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Tuesday, November 28th, 2017
What’s French Romantic without a little taste of wine? Featured here is the Hooker Furniture Dining Room Studio 7H Wine Rack 5465-50002-MWD.
French. Just the very word makes you think of style and elegance. Whether you’re thinking of architecture, food or design, it’s all the same. The French have also mastered the mixture of classic with contemporary which makes them a dominant force to reckon with.
But are there really secrets to their style? Or are there characteristics that you can confidently use right in your own home?
Find Comfort in Juxtapositions
As mentioned, you have to be able to mix the traditional elements with the contemporary stuff. Do not afraid to experiment so that you get to see the different possible combinations of furnishings.
A truly chic French Romantic home should be able to stand the test of time. it must be resilient to the interior design trends. It must also balance the Old World charm with the contemporary style. Make it a point to stimulate the five senses with the design elements that you bring into your home. Visually, the objects must be there but they must also satisfy the tactile sense through the textures.
Design is not about being perfect, it’s about defining, redefining, experimenting, making errors, correcting them, and finally arriving at a style that you can truly call your own.
Basically Chic
French romantic interiors are basically simple. They make use of a neutral color palette so that balance can be achieved in the living spaces. Pair the complementary colors which sit on opposite sides of the color wheel. These hues will naturally jive without you even trying.
A neutral palette is also awesome to use because it is easy to live with. It is not complex, so, a wave of calm will automatically be felt when you enter a home in these calming colors.
Add a Touch of Vintage
The French are also known for their rich history. Just pay a visit to their museums and architectural marvels, even their streets, and you would see how amazing the people are.
Mix modern with traditional by, say, adding bronze furnishings to parquet flooring. You can also hang artworks and vintage sculptural pieces on walls. Find interesting vintage pieces from our collection here.
Bold French art can also add a different level of fun to your home. You don’t have to be serious all the time. Even the French know how to have fun now and then so inject some abstract paintings on the background or even some of your framed black and white photographs. Even your sketches – when properly framed – can become the conversation pieces in your home.
Century Furniture Bedroom Atlanta Low Post Bed With Upholstered Headboard – King Size 6/6 I29-146
Learn to Layer
Paris is known for its robust flea markets so be able to layer your furniture, décor, lights, paintings, knickknacks, mirrors, and even your silverware. Use an anchor palette then slowly build from there.
The layers throughout your home should add a level of sentimentality that your guests can feel the moment they enter your place.
Mix and blend the artworks, colors, and furniture in a surprisingly fresh way. The rooms are supposed to be opulent, of course, you’re recreating French lavishness, but you also have to add a dash of roughness to the refined pieces.
Mix attitude with a little warmth. Group furniture and artworks according to textures or create intrigue by making the pieces as diverse as possible.
Say Yes to Blush Tones and Gilding
Paris is no less than the most romantic city in the world so create the fairytale charm that it is supposed to evoke. Use gilded bronze furnishings. Add blush pieces to the mix and you’ve just recreated Marie Antoinette’s le salon.
Tags: French design, French design elements, French furnishing, French furnishings, French interiors, French Romantic, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Interior Design Themes | Comments Off on French Romantic: The Splendor of Things Vintage
Thursday, April 28th, 2016
Hooker Furniture Home Office Archivist Writing Desk
Paris is a place that has been made synonymous with elegance and romance. Parisian style is effortless in the incorporation of both traditional and modern aesthetic elements. This is the right style to use when you want to have an air of sophistication in your home.
Use a light color palette as the base for your design while taking the freedom to add vibrant colors in works of art and polished topiaries. Refined elements can be effectively mixed with grandeur. Use velvet pillows as haute statements.
French Furniture History
French monarchy during the 17th and 18th centuries has been partial to the florid surpluses as well as feminine lines. This brought about a revolutionary change in furniture design which we all know of today.
French royalty insisted on having only the highest quality in interior design aspects. They hired the most skilled European craftsmen.
French furniture history can be divided into three time periods. The Sun King, King Louis XIV was first, then the reign of King Louis XV followed, and the reign of King Louis XVI (executed through the guillotine) all featured the most beautiful French furniture.
It is easy to spot French furniture. just look for the cabriole or curvy chair legs. Look also for serpentine lines, swirling scrolls, embellishments, and the most intricate designs.
Boullework surfaces are also common. These are made of brass inlaid to tortoiseshell or ebony. Bronze is also treated to represent gold and pastel silk upholstery with a lot of florals is also common.
The Empire Style
This was a propaganda that Napoleon brought about. He insisted on a tyrannical centralization of the artistic productions back in his day. He declared that furniture production (and other art media) was to be controlled by Paris and then overseen by Fontaine and Percier (both renowned architects). Jacques-Louis David was also commissioned to oversee the projects.
Noble people were then impoverished or were all in exile. The elites who have risen owe their fame and fortune to the partial master who imitated works of art without embarrassment. The resulting style was a huge success and, eventually, there was uniformity in all of France.
The Empire style is dominated by the Greco-Roman models. Their features may be a bit stiff and imposing because of their sharp corners and flat surfaces.
This furniture style lacks moldings thus, offering beauty and grandeur.
George Jacob was king of the Empire style in furniture. Boat beds, decorated only on one side, became widespread. The minister desk and the psyche mirrors also became famous. Characteristic of the Empire table are the numerous versions of gueridon type which were often used as dining tables.
Mahogany seating is quite common with backs that are often upholstered. It was rare to find small pieces which were used for more specific purposes. Console tables appear more solemn and rigid with their rectangular and marble tops.
Orient Express Furniture Living Room Humphrey Ottoman – Bisque French Linen 6460
Materials and Methods
Mahogany was a popular choice in Parisian furniture making. Because of the blockade that took place, this wood became unavailable, and in its place rose the beech, burled elm, walnut, ash yew root, boxwood, maple and olivewood.
Ornamentation
Ornaments are often marked with precise symmetry. Common motifs include the bee, eagle, the initials I and N, and the stars. The imperial laurel crown as well as figures bearing swans, palm branches, rose wreaths, lions, grape vines, etc. were also used. Those who embraced an Egyptian motif used squares, circles, ovals, octagons and squares.
It’s time to bring the magic of Paris right into your home. Mix chic pieces with neutral ones. Use soft yet glamorous colors. Add iconic designs with the contemporary ones in order to capture the combination of traditional and contemporary.
Tags: 17th century, 18th century, French design, French design elements, French furnishing, French furniture, French Romantic, history, luxurious home, luxurious interiors, luxurious living, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, Parisian style, Parisian theme
Posted in Furniture, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Interior Design Themes | No Comments »
Monday, January 11th, 2016
Wine bottles in this photo are from FFDM’s RayLen Vineyards Collection.
Choosing to highlight the rooms in your home with a vineyard or wine theme can add a casual ambience that is often linked to country French or Tuscan style. Wine accents permeate your place with a glamorous yet tranquil atmosphere. Pick hues that are commonly found in nature to harmonize with your wine accents. Use sage green, burgundy, and deep blue for a calming effect. Sunshine yellow and red, on the other hand, can make a room come to life. If you want to add a hacienda feel or mission touch, then use rustic textures.
This lovely wine rack is also from FFDM’s RayLen Vineyards Collection
Guidelines for the Innovative Vineyard Theme
First, what is a wine theme without bottles of wine, right? Keep those wine bottles in a wine rack made of wrought-iron. If you can find those with grapevine and grape bunch embellishments then do so. Display this kind of rack inside your Napa Valley design kitchen.
You can also set up a wine bar with different kinds of wines placed on a glass-topped, wrought-iron table. If you don’t want to take the risk on metal, then go safe with the traditional beauty of wooden racks. To add a country feel, wind some grapevines among the wine bottles.
As guests arrive, place fresh grapes with cheese board showcasing a number of cheeses, crackers, crusty bread, and fruits. Place a terracotta ice bucket complete with a vineyard logo and wine glasses and you’d be the talk of the town!
Now don’t think that the wine theme is just great for your kitchen. You can bring this same rustic look to your bedroom by grouping grapevine wreaths on the place where the headboard should have been. Embellish these with sunflowers to achieve the sunniest Tuscan atmosphere. Here, you should opt for faux grapes complete with dried herbs or some yellow starflowers.
Put this same treatment above the couch in your living room. You can pick one oversized wreath or settle with a group of smaller ones.
Of course, just like any design, one of the fundamental guidelines in achieving cohesion or balance is the use of a focal point.
Make a focal point inside the dining room or kitchen by using a wine puller collection showcased on a bead board backsplash. Put this on the side of the kitchen island or right above the counter.
You can reach a higher level for this look by filling up a pottery bowl (preferably brick red or muted yellow) with different fruits. Use purple and green grapes with all the other fruits, of course. Place this fruit bowl in the middle of your vintage farm dining table. None can be more perfect as a rustic centerpiece.
The bathroom can also be given an eclectic flair as you place vineyard-themed towels, bathrobes and a shower curtain. If you cannot have these theme towels made, then you can just combine white towels with towels in red or purple shades. Highlight the walls with wallpaper in the same hue or print.
Winners Only Dining Room 52 Inch Franklin Server DFD470B at McCreerys Home Furnishings
Designing a Wine Cellar
You may not be a wine connoisseur but if you enjoy a glass of wine after dinner, then it won’t hurt to use this unique them when you remodel your home. Here are some ideas before you set out to build or remodel –
Never think that the wine cellar is merely a storage area. This is an important room just as much as the dining or living room. Obviously, wine bottles need to be kept in a quiet, undisturbed, cool and private place. While this is so, you should not decorate the space as if no one is ever going to see it.
Add a wooden wine rack or cabinet, even a wrought-iron bar in the corner. These furniture pieces are not just there to beautify; they can also serve as storage units in your cellar or wine room. Add a framed artwork on the wall to complete the artistic vibe in your wine-themed home.
Tags: color harmony, country, country cottage, country style, country style interiors, eclectic, eclectic design, eclectic interiors, eclecticism, French design, French design elements, French furnishing, French furniture, French interior design, French interiors, French Romantic, harmony, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, Napa Valley design, rustic, rustic charm, rustic interiors, rustic look, rustic style, rustic theme, Tuscan design, Tuscan interiors, Tuscan style, vineyard theme, wine bar, wine cellar, wine cellar design, wine theme
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Themes | No Comments »
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