The charm of rural comfort in the Provence style interiors

Country style is incredibly diverse, because in every country there are different national features of rural style. The country style reflects the nuances of culture, lifestyle, climatic and natural features. The color palette of country style in each country is different; it carries shades of nature in its most diverse manifestations. Currently, French country - Provence style - is particularly popular.

If we talk about the historical background of the birth of the French country, Provence is a place in the south of France, at the mention of which many immediately imagine the bright southern sun, beautiful nature, the aromas of flowers and herbs, the sound of waves and the smell of the sea. We can say that the Provence style in the interior is a way of decorating provincial rural houses in the south of France.

The aesthetics of the Provence style have a direct connection not only with the peculiarities of rural life in the southern provinces, it is associated with outdoor recreation, with the bright sun and the azure sea, with hot and bright days filled with romanticism and the charm of rural life. In the interiors of this kind of country-style, you will not see plastic furniture or ultramodern devices, the brilliance of stainless steel, so familiar to modern interiors, will be hidden behind specially aged facades of cabinets. But you can see the light finish, so typical for country style, natural materials, many live and dried plants, textiles in a rustic manner and only comfortable, but elegant decor.

The village life is unhurried, measured, all innovations are difficult to integrate, which is why the Provence style loves the manifestation of antiquity - worn furniture, specially aged surfaces of materials, antique decor items. But at the same time, the interiors are fresh and light, filled with cleanliness and simplicity of rural life.

Provence style in interior design is, first of all, color. It is the palette of shades and midtones that dominates here. For interior decoration, mainly pastel colors are chosen to achieve the effect of surfaces burned out in the bright southern sun.

Bright accent stains can be used for decoration, furnishings or textiles. Natural colors in Provence-style are crucial, among them are:

• all shades of white;
• beige;
• light mint;
• pale yellow;
• blue;
• azure;
• sunburned orange;
• citric;
• terracotta;
• pale green.

Variations of these colors can be used both for decoration and for furniture, textiles and decor items.

One of the most common options for wall decoration in Provence style rooms is plaster, which is often applied specifically with bumps and roughnesses. In modern design projects, as a rule, they use colored decorative plaster for finishing vertical surfaces. Light tone not only visually expands the space, refreshes the atmosphere, fills the room with a feeling of cleanliness and freedom, but also serves as an excellent background for various decor.

Another interesting way to decorate walls is to use wood paneling. In this case, cardinal options for the use of natural materials as finishing materials in Russian country and French are visible. In the Provence style, it is customary to paint wood in white, sometimes in any pastel shade with scuffing. In Russian country, the finishing board appears before us in its natural color.

If we talk about the walls, for example, kitchen facilities, then they can be fully or partially lined with ceramic tiles or mosaics. Most often, tile trim is used to decorate a kitchen apron.

Often, the design of the walls of country-style rooms uses elements of the structure and architecture of the room, for example, logs. Most often they are not stained, but only treated with special varnishes and sprays to protect against moisture and insect pests. Such structural elements not only look original and attractive, but also make the interior unique, saturated with rustic temperament, and measured rural life.

As a rule, the ceiling in a country-style room is light colored or whitewashed in combination with wooden beams. Sometimes dark wood beams play the role of contrast for a light finish on the ceiling. But there are also options with bleached ceiling beams, purposely aged.

Ceiling beams in the interior of the French country style are not so much a constructive element as a decorative one. Roughnesses and wormholes of wood, which practically did not undergo processing (namely, this impression develops), act as the focus of attention.

Ceilings in living rooms or dining rooms may include stucco on the ceiling and ceiling cornices. But this decor of the room will look old, archaic. Such a ceiling decoration can change even the simplest rural interior and raise its status, respectability and aesthetics of external attractiveness.

The most logical in rooms made in the Provence style looks wooden floors. In the provincial rural houses, one could find both a painted floorboard and an unprocessed version of the floor covering made of natural material. Both options are applicable to this day.

In the kitchen and other utilitarian rooms you can see the tiles on the floor, usually terracotta or a shade of a brown group of tones. This is not only a practical option for designing a floor covering from the point of view of care, but also the opportunity to feel the coolness of stone or ceramic tiles underfoot on a hot day.

Doors for Provence-style rooms are usually wooden, painted white and aged. Often, interior and even entrance doors have glass inserts to provide the necessary amount of sunlight in the rooms.

For contrast with light walls, doors and matching doorways made of dark unpainted wood can be used.

As for windows, among the design options for window openings there is such a thing as a “French window”. A window opening from floor to ceiling, which can be designed as a window-door with binders in several sections. When the style was born, such windows, of course, were wooden, they were painted white. Modern technologies make it possible to produce an energy-saving analogue using double-glazed windows.

Furniture for the French country style, however, as for any other national manifestation of this stylistic trend, is chosen wooden, wicker or forged. No chrome or plastic furniture elements, modern fittings and attributes. Furniture made of solid wood is a very expensive pleasure, so you can compromise and purchase, for example, kitchen cabinets from MDF or particleboard, but only with the appropriate design - a worthy imitation of wood or painting.

If you decide to design one or more rooms in your apartment or country house in the Provence style and want to save, then a great option for you will be the revival of old furniture. In the interiors of the French provinces, often antique furniture is in the same room with new furniture, but specially painted and aged with scuffs, chippings, and even chips.

Despite its massiveness, the furniture for the Provence style looks lighter and more sophisticated than the same pieces of furniture in other country styles. For bedroom furniture, wrought-iron beds with rich decor are often used, usually painted white. Light and airy designs, despite their large size, look not only attractive, but also thoroughly.

But the main feature of the furniture in the style of French rural life are various chests of drawers, cabinets, cupboards and display cases. Mezzanines and drawers, swing doors with glass inserts - all furniture is solid, reliable, made of wood and painted in pastel colors (sometimes with aging elements). Sometimes on the facades of cupboards and cupboards you can find painted floral or animal motifs.

Furniture for the dining area is always solid and massive. The lunch group, as a rule, is represented by a large wooden table, most often with carvings, on beautiful, massive legs. Chairs can be classic, with soft upholstery of seats and backs, sometimes with armrests. Chairs of different shades, upholstery material, but close in terms of design, can be used in the kit.

As for the upholstery of upholstered furniture, in the “classic” Provence style it is rarely plain and light, often with a pattern (usually floral), striped, dull cell. But modern interiors in a provincial French style may contain absolutely plain textile upholstery in pastel colors.

Upholstered furniture for the living room, as a rule, is quite simple, sometimes wicker chairs are used, from the category of garden furniture, but always with an abundance of pillows. Sometimes for armchairs and sofas the style of covers with a skirt is used. Such cute details give the rural style an even more homely and cozy appearance.

Country style always gravitates to the use of natural fabrics and Provence was no exception. The most common fabrics are cotton, linen and plain chintz. The most popular print for rural style is floral, floral. Cases for sofa cushions, curtains, tablecloths for large dining tables are sewed from these fabrics. Window openings are sometimes draped with curtains with intercepts, less often they use brushes and ruffles. Quilts for beds are most often quilted, made of the same natural materials. It is in the country-style interiors that you can see decor items and accessories made by yourself, here they look very appropriate.

As for the Provence-style room lighting system, chandeliers and wall lights are usually forged, painted either white or dark colors to give the interior a contrast. Lampshades of floor lamps and table lamps are often made of fabric with a light floral print.

As a room decor in the Provence style, not only paintings with landscapes and still lifes are used, but also wicker baskets, elegant candlesticks, lace napkins (often made by hand). For the design of mirrors, forged or carved frames are used, most often painted. In kitchens, the decor is often beautiful ceramic dishes displayed on open shelves.

Very often in the design of premises in the Provence style you can find an image of a rooster - a symbol of France. It can be just a figurine or an image on the wall, even a drawing on the facade of a piece of furniture. The French are incredibly patriotic and try to show it even in the most everyday manifestations. Therefore, most often roosters can be found in kitchen and dining rooms.

In the interiors of the French province there are a lot of fresh and dried flowers - in vases and pots, large floor tubs and wall-mounted flowerpots, and just as herbariums on the walls. Particular charm of rural rooms partly comes from these natural decorative elements.

As a result, I would like to recall the distinctive features of the Provence style, which distinguish it among the variety of country styles of other countries:

• bright colors are not used in the decoration of rooms, all shades are pastel, muted. The walls and ceiling are white, with beams of wood, the floors are wooden darker shades;
• wooden furniture is usually bleached and artificially aged, with cracks and roughness;
• actively using textiles made from natural fabrics using floral prints;
• bedrooms most often have a minimalist atmosphere in snow-white colors, to create a free and cool atmosphere (in the south of France it can be very hot);
• forged products, furniture or their elements are often used, most often painted in pastel colors;
• large French windows with binders in several sections, doors also often have glass inserts.