Country French style often uses saturated floral designs and neutral backgrounds.
Originally referred to as French Provençale or French Provincial, the rustic, casual simplicity of French Country style pays tribute this bright, cheerful region of southern France, bringing its warmth and vitality into the home. Its mix of primitive furnishing and refined antiques, in rich textured fabrics and vibrant colors and patterns, creates an easy, livable atmosphere. Does this Spark an idea?
Colors
Using the full color palette, Country French pulls from nature the saturated hues of wine, burgundy and terra cotta, scattered with the pastel shades of gentle sage greens, soft blues, misty pinks and delicate lavender purple, splashed with sunny golds and buttery yellows. Offsetting the pigments are pale neutrals and the whites loved by both Marie-Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour. This spectrum evokes the view from a country window on a warm summer morning.
Fabric
Dominant fabrics in the style---brightly printed Indienne cottons (India cottons), French toile (pronounced twäl), homespun and French boutis (printed or embroidered fabric from Marseilles)---each play a part in completing the design.
Patterns on Indienne cottons include botanical prints, stripes and plaids, paisleys and florals originally imported by the French East India Company of the 1600s.
Most often associated with Country French style, toile---which simply means "fabric"---refers to simple muslin fabrics in beige or white printed with single-color scenic sketches. These repeating patterns typically depicted pastoral, hunting, military or farm-life settings.
Homespun covered cushions, chairs and sofas evoke the loosely woven hemp, linen or wool of the 18th and 19th centuries. Weavers from Alsace wove the fabric on narrow looms into checkered plaids, solids or stripes such as the common blue and white mattress ticking.
Corded and stuffed boutis pillows and sofa throws complete the style.
Furniture
Drawing from a mixture of periods, Country French furniture is an eclectic combination incorporating 18th-century Versailles-inspired design copied by local artisans in sturdier, less ornate, practical versions. Natural local timber from beech, walnut, oak or fruit trees echo the countryside. Left unpolished, lime-washed or painted and stenciled in soft pastels, the rustic country versions complete the rural look.
Wrought iron accessories such as lamps or lanterns, coat or kitchen racks, tables and clocks pull from even earlier centuries.
Accessories
Adding charm, character and function, French Country accessories include birdcages, candlestick holders, a stack of leather-bound books, ornate mirrors, urns and stoneware jars. Fruits, vegetables, plants and herbs fill bowls, milk jugs and baskets, prominently displayed on every surface. Dried floral or herb bunches, bound with ribbon or twine, hang from wires or fixtures. Creamware (cream-colored earthen pottery), stoneware and faience (tin-glazed pottery) appear in counter, niches, tabletops and open cupboards.
Other Motifs
Rooster motifs are popular in Country French decor.
Whimsical country-life motifs date to primitive King Louis XIII peasant farmers. Prominent are roosters, which appear on everything from dishes to wallpaper. Other, slightly more modern, additions include French train station signage and apothecary jars. Most of all, completing the design requires flowers: fresh, dried, blooming plants and window boxes.
Tags: Country French, completing design, Country French style, French Country, French style, Indienne cottons