How to get started with French country décor without breaking the bank

French country décor is a traditional and casual style that captures the essence of the French countryside inside the home. Whether you’re in rural France or the middle of the city this style can be used in any home to create a warm and welcoming environment. One of the great advantages of French country décor is that you don’t need to break the bank to get started redecorating your home in this style, by following these easy tips you can be well on your way to recreating the French countryside in your home while keeping to a manageable budget.

1) Up-cycling and repurposing

French country décor can be easily described by words such as “rustic”, “natural” and “simple”. Nothing in your room needs to be perfect, in fact perfect new items often don’t have the character you’ll be looking for when recreating this style in your home. You can up-cycle and repurpose old furniture and other items to create the look you want. One great example of this is to reupholster old chairs or other furniture with new fabric in an appropriate style. You might want to try using traditional Toile fabric (sometimes called Toile de Jouy) to reupholster old chairs. Toile normally shows a rustic or countryside scene in a repeated pattern and normally comes in a single colour which should be relatively muted.

2) Purchase simple wooden furniture

A lot of suitable furniture can be cheaply bought at auction or in antique shops for a fraction of the price of new furniture. You’ll want to look for simple wooden furniture that has elegance without being particularly ornate. French country furniture often includes large wooden tables, sideboards and ladder back chairs. The Armoire is another classic piece of furniture that exudes the French country décor style. When looking for furniture you want something simple in either natural wood or in a light muted matt wash. The legs of tables and other furniture should be curved but still simple.

3) Change your colour scheme

French country décor uses a colour scheme based on the French countryside. Traditionally different areas of France tended to have different colours since the pigments were made locally from whatever materials were available in that area. You’ll want to stick to gentle natural shades which can include blues, reds, browns, yellows and greens. Pastel shades work well and all the colours should complement each other and not clash. White is a colour often used as well, particularly on the walls. Rather than going for today’s modern bright white you’ll want an off-white colour which looks creamy.

Creating your French country inspired décor is much more about the feel of the room than having any one particular item or ticking boxes. If it feels like it works then it probably does work, don’t be afraid to experiment and try something new. French country houses were above all practical and often had a mixture of new and old and there’s no reason you can’t mix it up a bit in your styling. 

Posted by henry on Aug 7 2012. Filed under Interior Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry