topezz Home Decor
Let your mind wander to fairytale images and timeless designs with these French country house decor ideas. The Style is the perfect embodiment of shabby chic. It combines antique and rustic architectural elements with feminine elegance and sophisticated design. The result is a cozy, inviting French farmhouse-style space with an elegant yet homey style.
The mix of contrasting elements creates a space that is neither too shabby and masculine nor pretentious and aloof. Get inspired with the French country house design ideas discussed below.
1. French Country Style Home and Living Room Decorating Ideas
When decorating your living room, start by choosing furniture. You want to keep a more muted and subtle color palette. Think lots of white, brown, light pink, light blue and cream. An exception is vintage or antique furniture. However, you can always opt for painted furniture if you want to keep the color palette consistent.
Place a large rug in a light color on the floor. Opt for an understated or aged look for a bit of rustic charm. Then place a couch and a few high-back chairs on top. A coffee table in the middle completes the rustic living room look.
Don’t forget to hang curtains. Try soft white linen, but there’s a chance this will add too much white to the room. Instead, be creative with the fabric to add some color and texture to the room. A light burlap paired with soft white linen can keep the window treatment bright but also add texture and a subtle glow to the room. For a bolder look, consider a toile fabric or a floral patterned fabric.
Every good French country house has at least one closet. You could put one in your living room. If you find a large one, you can convert it into your TV stand or entertainment center. Or use it as a display case for your collectibles, films or books.
Complete the room with decorative accents like a wall-hanging candle holder or vases of fresh-cut flowers.
2. Create a quiet retreat
The centerpiece of your French country bedroom should be your bed. Wrought iron or distressed wood are the ideal materials for bed frames. If you choose wood, look for a bed frame with a large, vintage-style headboard and lots of detailed carvings. Elegantly curved and carved legs are also a must.
Keep the color palette muted throughout the room. You can add pops of color to the accents. Add accents throughout the room with a patterned fabric, such as a pink or red floral or the traditional blue toile. This fabric also works well for lampshades, bedspreads or bedspreads, pillows, curtains, or upholstering a bench at the foot of your bed.
Check out your local vintage shops for vintage lace and linen. If it looks slightly yellowed or aged, even better. Decorate your furniture and fabrics with delicate and feminine lace. You can add a bed skirt and lace trimmed pillows to give the bed a more feminine look.
Another perfect addition is a vintage dressing table. These tables were once common in elegant homes and served as a place for women to prepare food. You could place one in your bedroom for the same purpose.
Finally, choose vintage sconces for lighting on both sides of the bed. Choose a pair that is more unusual and elegant in design. Then you can combine them with a chandelier for ceiling lighting. One with crystals would be perfect.
3. Upgrade your culinary space
One of the hallmarks of a classic French country home is useful items hung as wall decorations. Do this in the kitchen, where you can use your pots and pans or cutting boards to decorate the walls. Hang your fine china on the wall to display and enjoy all year round.
For the rest of the kitchen, choose worktops made of natural stone or wood. These are beautiful, durable and can be found in a classic French country home. Place your countertops on cabinets with lots of elegant embellishments. Then combine your ornate and elegant cabinets with more rustic kitchen elements.
While the majority of your home will most likely have clean, white plastered walls, you might consider creating an accent wall in the kitchen. Use recycled bricks or stones. It gives a country house kitchen the perfect antique look.
In French country style, it is also common to find exposed wooden beams extending across the ceiling. You can create this look with faux support beams by building a box out of scrap wood and attaching it to the ceiling. The elegance of the cabinets harmonizes well with the rustic accents of the brick and wooden beams.
Vintage-style gas stoves are currently very trendy. This is perfect for your French country style interior design. Pair it with a French-style range hood that matches your cabinet trim for a complete look.
4. Dine in rustic elegance
If you don’t have a cabinet placed in your living room, you will need to put one in your dining room. It is the ideal piece of typically French decoration. Perfect for storing your cutlery, cutlery and other table accessories.
Your next step is to find the ideal table and chairs. First, decide what size table will fit in the room. You need enough space to stand up and move. Don’t be afraid to combine your set individually. In rural French decor it is common to see a modern table with vintage chairs or vice versa. The trick to making it work is to stick with the rustic-elegant theme.
The table could be rough-hewn and rustic. Then the chairs can have elegant curves on the legs and luxurious upholstered seats. As with the other rooms we’ve discussed, keep the color palette muted, soft and warm. With your tablecloth, table runner or place setting you have the opportunity to bring color and pattern into the room.
An elegant chandelier should hang above the table. Choose one that is gilded with gold and dripping with crystals. Complete the space with an elegant display of fresh lemons, flowers or greenery on the table.
5. Timeless charm for your bathroom
You can keep the traditional white plaster walls in your French country style bathroom, but why not add some personality to this small space? Choose wallpaper with a voile de Jouy design or a bold floral pattern in soft pink or blue tones.
The tub must be a self-contained claw-foot tub. It just has to be. If it has gold-plated feet, even better. Pair with ornate, vintage-style plumbing fixtures mounted on the side of the tub or on a nearby wall. Most people forego the shower curtain, but if you want some privacy, you can make one out of a soft, sheer material.
A safe choice for the cabinets is to model them after your kitchen cabinets with lots of embellishments and details. But that’s not your only option. Find a vintage piece of furniture and transform it into a vanity. You can place a white vessel-style sink on top and run the plumbing through the furniture. Then whitewash the furniture or paint a delicate floral pattern on the front. There are even some vintage pieces that already have a floral motif.
For the vanity mirror, choose an oval or square mirror and then frame it with an ornate gilded frame. This mirror combined with a chandelier will add glamor and elegance to the bathroom.
The finishing touch is to replace your modern tile floor with rustic stone or wood flooring. If you don’t like the idea of real wood or laminate in your bathroom, then invest in faux wood tiles. It combines the rustic look and texture of real wood with the modern convenience of tiles.
6. Rustic elegance
French country furniture is a mix of rustic farmhouse and ornate luxury pieces. The trick is to balance the number of individual elements to achieve a perfect, elegant but vibrant feel. One way to achieve this is to look for classic vintage bedroom pieces. Look for styles with curved legs and detailed carvings. Vintage pieces have some imperfections and damage that make the piece more accessible and vibrant.
If you find a piece with gold plating, grab it. Just plan on this being the only gilding in the room. A touch of glamor is good, but too much overwhelms the rustic pieces.
Another common trend in French decorating ideas is the use of whitewashed furniture. This is a great way to breathe new life into furniture that has seen better days. It eliminates imperfections while giving your furniture and decor a cohesive look.
7. Captivating designs
Choose the decor for your French country style interior with the shabby chic approach. Vintage shops are a good place to start. You can find ornate and elegant pieces that have just the right amount of tarnish or imperfections. This will give you the humble, elegant vibe that French country style interior design exudes.
Look for vintage pieces to display as decorations. Try a vintage tea kettle, scales, keys, or other personal care or kitchen items you don’t often find in today’s homes.
An artfully framed mirror is a great way to decorate a wall and make the room appear larger. Another nice touch is a candle holder set or candelabra. These can be more ornate to bring out the elegant side of rustic elegance.
For simple but effective rustic accents, add a rough and ready vase of fresh flowers or greenery. A country home will have easier access to fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains and flowers. Recreate this by displaying them in bowls or vases.
