Add French Style to Your Interior Design
By Kathy A. Johnsonkathy.johnson@interiordesignschoolreview.com
Interior Design School Review Columnist
Whether decorating a Paris apartment or a farmhouse in Provence, the French seem to have a special flair for stylish design. Their antique shops and flea markets are famous, and French interior design influences have made their way around the world.
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Luckily, you don't have to visit those flea markets to add French style to your next interior design project. Here are some features of French design you can use right here at home.
Antique or heirloom furniture. "Without fail, settings start with furnishings handed down from one generation to the next," writes Betty Lou Phillips in Secrets of French Design. Often, antique or heirloom furniture is meaningful as well as beautiful, but if none is available, a trip to an antique fair, auction, even the flea market, can yield furniture with character and style.
Color choices. Colors may be rich, strong hues evocative of the sun-drenched Mediterranean, or softer, more muted shades that would be at home where the light is not so strong. Your choice of color will depend on the use of the room and the amount and quality of light it receives, natural and otherwise. One French-inspired option, according to Chris Casson Madden, is to choose one color and use it in different hues throughout a room.
Attention to detail. Philips notes that French attention to detail "borders on obsession." Hardware is beautifully designed, windows are layered with fabric, artwork is carefully framed and lighted, and fresh flowers bloom indoors.
Quality furnishings, rich colors, carefully thought-out details--French interior design creates stylish rooms on both sides of the Atlantic.
Sources:
Phillips, Betty Lou, Secrets of French Design, 2004HGTV "Think French" Chris Casson Madden
About the Author:
Kathy A. Johnson has written articles on health, fitness, and many other topics in her career as a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Florida, and is the features editor of Forum, a bimonthly publication of the national mothers group, Mothers & More.
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