Country Home Decorating Styles — A Guide To French Country
Dreaming of the French countryside? Bring it in to your home with French country home decorating. It is a simple and affordable style that suits any home, and brings a rustic, country freshness that never goes out of style. If you’re interested in this style, this article will give you the basics.
Overall, French country home decorating is always a rustic, old world casual look that feels warm and welcoming. The main colors used come from the colors you’d see while strolling around Provence…sunny yellows, soft golds, fragrant lavenders, burnt oranges and reds, grassy greens and ocean blues. The colors tend to be bright and rich. Black and grey are used to set off the colors and to punctuate furniture pieces. Rusted metal is also used often on furniture and lighting fixtures to add texture and natural color.
Natural materials are used for almost everything. The walls are rough and unfinished, with plaster or other textural finises being applied and aged. Stained wood beams on walls or ceiling are common. Old wood or stone floors are warmed with cotton or wool rugs. You will also see a lot of woven chair seats and carved wood detailing on furniture pieces. The pieces have an aged look to them, as if they have been in the home for centuries and passed down through the generations. Dings and nicks in dressers, tables and other wooden pieces are not only fine, they add to the charm.
A traditional French country home decor will have a stone fireplace, with a heavy wooden beam at the top as a mantle and ceramic or stone tiles as a border. Usually, dried herbs, copper pots and iron fireplace tools surround the fireplace. You can bring this aura into your home by using stone, ceramic and natural wood in your kitchen, and displaying herbs and copper pots around the room.
For dining, a large round of rectangular rustic wooden table is a must, surrounded by ladderback or vertical slat chairs with curved details and woven seating. Armoires are common, and used to store linens and tableware. A wrought iron chandelier brings warm light into the room.
Bring color in with toile, plaid, checked or striped fabrics in French country colors of green, lavender and orange. Traditional motifs include roosters, sunflowers, olives, grapes and beetles. Bring in lots of fresh flowers, woven baskets, colorful pottery and natural grasses, and hang old or colorful paintings on the walls.
French country home decorating is a classic style that you can use to create a casual, country look in your home…and the best thing is, knowing the basics means you can incorporate the look, while also making it your own. Have fun!
