French Country Decorating

by Giorgina Devereaux

The colors used in decorating French Country are yellow, soft gold, bright red, rust, dark green, lighter shades of green, cobalt blue, and lighter shades of blue.

Black and gray are also used to accentuate these colors and define accessory pieces.

An essential piece used in decorating French Country is that of natural materials.

The addition of painted plaster walls, beamed ceilings, intricately carved wood details, and chair seats woven of rush material add simplicity to this look.

Also, incorporating rusty type metal furniture and lighting fixtures helps add warmth and creates an interesting pattern of lines throughout the space.

Adding a stone fireplace, with tile, stone, or ceramic for the border, along with iron accessory pieces hanging on the side walls, further helps with decorating French Country.

Rustic furniture pieces that can be utilized are those that are either new or reproduced, which have curved panels, hand carved details, and consist of raw wood.
 

To further enhance the room, an armoire that can be used to store pots and pans, linens, or tableware can be added.

A large dining table, that is either rectangular or round, should have a dull or low sheen finish.

Dining chairs are a ladderback style, have vertical slats, or have seating woven from rush, along with curved and carved details.

To further complete the French Country look, one can add rustic flooring that is generally of stone, clay, or brick. The emphasis is on an old and charming feel.

To achieve this, incorporate pieces with contrasting texture and color. To obtain that effect, dark, rough, wood ceiling beams are paired with pale plaster walls.

Fabrics with Provencal prints are arranged next to light colored seating. These prints combine shades of primary colors such as green, lavender, and orange.

Other French Country decorative items include roosters, olives, grapes, lavender, beetles, and sunflowers.

A very traditional design for French fabrics is toile. It is a white, cream, or yellow color fabric with large motifs in a single color, such as black, red, blue, or green.

The toile themes include farm animals, Chinese patterns, country scenes, courting scenes, or monkeys.

Accessories used in a French Country room are colorful ceramics, tiles, delicately carved pieces, and Chinoiserie pottery.

Flowers abound everywhere. A floral arrangement consisting of geraniums or lavender in a basket, or in an old pitcher, copper pot, or glass vases, adds liveliness to this French Country theme.

Lastly, a colorful tablecloth and multi-colored pottery accentuate a French Country table, along with your choice of roosters, olives, or flowers for the tableware.

Also, iron candle holders and wire baskets add punch to the table.