Nice Provencal Living Room

Fans of avant-garde furniture and high technologies will never appreciate the beauty of modern styles in general and of Provence in particular. Living room in the style of Provence is designed exclusively for those who do not mind to equip the house with a simple but incredibly cozy corner reminiscent of Southern France, where the colors of a solar summer are intertwined with lavender meadows and a clear blue sky.

It should be noted at once that Provence belongs to the provincial areas, so its second name sounds like “French country”. True French are real aesthetes. They perfectly understand such concept as beauty, therefore their stylistic development is always popular and decorates the interiors of many modern houses. Provence, like no other style gives a chance to plunge into the freshness and ease of furnishing rural life, and not only living in suburban homes, but also residents of megacities, in their, at times, not the most comfortable apartments. French country can fill with romance and make any setting pleasant.

Ideas of the French Provence

“The living room in the Provence style will always be a subtle interweaving of rural simplicity with sea, sunny and beach motifs”

Residents of noisy cities, probably like no one, dream of seclusion. The most enterprising try to recreate a similar atmosphere in their home. Sometimes Provence is considered a kind of country style. The latter really has many variations. The difference between them is determined by the characteristic interior features of the life of the country whose life they intend to imitate. The situation in the living room in the style of Provence will always be a subtle interweaving of rural simplicity with sea, sunny and beach motives. Such an interior is really similar to the direction of the country, but it captivates with a variety of color palette and has a number of significant differences.

Among the features of its design are:

1. The elegance of furniture.
2. Pastel colors.
3. The presence in the decor only light finish.
4. Originality of patterns.
5. Coloring of textiles, dishes.
6. Abundance of embroidery and ruches.
7. Decor living plants.

All these features together and allow you to distinguish between pure Provence and country. To some people it may seem that the presence of aged furniture with rough surfaces surrounded by roughly plastered walls with an air-light color palette is a decoration not for their home and does not dare to inscribe an ostentatious rudeness and lack of gloss in the overall concept of design. And completely in vain! Collect all the components of this interior direction together, and you will get a living room in a true, picturesque style of Provence, pleasing to the comfort and a pleasant atmosphere!

Finishing the room in French

So, it is decided that the style of Provence has a place in your house and not somewhere in the bathroom or inaccessible to the other’s eye bedroom, but in the very main room – the living room. So let’s try to figure out how to make it as colorful as possible.

Let’s start with the color aspects. The basic stylistic idea follows the course of simplicity, rural naivete and coziness, so in the work on creating an interior you will need to use paints that do not give glossy surfaces, that is matte or, at least, semi-matt compositions. Beige, wheat, white, olive, soft blue – these are the priority colors for the background and furniture. Romantic and very in French will look in the decor of the living room in the style of Provence materials with a pattern for the ancient chintz. But the wallpaper with a dark and gloomy color is better left on the shop window.

The great advantage of Provence is its environmental friendliness. This stylistic feature requires the use of exclusively natural materials in the finish. So the walls are plastered with simple plaster, and in such a way that from under its rough surface in some places fragments of naked wall masonry appeared, at random. It is important that the stone or brick in these fragments were only light colors. On the floor of your living room, both the board and the parquet flooring will perfectly suck. Here everything will depend on your financial capabilities and on what type of housing you live in.

Painting in the setting of such a room will look like forged things, especially if they have a noticeable touch of antiquity. Many designers prefer to decorate the living room in the style of Provence with hand-forged products.

Naturally, natural materials are very round sums, especially for the present times, but there is nothing to do with glass, chrome and shiny metal, and also plastic in such interiors. To somehow get out of the situation, modern designers agreed that in the modern interpretation of Provence artificial analogues of natural materials can be used, the main thing is to find really safe and qualitative variants of them.

Living room in the style of Provence: variations on the theme of flowers

The interiors of this style require saturation, but not at all brightness, so you need to be able to choose harmonious combinations of low-key shades. What colors can I apply for the background of the decor? Basically the pastel spectrum, whose representatives are:

1. Ocher.
2. Olive.
3. Terracotta.
4. Lavender.
5. White.

Good in Provence yellow-blue combinations and gentle pastel compositions. In a small amount may be present and marine shades. It is more correct to introduce them into an environment with decorative elements, such as sea stones or fishing nets.

The main goal of color collections is to create an atmosphere of the village with all its tranquility, dimensionality and coziness, so there should not be any dark paints in the decor. Since the walls of the living room, equipped in the style of Provence, should simulate the simplicity of the village house, the use of wallpaper as a wall decor is absolutely not welcome, but the plaster of rough application is what you need, and on top it does not need to be covered with paint or other fashionable finishing materials.

If you want to make it easier for yourself, put a wall on a tree, but after that paint it with cheap paint. In such a simple way you simulate the old days, and create an interior with your own hands.

The role of accent color professionals often rely on white. This is a good option for the kitchen, for example, but in the living room it’s better to change to something more saturated.

Interior nuances

“Textiles for the living room in the Provence style are, first of all, coarse natural bleached linen, as well as cotton fabrics with floral prints, stripes or a cheerful cage”

The interior of the living room in the style of Provence should impress with its saturation, sunshine and style. The situation in the room should evoke thoughts of the old times. To give a rough look to the walls can be ordinary whitewashing or old paints.

The floor in the living room should be finished with a plank, as it is a living room, not a cold tile. If the living room is large in area and the purchase of the board causes difficulties, then the natural material can be replaced by a modern, imitation laminate pattern. But linoleum and carpet to this style is absolutely not peculiar, but you can fully use for the decor of the floor surface with a chic, fluffy, long-carpet carpet. This detail of the interior will add to it only an additional comfort.

Ceilings in the decor of Provence always remain light. No, of course, scenery on them is possible, but they must have a corresponding style look. The wooden beams painted in a dark color will perfectly fit into the modest surroundings. In this case, this, not quite standard palette, is specially used. The purpose of the presence of beams is to dilute the color calmness of the background and create the missing contrast.

In any living room, including that decorated in the style of Provence, there are interior doors. They also need to pay attention to their decor. Ideally, the door leaf is covered with white paint and patinated surface. This technique perfectly conveys the color of the old Provencal way of life.

A special approach will also require a room window. The layout of these French houses in the Provencal style is such that they are decorated with huge windows that occupy the whole wall. In our typical buildings, such luxury was never provided, so to reproduce in the living room something similar to the original, you will have to closely deal with this site. What can you do? No, breaking down walls and glassing the formed space is not worth it, you can do much easier. A wonderful effect will produce a zone around the window, which is completely painted white. Very successful will look a specific, in the French spirit, the crate of a wooden double-glazed window. If you decide to put windows in your living room from metal-plastic, then do not make them out of white material, but choose a profile under the tree. The window is draped with fabrics. In the decor of Provence, you can not do without tulle and curtains on the windows. The latter should be made of weightless fabrics of light tones, on which a fine floral pattern may be present. Window-sills should always be decorated with fresh flowers.

Textiles for the living room in the style of Provence are, first of all, coarse natural bleached linen, as well as cotton fabrics with floral prints, stripes or a cheerful cage. Openwork fabrics will be appropriate in the design of a specific space. Of the decorative elements in the window area can be ribbons and ruches.

Layout of the living room

If your living room pleases you with its squares, its design in the Provencal style will not cause problems. You can fully develop your imagination and realize everything conceived in life. But in small spaces, to reproduce the interior in the spirit of Provence will be quite problematic. However, professional designers are sure that nothing is possible – the main thing is to have the desire and know how to approach the issue correctly. The secret is that small rooms will need special decorative finishing with small elements and accessories that subtly emphasize the stylistic belonging of the decor of your living room to the style of Provence. In a small room it’s better not to start complicated plans, but to stay on such a decor, which will ideally be adapted to the actual dimensions and conditions of the room. In this space, it is necessary to harmonize the tandem of new modern things with the spirit of the old Provence.

You need to start with furniture. In the Provencal style, the place is just the old furnishings.

For this, there is absolutely no need to climb to the attic and look for tables, chairs or armchairs hidden under a hundred-year-old layer of dust. You can easily buy the current furniture, which was produced according to the latest modern technologies and simply artificially aged. This option is sure to suit those people who do not mind having a living room in the style of Provence, but absolutely not ready to put on the general court furniture left over from great-grandmothers. Ideally, all pieces of furniture should have a wooden frame and the same natural facades. With such furniture in the interior will come warmth, coziness and furnishings will be extremely comfortable. In the Provencal living room is perfectly perceived:

1. Wicker furniture.
2. Massive chests.
3. A variety of baskets.
4. Ordinary benches.
5. Hinged cases.

Since the interior focuses on the old-fashioned environment, the decor may well be furniture items hand-forging or the original weaving of the vine. The cost of such rarities will be considerable, but for the sake of giving the scenery of picturesqueness, money is worth spending. In the decorative aspect, the furniture of Provence is always neat, despite the presence of scuffs on it, an irradiated paint and a clearly dilapidated appearance. But getting rid of these, in our understanding, “flaw” and restore something, is not at all, because it is these “flaws” that help to fill the atmosphere of the modern living room with the romanticism of the past. From the accessories in the room there is a place for mini-pads, embroidered pillowcases and openwork patterns. On the low bedside tables you can arrange stylish decorative elements.

It’s great if everything that appears in the setting of your living room in the unusual style of Provence will have an antique exterior. For example, an invaluable contribution to the final result will be forged chandeliers with light pastel shades, the appearance of which clearly bears a touch of provinciality.

You will never be able to convey the subtlety of French life, if in the living room there will be a closet cupboard, even if superbly aged. Believe me, in this decor it will be more than fully replaced by roomy chests and drawers. But without which you can not do in the Provencal interior, it’s without a massive and necessarily roundtable.

As for the decoration of surfaces, then on the furniture and doors you can start with flower ornaments. Such a painting can also decorate upholstery upholstery. In general, if you are not afraid of bright accents and radical decisions, then furnish your Provence-style living room with sofas, armchairs and chairs in scarlet tones. This will become a real stylistic highlight.

Decorative elements in Provence

It is very important when creating Provence properly decorate the walls. It is necessary to make them feel warm and cozy. They must accurately convey the village atmosphere. Forget that in the decor you can use modern materials. Decorate the wall with many hours, paintings, mirrors and panels with landscapes in the style of Provence. Stress simplicity and naivety will help plant motifs present on the bedspreads, tablecloths, napkins and pillows of your living room. Covers for chairs and covers on the sofa will make the interior very original and will fill the atmosphere with home comfort. Typical accessories for Provence are:

1. Vases.
2. Flowers in pots.
3. Porcelain figurines.
4. Fittings for forging.
5. Braided mat.

Important attributes are also copper or ceramic dishes, which can be exhibited in the living room on open shelves. In this nice interior can always stand bouquets of living and dried flowers.

Important in the general picture of the living room in the style of Provence, the shape of such small things as cornices, door handles and furniture fittings. They should be stylized:

1. Under the gold.
2. Copper.
3. Brass.
4. Bronze.

Although Provence is loyal to the abundance of accessories, nevertheless it is not worth overloading its space. A gentle monotonous-pastel palette of style can be very simply turned into a color cacophony and the room in a moment will lose its charm.

Do not be zealous with a variety of colorful accents. Give preference to subjects in gray, greenish and bluish hues.

Lighting

The furnishings of the living room in the Provence style are notable for their eccentricity. In the daytime it is emphasized by flooding the room with daylight, but in the evening everything changes here. In the space of the room, there will never be bright artificial lighting, and all thanks to the specifics of the arrangement of the lighting fixtures. They are attached at a low altitude and the streams emitted by them do not illuminate all the corners of the living room, and soft, sobbing waves spread across the floor.

Very important and “appearance” of the lamps themselves. It is best if their designs are made by forging, and lampshades with natural fabrics. The latter can be either monophonic, or decorated with floral motifs or alternating pastel stripes.

In the living room there should be both main and local lighting. The first is provided by chandeliers, and the second one is sconces (with models directing the streams of light downwards) or floor lamps. On point systems and LED backlights in this interior, it does not go at all.

Conclusion

Living in the style of Provence, having appeared in your house, should become not just a place for rest and communication with guests, but a really cozy corner, in which it is very easy to get distracted from the city turmoil and plunge into pleasant memories of such a short but very eventful summer holiday !!

Photogallery – a living room in the style of Provence:

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Author: Daria Degtyareva

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