The Provencal Style is one of the most recognizable of the styles. It was born in Provence, to the south of France and it initially was used for country houses to diffuse also in beach house, French Riviera, and for several years also in the city.
I like it at the beach; it’s a style that has character and it super recognizable.
Often it is confused with Shabby, style with pickled white furniture, but not everyone knows that this style was born in the English country houses and only at a later stage it blends up with other style, including the French one.
When I recommend this style I like to change something, these details that make a house personalized although you choose a popular style.
The style with which decorate a house is the starting point to build a personalization. Tailor-made, indeed.
And now I’ll explain what I mean, how I’d handle an interior in the Provencal Style.
Starting from the bedroom, where I’d put a striped wallpaper, that I choose in a modern version rather than the classic white and grey or white and ecru, of different shapes. Absolutely a canopy bed, the one on the Board is from Maison Du Monde, but also the ones in wrought iron are not bad.
You play with textiles. Linen and natural texture are everywhere, from the curtains to the bed linen, to the pillows, to the linens. In the Board I’ve put some linen placemats that I often use, they are simple, they match with everything and they are always beautiful and chic, starting from breakfast.
For the living room, the couch has to be white, almost like the rest of the decor, but the cushions are colored. For this style I thought about striped cushions as the wallpaper, with narrow stripes and to give more personality I’d see well Ghost armchair at the table, modern but with that allure that marries the Provencal style.
Here in the picture I’ve put a Ghost with the seat in canvas, more classic, instead at home I have transparent polycarbonate of which I’m very happy.
For the kitchen I’d opt for an industrial inox steel, besides is trendy and it matches everything.
For the rest the details will make the difference at home, starting from fresh flowers that cannot miss: pink roses, peonies and buttercups are perfect and they perfectly adapt, while for the kitchen you can choose an angle with herbs.
For the outdoor I recommend the classic wrought iron painted in white for tables and chairs, classic but not banal, or wood tables treated natural, always set with linen placemats or linen runner or crochet placemats, I find them gorgeous.
The mise en place remains with few frills but rich of natural elements. In the Inspiration Board I’ve chosen a table with lavender, that I particularly love, and that I use to adorn. I have a huge plant of it, the only thing is that the lavender attracts the bees and sometimes bumble bees, so be careful.
Lemons are not casuals; indeed they are typical of Provence, besides in this period I start doing them at home, at any hour. I use organic Lemons and Bimby, my faithful partner of the adventures in the kitchen… it allows you to make fantastic lemonades with which you’ll surprise the guests.
Besides, lemons are rich of potassium, Vitamin C and B and they’re good for young and adults. Proof is in the pudding.
The perfumes are natural, in line with the rest, a part from the typical perfume of lavender, the famous soaps like Marseille soap are typical of Provence too, I gladly use them in summer, from a couple of years I’ve substituted them with cotton flowers and the Linen perfumes, fragrances I take in a herbal that treats typical Provençal brands.
The last advice I want to give you is: in case you have a country house or a city house you can substitute the stripes with a raw texture with a floral fantasy, also this fantasy marries everything we said before. The colors are all natural… in case of a beach house I’d add blue and sky blue, in the countryside pink and green are good.
The personalization of a style is the first thing to make in count when we choose a mood for our home. And will end here, hoping you’d like this Provençal inspiration, I’ll see you in the next style…
Viviana Grunert
