How to Decorate Your Home in French Country Style
While Parisian style might be all gilt and glamour, French country is something more rustic, although still elegant and refined. No matter where you live, you can embrace the easy elements of French style - beautiful textiles, original art, antiques with history - to give your home un style insolite - beautiful and totally you.
Read on for my top tips!
Keep to a cool color palette
Photo from here
The French country color palette is cool greys, lavender, sandy beige and chalky white. These colours - either for your walls, textiles or furniture - will bring a beautiful faded charm whilst also remain timeless. The colours should reflect the style of an ageing country house - charming but not too precious, and a little scuffed around the edges.
For paint colours, choosing any of these shades will be a great base to layer on warm tones with rugs, curtains and pillows. For furniture, these colours will bright light and space into a room and prevent it from looking to dated or stuffy.
2. Concentrate on beautiful textiles and materials
French Country Barn Photo, shop here
For French-inspired decor, think of using stripped back, materials - rough plaster walls, flagstone floors, bare wooden beams...if these elements aren't in the realm of possibility, you can approximate the look with your furniture - big wooden farm tables, rough linen covers for your chairs and sofas...
3. For decorating, less is more
Photo from here
Unlike the maximalist rococo Parisian apartments, here simplicity reigns supreme. A few well chosen pieces will go much farther than collecting a random assortment of decor and furnishings. If you are struggling to delete items from your home, try this: take everything out the room except for the bare essentials. Then slowly, over a couple of days, start adding back in a piece or two. For example, your favourite painting or print, your bookshelf ornaments. If you feel it looks "enough", stop adding pieces.
4. Add a cozy wood burner or fireplace
Europe Doors and Windows Gallery Set, shop here
If you live in a place where a wood fire is allowed, this is a great way to add country character - as well as actual warmth! - to a room. A cozy wood burner or a fire place is naturally the centre of your room. Once it is lit, people will gravitate towards it in the winter months. This can be a real saving grace when hosting get-togethers - it is great to have a cozy spot to chat and play games!
5. Feminine decor
Photo from here
One way to make country-style decor feel more "French" is to bring in what we would call more "feminine" decor - curved lines, soft fabrics, etc. This is especially effective in contrast to large pieces, such as a traditional farm house table. The contrast between heavy, dense furniture and lighter decorations will bring a sense of ease and relaxation to a space.
