Design features
Owners of apartments and country houses, tired of the strict luxury of classicism, choose Provence for its warmth and simplicity, not without elegance. This effect is achieved due to several distinctive features:
- Interior design in muted colors, which is especially true for small living rooms.
- The abundance of floral ornaments, floral prints.
- The presence of antiques with history.
- Proximity to southern nature, which is reflected in the use of natural materials and flowering domestic plants.
Living room color
The Provence-style living room is a cozy, bright room that gives peace and warmth. Pastel colors are soft: beige-colored furnishings perfectly support nature motifs thanks to light green, pistachio and blue inserts.
The basis of the palette is often white, which perfectly combines with a muted range, contrasts with wooden elements, and also unloads an abundance of patterns and decor.
Lavender shade is also popular in houses in the sunny south: its use is one of the ways to make a Provence-style living room a little cooler.
Bright saturated colors borrowed from nature (turquoise, yellow) are added with small strokes and do not violate the overall picture of serenity.
Textile
Fabrics play a special role in the Provence style living room. It is impossible to imagine any interior with a provincial French slope without curtains and pillows: they give the atmosphere of coziness. The textiles on the windows in the Provence style are curtains with lambrequins, curtains with grabs, and just Roman curtains.
If the living room is combined with the kitchen or plays the role of a dining room, then tablecloths decorated with lace, napkins and seat covers for chairs will give a feeling of home warmth.
Natural fabrics are widely used - chintz, linen and cotton. Soft plaids of delicate colors, pillows and bedspreads with natural motifs are popular.
Finishing and materials
Traditionally, natural materials and analogues close to them are used to design a Provence-style living room.
- Floor. A plank floor is a good way to convey the warmth and atmosphere of a rural lifestyle. If the living room is combined with the kitchen, terracotta tiles are considered a practical option for flooring in the cooking area. In a modern interior, a natural board is rarely used: the output in this case will be an antique laminate.
- Walls. The most suitable wall decoration in Provence is plaster. The more bumps and dents, the more organic it looks in a French country setting, and the brickwork that appears through it adds even more character to the Provencal style. Another popular decoration method is wallpaper. In order not to overload the living room with floral patterns, one wall is formed by wallpaper, creating a kind of accent.
- Ceiling.Typically, French country ceilings are painted in white. In country houses, beams are often left open, covering the tree with a stain.In urban apartments, to simulate a country ceiling, decorative beams with light weight are mounted.
- Doors Typically, door leaves are not knocked out of the general bright interior: they are painted white or cream, sometimes decorating with hand-painted.
In French country, grace and rustic elements are combined intricately and harmoniously. Therefore, log and plank walls are also appropriate in this style. The only condition is that the tree should be light or whitened.
Living room furniture
The furniture in the living room in the Provence style is simple and elegant at the same time. It is free from excessive jewelry and strictly fulfills its functions, but at the same time it can have curved shapes, carved elements, metal and gold inserts.
The floral sofa has become the most recognizable part of the Provencal living room. No other style can boast such an abundance of plant patterns. Traditional striped and cushioned upholstery is also popular.
The wooden wall in the living room in bright colors, despite its massiveness, is characterized by elegant fittings, carvings and can be facilitated by glass doors. But most often, antique buffets or antique open cabinets are used to store things and utensils.
When creating a living room in a true Provencal style, it is very important to reflect the spirit of the times: several generations should be traced in the furniture and decor.
When choosing tables, armchairs and a chest of drawers, preference is given to natural materials: wood, weaving, as well as forged parts, ideally with patina and a touch of antiquity. In modern living rooms, furniture is specially aged, leaving chips and scuffs.
It is hard to imagine a living room in a country house without a fireplace. It not only gives warmth, but also is the central element of the room, personifying the family hearth.
Photo of living room with fireplace
A fireplace is a real decoration of the Provencal interior, but if there is no cottage, you can install a decorative portal or an electric fireplace in the living room.
Lighting
The light in the Provencal interior is an important component, since the living room in this style is filled with air during the day and is immersed in a cozy twilight in the evening. To create multi-level lighting, old curved chandeliers, and floor lamps on legs, and wall sconces are suitable.
Lamps with lampshades and fringe are also appropriate, creating a muffled light, as well as candlesticks. You should not use the built-in backlight - such a modern approach can destroy the charm of the French country.
Provence Decor
Decor is something without which it is impossible to imagine a real French country, since it is it that gives a sense of habitable space. A special role in the Provencal living room is played by paintings, in particular landscapes in oil or watercolor - they help blur the boundaries between home decor and nature. The same function is performed by flowers - roses in elegant vases, herbs in bouquets or clay pots, and of course, lavender.
Connoisseurs of Provence choose graceful birdcages for living room decor, which can serve as flower pots. Porcelain figurines, antique watches, mirrors and photographs in picturesque frames create a special tender mood.
Photos in the interior of the apartment
It may seem that Provence is difficult to recreate in a city apartment, for example, Khrushchev, but this is not so. Even a small room can be filled with the spirit of serenity, comfort and tranquility, if you use old furniture, floral prints and natural textures in a bright living room.
Panoramic windows not only flood the room with light, but also give a feeling of lightness and spaciousness, which is important in the Provencal style.
Ideas in a country house
It is much easier to maintain a rural theme, decorating the living room in a country house. The wooden floor, the abundance of light, beams and a fireplace play to recreate the Provencal style - it remains only to add elegant furniture and decorate the room with textile with a pattern. In addition, outside the city it is much easier to find flowers for making compositions with which you can revive the interior.
Sometimes the question arises for the owners of the living room how to arrange electrical appliances that are difficult to fit into the provincial atmosphere. Designers suggest using built-in appliances, and hang the TV on the wall by inserting it into a carved frame.
Photo gallery
Thanks to the comfort and special atmosphere created by Provence, the living room in this style has a peaceful rest from everyday fuss.