Characteristic features of the style
The characteristic features of the Provence style include:
- Lack of bright, dark colors and their shades;
- A large number of different sized accessories;
- Furniture is made exclusively from light wood or painted with light colors;
- The decorations of the body include carvings and paintings;
- The bed set must include bedside tables, which will not only complement the overall picture, but will also serve as additional storage space for personal items;
- Elegance;
- A combination of textiles, wood, stone, forged elements, additional decorations;
- Wallpaper with a beautiful floral motif is usually used as a finishing material for interior walls of rooms made in Provence style;
- Pastel shades.
The Provence style is characterized by fairly large furniture with regular shapes. Thanks to this, the Provence style bed will dominate the entire room. It is for this that you will need to select the rest of the accessories. Any room designed in Provence style must be complemented by floral arrangements made from live or artificial plants.
The Provence style is characterized by colors:
- Ivory;
- Lactic;
- Cream;
- Pale yellow;
- Light blue;
- Light green;
- Terracotta;
- Ocher;
- Lilac;
- Coffee with milk;
- Beige.
Furniture can be artificially aged using a technique called patination, using a small piece of sandpaper and wax. It is performed using a special technology for applying paint of a darker shade. Designers specifically use this technique to give the furniture the desired character. Even if a piece of furniture has obvious chips or cracks, this will not interfere with the embodiment of this style, but, on the contrary, will only enhance its manifestation.
French country
Whether you have been to France or not, you probably imagine French country as something like a weathered barn among fields of lavender and friendly sun. French country is a mixture of elegance and modest simplicity. It provides an Old World aesthetic that is enhanced by the stability and presence of rustic finishes, timelessly attractive with sophistication in curves and details.
In French Country, there is a contrast between the ornate, intricate and elegant details and the rough, rustic, rough-hewn ones that serve as much of the style's charm.
Don't shy away from adding elegant fabric to the space by placing a wooden chest nearby.
Show off the scuffs, chips and grace of once elegant furniture. Use lantern-style pendants as lighting elements.
French style kitchen
French country is predominantly pastel, in several tones of a neutral palette. It has a lot in common with the Provence style, which is also the embodiment of the village life of the French countryside.
French country is popular around the world for its effortless elegance, splashes of color and accents of natural or rustic accessories. Decorating your home in French style won't cost you a fortune. In fact, you can use your creativity to repurpose existing furniture to create a delightful space.
Basics of French Country Decor
French country has a warm and comfortable feeling. When it comes to colors, it's best to stay on the warm side of the color spectrum, with colors that have medium to low intensity. Think about:
- soft yellow (the color of butter);
- warm pink;
- soft blue;
- creamy
The furnishings should have graceful and simple lines. French country style has a lot of painted furniture. Buying old, damaged furniture works well for this style. Wrought iron or rusty metal accents are also often included in this shabby chic look.
The fabrics are always thick, always relying on traditional fabric. You can keep it in stripes, checks or add wool - anything will do.
Kitchen
Tip There are many jars in the kitchen where basic food items are stored. Find old identical cans to duplicate the look. Add hand-drawn labels or print them on your home printer. For the walls, imitate the decor of old streets with their distinctive “Grocery” signs and such.
You can make your own signs. Just find craft stores that have inexpensive wall signs or metal signs. Use wrought iron stands to place pots or utensils with hooks for security.
Simple lines with accents
Dining room
For a traditional French Country dining room, choose distressed white single chairs and use a round wrought iron patio table or garden table for an inexpensive dining room.
You can also repaint your wood set or purchase a new one painted in pastel or natural wood tones.
Living room
Country houses should not be burdened with heavy drapery, as in the traditional style. Add openwork panel curtains to let the sun flood into the room while maintaining privacy. In front of the window, place a wrought iron bench with cushions for seating near the window.
Bright living room in light colors
Bedroom
An old iron garden gate would look great as a headboard if you're looking to add French Country style to your bedroom. Use an old metal garden bench at the end of the bed as a sitting area. Dressers painted in warm, pastel colors, slightly distressed, will bring a feeling of comfort to the room.
Bathroom
Use wrought iron towel racks or antique wrought iron fruit bowls to hold towels. An old painted buffet under the sink works well here.
Base shape
For the manufacture of such a piece of furniture as a bed in the Provence style, wood is most common. It can be unpainted, in a natural shade, or painted with light colors.
The main feature of the furniture is its pronounced, high legs, which allow the product to be quite tall. It is very important to make a high headboard and a low footboard in a bed.
Depending on the materials used for the base, beds can be made:
- From the array;
- Made from forged elements.
A Provence style bed made of solid wood can be made from wood species such as oak, pine or ash. The latter type is a rock that can be coated with paint, but the unpainted massif looks more attractive.
Types of beds include:
- Double bed;
- Sofa bed;
- Bunk bed.
To order, modern manufacturers can make a bed not only with the usual rectangular base shape, but also round or oval. The last two types are not widely popular among connoisseurs of this style, but if there is free space in the room, this product will look very impressive. A sofa bed with a lifting mechanism will allow you to quickly disassemble and assemble this product. It will also allow you to transform the room from the bedroom into a living room.
To increase the usable space in a children's room where two or more children live, designers recommend using a bunk bed. This will save space in a small apartment for studying, as well as exciting games. Materials for the production of such beds include wood and forged accessories. Warm and pastel colors have a very good effect on a child's mood. They have a calming effect on the psyche. And forged products will suit any girl, as well as girls of any age.
Advantages of beds with a metal base and forged elements:
- Long service life;
- Small size of elements when compared with wooden structures;
- Strength;
- Sustainability.
Color scheme in the Provence interior
In fact, choosing a color in a design is quite simple. The most important thing here is not to use bright accents, which can ruin everything.
Designers recommend using the following shades in the sleeping area:
- blue and light green;
- pistachio and yellow;
- beige;
- soft – pink and white;
- light purple and beige.
This palette harmoniously emphasizes all the details and accessories in the space. It's best to stick to ivory.
This shade fills with sun and warmth. In the photo of the Provence bedroom, you can note the presence of pastel colors.
Headboard
A headboard is usually made from the same material that is used for the main frame as well as the legs of the bed. For finishing, you can use fabric and leather in light shades, and also use carriage screed. Accessories can include large rhinestones, beads, large buttons, and small flower-shaped elements.
Headboard decor elements:
- Pilasters;
- Forged accessories;
- Thread;
- Overhead elements;
- Carriage fabric tie.
The headboard is the main and essential element of the bed, which is worth paying special attention to. It must be majestic. Forged products allow you to create a headboard according to almost any individual design project. You can choose absolutely any color for the forged elements. But you should not choose shades of the bed to match the walls, since the furniture should dominate the overall interior. Wrought iron for furniture items is usually made from brass, bronze or iron. Airy curls create a romantic atmosphere inherent in the Provence style.
Beautiful interior design ideas
However, no matter how beautiful the exterior and facade design may be, the interior is still more important, because we have to live inside the house. It is possible to create a very beautiful interior in different ways. You can choose plain wallpapers and natural materials that will emphasize the simplicity and sophistication of the interior. Or you can go the other way: choose elegant wallpaper with monograms and antique furniture. It all depends on your preferences.
Princess bedroom
The first room that can be considered as an example of an ideal room for a Provence style home is a bedroom in delicate shades of pink. This room is equally suitable for a teenage girl and a young couple. Everything in it is kept in the same range. The main colors are white, light pink and beige.
The ceiling is decorated with stucco, which also emphasizes the beauty of this style. The simple light wood floor is accented by a rug. The furniture in this room is also light and appropriate in style. This is a beautiful bedside table with graceful legs, a chest of drawers, and a chair.
Mini dining room
It’s also very easy to style the living room or dining room as Provence. If you have a small family, a neat wooden table complemented by a couple of chairs will be enough. Light colors will make even the smallest room cozy. And in order to free up maximum space, choose neat shelves instead of a massive cabinet. You can also turn a wide window sill into a seating area. Place a colored blanket and a couple of pillows on it, and you will no longer need to buy a sofa.
Antique living room
If you like the classic Provence style with all that shabby furniture and matching decor, you can decorate your living room this way. In such a room there is room for a small fireplace. You can place a mirror, figurines and other decor on the mantelpiece. Opposite the fireplace there is a comfortable sofa and a couple of armchairs next to it. In this case, tables with bent legs serve not only as a place for arranging pots with fresh flowers and storing various small items, but as a decorative element. Decorative little things can also be placed in an antique sideboard. These could be candles, photo frames, and so on.
A house in the Provence style is the choice of romantic people who do not want to surround themselves with appliances and other modern little things. Natural wood, an abundance of little things dear to the heart and antique furniture - this is what distinguishes the interior in the Provence style.
Combination with the interior
Furniture should be arranged without taking into account the laws of symmetry. The interior should be cozy and soft. One style should be played throughout the entire room, and only natural materials should be present. For the floor it is recommended to use laminate or ceramic tiles. Other materials will not be appropriate.
The ceiling must have beams made of wood and painted in light shades; white is also perfect for them. Ceiling lamps should not stand out from the overall picture of the room. The presence of natural stone, brick, or tiles with patterns is permitted. The ceiling must have a matte texture. Gloss will attract attention and distract from the more important elements of the room.
The walls can be plastered and painted, and wallpaper with a pattern is also possible. It is allowed to use elements of imitation masonry, as well as paneling made from natural wood. These panels can be artificially aged. The walls must have a smooth surface. The colors in the interior should not be bright and dark, as they can irritate, do not create the desired comfort and beauty in the bedroom and do not suit the Provence style at all.
If there are bedside tables on either side of the bed, then you should see sconces above them. But most often, table lamps are placed on them. The white color characteristic of this style has always been very common in the interior. White is the color of purity and order. A characteristic accessory for a room made in the Provence style are paintings with images of flowers and landscapes. It is worth choosing a drawing that is made using paints of not bright colors. There should be a lot of natural light. Since there are very few sunny days in our country, there is no need to hide the room from them with the help of heavy curtains and blinds. The latter is not typical for this style at all.
Accessories, as well as additional decorations that may be present in the room:
- Caskets;
- Paintings;
- Photographs in aged frames;
- Mirrors in wooden frames;
- Collections of forged figurines and figurines that can be placed on wooden shelves;
- Painted plates and mugs;
- Antique books;
- Flowers in vases;
- Watch;
- Knitted toys.
There can be many decorative elements in a room, different in shape. The main thing in this matter is not to overdo it and select everything taking into account beauty and functionality.
Provence bedroom lighting
Bedroom lighting in Provence style plays a vital role. It helps highlight the center of the room and flood the walls and ceiling with soft light.
The appearance allows you to realize all sorts of design lighting ideas in various shades. The main thing is that they create a feeling of limitlessness, airiness and warmth of the space.
In a large room, you can place a lot of lighting fixtures in the corners, on the walls, ceiling and even on the floor. It is desirable that they be rare, have shades, lampshades made of fabric, colored glass, rattan, ceramics.
Chandelier
A chandelier in a bedroom with a Provence style interior should be simple and elegant at the same time. For the interior, frame pendant products with a massive metal body, complemented by chains, crystal, glass, and plastic pendants are suitable.
A classic option for this style is multi-tiered chandeliers created using artistic forging. They look luxurious, graceful and add a unique charm to the atmosphere of the room.
Lamps
Wall, table, floor, and ceiling lamps in Provence style can be located in different parts of the room.
The interior is emphasized by lamps with a body made of metal, wood, or ceramics. Products in the form of twigs of shrubs, tree branches, light lace, and large flowers look excellent.
Such lighting fixtures should have a rough design. The style implies an artificially aged, slightly cracked, seemingly carelessly painted or slightly rusty appearance of the lamps.
Sconce
Designers recommend using curly sconce models in the Provence bedroom, which are fixed to the wall using curved brackets. They will become key elements of the interior if they have shades made of stained glass.
Sconces should emit a soft, subdued light. Products may have decorative incandescent lamps of yellow, orange color, or fluorescent lamps emitting weak white light.
Lamps made of light, rough processed wood fit perfectly into the style. They act as an element that emphasizes sophistication and brings a feeling of serenity and peace to the bedroom environment.
Next, we suggest watching a video that contains pictures and slides of finishing options for similar rooms in this direction. Enjoy watching!
Well, that's all - it's time to finish. We hope that after reading this article, you have finally decided what your Provence style recreation area should be. All that remains is to implement the ideas. Great luck!
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Selection of bed linen
For bed linen, it is better to choose natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen. The colors of the material should be similar to the overall appearance of the room. By choosing pastel colors, such as milk and cream, you can create a cozy atmosphere that will have a beneficial effect on a person’s relaxation and sleep. Curtains, as well as bedspreads, must be made in the same style and material, the same color scheme and have similar elements
. The Provence style is characterized by lace and ruffles. When choosing upholstery, you can choose floral motifs on the fabric. It may also contain silhouettes of animals.
The bedspread should be made of strong, dense fabric, with a pattern or plain. For the Provence style, not only plant and animal motifs are suitable, but also patterns in the form of cells and stripes also have a place to be. The bedspread is the most important element in the appearance of the bed. A person’s well-being depends on its quality, and the overall appearance of the entire room depends on the color of the material used.
Designers advise choosing rectangular-shaped pillows of different sizes and placing them in a chaotic manner at the head of the bed. If there is such a possibility, then you should place the Provence bed with the headboard near the window. The more unusual the shape of the bed, the more likely it is that all sets of bed linen and bedspreads will have to be sewn to order, since in modern stores not all pieces of furniture can be customized. Linen is best suited, but you can use satin, calico and even silk. Bed linen in Provence style can be:
- White smooth or cream with matching embroidery;
- Printed with a pattern in light shades, most often a floral motif is used;
- Decorated with frills, rough lace, hemstitching;
Sets usually include 2-4 pillowcases, a sheet, and 1 or 2 duvet covers. In European versions, the duvet cover is replaced by a large sheet.
Modern manufacturers all over the world produce furniture in the Provence style. Belarus, for example, offers a huge selection of high-quality products from solid wood and forged elements, both ready-made and custom-made. A wide selection allows you to truly choose something that will not only decorate the bedroom for a very long time, but will also allow the owners to relax in coziness and comfort. Antique or artificially aged furniture made from solid wood is a reflection of romance, which is so lacking in the modern world. If you follow all the rules and recommendations, the bedroom will always be light, cozy and warm.
Provence style will create the environment of southern France indoors. This kind of interior is most often preferred by people of creative professions, since in such a room you want not only to relax, but also to create masterpieces.
Tips for selection and placement
You need to choose furniture for sleeping so that it goes well with the rest of the furnishings. Provence is characterized by spaciousness in the room, there should be a lot of air and light. You should not place a large amount of other furniture around the bed or clutter the room with numerous objects. After all, the bed itself, in the spirit of French provincial luxury, takes up a lot of space, looks impressive and bulky. Miniature comfortable cabinets and lamps are usually placed on the sides, and sconces are hung on the wall. It is better to place the bed with the head towards the window.
Distinctive features of a Japanese-style bed, the history of tatami
The colors of the furniture are selected to match the overall color palette of the entire room; these are light, delicate, monochromatic colors or an abundance of floral prints. Additional accessories will add charm and emphasize the style features of the interior. These can be antique clocks or books, knitted souvenirs, decorative plates on the walls, mirrors in carved wooden frames, as well as forged figurines, flower bouquets, all kinds of boxes and paintings. Often a favorite photo in a beautiful aged frame is placed on the bedside table.
Advantages and disadvantages of round beds, placement features
Bed linen is chosen with embroidery, lace trim, light colors are preferred, white looks especially attractive. Fabrics should be soft, pleasant to the body, natural (cotton, linen, calico, silk, satin are ideal). For the bedspread, you need to choose durable material with a pattern (flowers, animal silhouettes, checks, stripes) or one tone. There can be many pillows. They are usually rectangular in shape and of different sizes, lush, airy, soft.
The size of the bed is selected so as to allow the sleeper to lie down freely, straightening his arms and legs, nothing should hinder his movements.
The color of the furniture is selected to match the overall color palette of the entire room
It is better to place the bed with the headboard facing the window
Do not place a large amount of other furniture around the sleeping area
Additional accessories will highlight the design of the bed