Decorating Ideas for a French Country Living Room
Rustic Dream
Decorating your living room a la francaise, you are looking at rustic charm set in the heat that is Mediterranean France and the mellow light that is a distinct attraction to artists in Provence: fields of poppies waving in the wind and acre upon acre of lavender fields in bloom amidst the mellow heat of early evening in Provence.
Old rustic buildings, nestling amongst the hilly outcrops of the Massif des Calanques, roof-tops huddled together amidst the limestone rocks.
The limestone outcrops are rough and craggy, interspersed with deep valleys and rough ravines falling into coastlines falling away into natural, steep inlets which are a particular feature of Provence. The landscape is rough and rugged; the land is warm and colorful. The textures are incredible and inherent in the beauty of the land.
The farmhouses are whitewashed with deep recesses into their windows and doors to prevent the sun's summer heat from becoming unbearable inside the house.
Simplistic Styling
Indoors, the homes are stark in the simplicity of their styling. The textures of their walls reflect the textures of the craggy peaks of the surrounding Massif des Calanques, the rough hewn wood of the beams in the ceiling are darkened with age, reflecting the deep shadows the overwhelm the valleys as the sun sets amongst the rooftops and mountains.
The rich colors of the fabrics are only beaten by the rich blue of the sea, the mustard of the surrounding crags and the deep rich greens of the abundant plants. Poppies grow in abundance and fields of lavender shoot rich spikes of color towards the blue expanse of never-ending skies.
Stark simplicity and rich contrasts are what you are trying to achieve when you begin to decorate your living room in accordance with the rustic charm of the French countryside.
Textures and Fabrics
Paint, these days, can be purchased that is made ready-textured. All you need to do to obtain a rough textured look to your walls is to paint this textured paint onto the walls. You may be lucky enough to already have ceiling beams exposed and these will enhance your rustic look.
Otherwise, continue with the textured paint across the ceiling as well. Traditional flooring in French farmhouses is usually rough stone flags. Rather than advocate laying flagstones in your living room, you might be happier with hessian carpeting in a natural taupe color.
This is very hardwearing and easy to clean and it blends well into any theme: ideal if, at some future stage, you decide to change your rustic theme.
One great decorating idea for for French Country living rooms is wooden blinds. Adding wooden blinds to the windows will add to the stark charm and you can frame the windows with the traditional French fabric known as toile.
Traditional themes on toile include farmyard animals, especially roosters, Chinese patterns, monkeys and other rustic scenes. A favourite is 18th century Gainsborough figures, such as 'girl on swing' and courting couples.
Floor Coverings
If you prefer to keep your floor carpet-free there is a huge range of floor coverings available now - from vinyls that look like hardwood flooring to stone slabs that have the look of parquet flooring; then, of course, you have the laminate flooring to keep costs down to the hardwood floors that will always look fabulous.
Another great decorating idea for French Country living rooms is to finish off the floor with colorful rugs and brighten up the background with all the warm ochre colors: the yellows, oranges, fiery reds and add the odd lavender color as well. You will probably be amazed, but the lavender color will fit in very well.
Focal Fireplace
One important decorating idea for French Country living rooms to consider is to put some thought into the overall theme: no self-respecting French farmhouse would be without a huge fireplace and, while many of them have modern wood-burning stoves fitted into them now, they are still an important feature that should not be overlooked.
You can always fit a hefty beam across the fireplace as a mantelshelf and finish the front of the fireplace in ceramic tiles or stone. Finish the effect off by building a brick hearth where you can stand your fire irons and perhaps an open basket full of logs.
Accessorize
Once you have the background color scheme, add rustic-style furnishings such as wrought ironwork in the form of coffee tables or bleached wood coffee tables held together with large black bolts. There is quite a range of this furniture available, including TV stands and wall units.
Another decorating idea for a French Country living room is don't forget to choose furniture that will fit into the rustic theme and, for the French farmhouse theme, add an armoire instead of the more modern wall units. Add deep splashes of color with chintz-covered settees and deeply upholstered chairs; think of poppies in the fields or fields of lavender and use these to add depth: a rustic table in the corner with a basket full of bunches of dried lavender.
Poppy petals fall far too quickly when picked, but adding a vase full of realistic-looking silk poppies will achieve just as good a look as the real thing.
Mediterranean Colors
If we are thinking of the colors associated with Mediterranean France you would naturally think of bright yellows and all the different hues associated with that part of the spectrum - colors such as yellow-orange, orange, red-orange and red or, taking it the other way, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue.
This gives you plenty of colors to work with and, in a rustic French-style theme, every one of those colors can be used, including burnt umber and taupe.
The idea for decorating a French Country living room is to create warmth that provides a welcoming ambience, redolent of the warmth at the end of a summer's evening.
Include textures as well as colors to enhance this concept and, to finish off the whole effect of your rustic French farmhouse in Provence, add a couple of pictures to your walls: perhaps a framed print of the Calanque de Sugiton with its grey-green craggy cliffs and the deep, rich blue of the sea far below or a print of the village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie nestled amongst the limestone outcrops of the Massif des Calanques.
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