, into finishing off the construction and then passing it over to you guys to finish off the design,

Is there are just so many details. Think of the kitchen, for example. Everything from the stove and hood detail to, obviously, the star of the show in the kitchen, the Liberty-of-London-inspired steel window. It’s just this huge statement that you see out into the yard and out into the valley, right?

And we had it craned in, and so much work went into that. – [Cara] I’m giddy to see that. [upbeat classical music] [gasps] Oh my goodness! That window! – Handmade, custom steel window, with your little Liberty of London touch right here for Tan and Rob France.

And one of the best parts is gonna be that incredible view out to the side yard, with the view of the valley. – Its floor.. – [indistinct] awesome. – That combo, the floor looks so good. I’m so glad we went with that scale.

– Yeah, we’re ready for the cabinets to come in now. The built-in fridge system and freezer system go in here. The big custom island goes in here, along with the custom stove and the detailed hood, right? And so in the next three weeks, we have a ton going on.

It’s gonna be what we like to call fun here up at the France job site. [calm classical music] – In the past couple days, all the furniture has been brought in. All the finishing florals and details, it’s all come together. I totally think it’s fine to mix metals.

I love the mix of copper and brass, We have the stainless steel, I think the more mixing of metals, the better. It just adds a lot of character to a space. Another neat thing about this room, is the juxtaposition of the chairs. Typically, you’d see, you know, the high chairs on the end,

But the way this balances out with the high chairs on the sides, the low chairs on the end, it’s just a really beautiful moment. The marble fireplace mantle really brings in a modern pop for the space. One thing that took so much effort was getting the exact right color of brick in here.

We wanted it to match exactly with the custom De Gournay color. And you see the color in the rug. It’s not too much, but it’s there. I think it’s really important to have a lot of familiar items in a client’s home. This is a lot of Tan and Rob’s personal China.

This is one of the special pieces from Tan and Rob’s travels. It just brings back memories and it makes the space personal. We want it to just feel like they can just come right in and start using the kitchen. We want it to feel warm and welcoming. [drums rumbling] [cymbal crashing] [ethereal music]

[footsteps clicking] – It turned out better than I ever imagined it could. I feel so happy in this space, I could cry. This kitchen feels so English, yet so South Asian at the same time, yet a hint of American. We wanted to balance Western and Eastern, and I think we’ve done that beautifully.

It’s because of the small details that really make it clear that this is our kitchen. You’ll see the little design on the hardware, that is, again, very much South Asian. We see it in mosques, we see it in temples, but it’s not just there. You’ll see it throughout the room.

I mean, this Sienna lighting, just that kiss of a detail, I think, makes all the difference. Also a part of the South Asian touch is this. This could have just been a solid square. We didn’t want that, we wanted at every turn for you to see something that feels really intentional,

Which is why Chris came up with this, which I think is dynamite. This L’Atelier stove. I’ve dreamt about having something like this for about 20 years. You know when you’re on social media, you see it on Pinterest, on Instagram, and all that kinda stuff, and you see these homes and you just think,

“Gosh, I wonder who has a stove like that.” Now I can say, me! Bellstone. This… I’m just gonna feel that light, ’cause that is gorgeous. The fact that we get so much light here, magical. Nobody could have prepared me for just how gorgeous it feels when you’re in this space.

I mean, it’s so dramatic. Almost as dramatic as I am. The butcher block I think is gorgeous. It’s always that light wood, but we don’t have light wood in the house, really. We have this shade of wood, and then it ties in to that gorgeous custom table and banquette that we’ve got there.

I think that that is magical. And I think that this is the place where we will spend the most time as a family. Whilst I’m cooking, the kids will hang out. And I love my kids very much, but I know them very well. They will destroy my dining room,

So they don’t get to eat there. They will always spend time at this table. I’m a realistic parent. They’re gonna destroy my house. And before I forget, look at that gorgeous floor. Couldn’t you just eat your dinner off that? It’s gorgeous, then I would love for you to see, spice kitchen.

I wanted this to feel like the most South Asian space. I’m so glad with where we’ve landed on this. The fact that we’ve used this dark stain is so typically South Asian, but we’ve paired it with this light color, which is not. And you’ll see we’ve continued the scallop detail up here.

You’ll see that throughout the house. I think it’s perfectly befitting in a space like this. It just feels like a gorgeous slice of South Asia in the most modern, chic way. I can’t wait to cook in this space. Okay, dining room. [ethereal music] First of all, the feeling.

I wanna feel like this is our version of a perfect dining room, nobody else’s. We’ve got vintage chairs, a bold wallpaper. I treat this wallpaper like if I were to design my own collection, as I used to many, many, many years ago. I find one thing, a print,

And then I will pull all those colors out of there and that’s how I build the rest of the room. And we had this chair reupholstered, and they had the matching blue to the blue in the wallpaper. So at every turn we’ve considered just how this room will come together

To really tie in the wallpaper and nothing feels like it’s competing. We wanted a table that could house at least 10 people, preferably 12, because I love to host, I love to cook for people. Yes, you could go for a round table, I just don’t like a round table.

When I’m at a round table, it’s too far away to be able to communicate, and I can’t reach to get somebody else’s food, and I love to help myself to somebody else’s food. We’re so close to the holidays. I wanna do a Friendsgiving, I wanna do many Thanksgivings,

I wanna do a Christmas event, I can’t wait to fill this room and this table. It’s gonna be gorgeous. Now, should we bring in Tom and Cara, and I wanna talk about exactly how this was all brought to life. There was debate about the crown moldings.

– It was so much tug and pull and, you know, I am by nature a maximalist, so I love [laughs], – Same. – I love a lot. But I think, you know, we came to the perfect agreement. – So in a nine-foot ceiling, you have to be really careful,

Because sometimes when you do super heavy molding, like around the windows, for example, then a super heavy crown, pretty soon the bottom of the crown and the top of the molding, and it being really close to each other, we don’t want that, it doesn’t create incredible balance for the space.

– Otherwise it could feel really stifling. – 100%, you’re totally right. – Did it turn out how you wanted? – I think it turned out fantastic. It’s not too overbearing in the space. The wallpaper’s kind of the star of the show. I mean, you’re gonna be able to- – I am. – Yeah…

– Co-star of the show. – I stand corrected. – Yeah, please. – Super B roll co-star of the show. – Yes. – There’s so much detail, but nothing’s incredibly overwhelming. It feels like it’s been here for a while and it feels like there’s already a coziness, there’s already a set charm.

– So we added the ceiling medallions that, you know, you were involved in every detail of those. They tie in with the details of the light. Everything came together, and I think we’re all really happy. – It’s the perfect balance. – Yeah. – Okay. Kitchen. – Heart of the home.

This was, I think, the hardest thing for us. We have South Asia influence, we have English influence, sprinkled with a little bit of American influence. Just all these subtle details just added up to make, really, a unique room. This incredible window- – That was the bane of your existence, tell me about it.

– So the crazy thing about this glass structure, is that each piece is mitered and welded together and then hand painted on top of it. And then after that, we have all these custom glass handmade pieces created and cut, and then they have to be individually set, sealed, siliconed, cleaned,

I mean, it is hundreds of man hours to accomplish that. – I mean, to me it’s like that window is the star of the show, but then I take my eye over here, the nook bench, the table, the island is the gathering spot, I mean, this stove, you could gather your whole family

Around here, they can watch you cook, you know, watch you do your thing. It’s just really heartwarming. It’s why I do this job, is to have moments like that. – Well, I appreciate the hard work like you would not believe. Thank you so much. [Cara chuckles] Thank you so much.

This is the most amazing kitchen I’ve ever seen. That’s all. [Cara laughs] My parents were immigrants to the UK. God, I don’t know why I feel really emotional, but suddenly, excuse me. Excuse me. [clears throat] My parents were immigrants to the UK. Their families came over to the UK with nothing.

They lived in government housing, government-assisted housing. My family is still currently working class. This was never happen, this was never meant to happen to me. This whole life that I now have, was never meant to happen to me. I actually have my family from England coming out this Christmas.

They’re gonna stay for 10 days and I, the last time I brought them out was a couple of years ago, to LA. This time is so much more important for me, because this is my true home. It’s where I plan to live out the rest of my life.

And for my family to see just how far we’ve come, is mind blowing. [joyful classical music] [joyful classical music continues] [upbeat classical music]