The rural country style is well expressed by the Provence style in the interior of a country house. The color scheme and subtleties may vary, but the overall appearance is the same. The most popular at the moment is French Provence.
The interior in the Provence style is distinguished by light finishes, natural materials, textiles in a rustic manner and elegant, yet comfortable decor.
Main features and distinctive features
A country house in the Provencal style is the embodiment of not only the rural life of the southern province, but also its culture. It “breathes” him with calmness and peace. While inside, you plunge into the atmosphere of hot sun, warmth, sea, and romanticism.
A country house in Provence style has a special, light atmosphere
Provence style denies modern devices, furniture made of plastic and steel. Wood, pastel colors, green plants in pots are popular here, the decor is comfortable and simple. Village residents are not in a hurry, they do not chase fashion and new products, so when you are in a room decorated in Provence style, the furniture is shabby, artificially aged, natural materials, antiques, and a lot of decorative items.
The interior of the room consists of simple elements, artificially aged materials and antique decorative items
Distinctive features:
- lack of bright, saturated colors;
- walls, ceiling are several shades lighter than the floor;
- aged furniture elements;
- all textiles are made from natural fabrics;
- main print – floral;
- the windows are large, with many sections;
- no heavy curtains.
In this interior there is no place for bright flashy colors, and preference is given to calm pastel shades
The entire room, furniture, decor in most cases, has a white, light color. The homeland of this style has very hot weather, so they try to create an atmosphere of coolness and lightness in living spaces.
In French style interiors there are a lot of dried and fresh flowers placed in vases, tubs or herbariums
See alsoSofa for the kitchen in Provence style, photo.
Provence in the interior of the bathroom
Decorating a bathroom in Provence style is not so easy, because many materials are sensitive to moisture. But an unusual effect can be created even with the help of textured ceramic tiles and expressive fittings.
The main advantage of a Provence style bathroom is light shades that visually enlarge the room and fill it with air. The second plus is the relaxation and lightness of the French province, thanks to which bathing procedures will become even more enjoyable.
Apartment design in Provence style (60 photos)
Color features
Provencal style stands out from others with its unobtrusive, pastel colors. At first glance it may seem that everything is the same color, but if you look closely, you can find many different shades. The environment of hot southern countries cannot be saturated for a long time; in the sun it quickly fades. Decor or furniture items can be bright.
Shades of pink, light brown and green are used for decoration.
Variations of pastel colors are also suitable for furniture, decor and textiles
The main shades of this style: white, pale green, yellow and mint, beige, blue, lemon, azure, terracotta. All these colors can be used both for finishing a room and for decoration.
See alsoFrench style in the interior
Room decoration
Decorating a country house begins with drawing up a plan and purchasing materials. All repair work is carried out in stages.
The rustic style welcomes an abundance of small decorative elements that make the home feel lived-in and cozy.
See alsoDecor in Provence style
Wall decoration
In rooms decorated in Provence style, the main option for wall treatment is decorative plaster. It is applied in many ways, the surfaces can be uneven and rough. The shades of vertical surfaces should be light. Because of this, the room visually expands, refreshes, there is a feeling of cleanliness, and it becomes possible to install any decor.
Plaster on walls is often specially applied with uneven surfaces
The walls can be finished with wood panels. In such cases, all finishing is done from natural materials. Provence style allows you to paint wall panels white or beige; artificial abrasions look great on them. If the owner wants to create the interior decoration of a village hut, decorative structures can be made, for example, in the kitchen, vertical surfaces can be decorated with tiles or mosaics.
Structural elements are used in the design of walls, for example, logs are not painted, but only treated with protective compounds
See alsoRustic style
Ceiling
In the Provencal style, the ceilings are painted in light shades and whitewashed. In some cases, the surface is decorated with wooden beams; contrasts can be emphasized favorably and the method of artificial aging can be used. If you are decorating a living room or dining room, the ceiling can be decorated with stucco.
As a rule, the ceiling has a light color and contrasting wooden beams
Stucco molding is appropriate on the ceiling in the living room, but it should also look aged
See alsoWe embody Provence style in the interior of an apartment
Floor
The classic of this style is wooden floors. They can be painted or left untreated. All finishing materials must be natural and of high quality. If you are decorating a kitchen or other utility room, you can put tiles on the floor, for example, brown. Designers consider this option practical.
In living rooms, a wooden floor looks most logical. Parquet, laminate or engineered board – it’s up to you
You can lay tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. This solution is practical from a cleaning point of view.
See alsoProvence style in the interior of a city apartment
Windows and doors
In the Provence style, window openings and doors are preferably made of wood. They can be left naturally processed, painted, or artificially aged. To add more natural light to the room, you can make clear glass inserts in the doors. In this style, the “French window” technique is often used. That is, an opening is made from the ceiling to the floor; the window can be used as a door.
The highlight of the style is the “French window” from floor to ceiling, which can be made in the form of glazed door sections
Doors can serve as contrasting elements if made from dark wood
See also: Chic interior - what should it be like?
Exterior decoration of the house
Provincial European houses can be found in hundreds of pictures. In the most typical of them, a person will see a white wall, green or brown shutters, a flowerpot on the windowsill and a parked bicycle. In reality, furnishing a private home includes many components, and the result should look neat and stylish.
Exterior finishing begins with the choice of roofing. Regular orange tiles are sometimes replaced with gray and light pink ones. The higher the roof slope, the less desirable non-primary options become. Ideally, the roof should be low.
One third of the full façade of a provincial house is covered with a strip of climbing plants; it has shutters, window sills with flower beds and multi-section windows, ideally made of wood. Stone and wood are used for decoration, and modern and artificial materials are not used at all. All high-tech elements are securely hidden.
Number of floors of a house in Provence style
Stylized provincial houses are built without mandatory similarity criteria. Freedom of thought is limited only by materials. Everyone chooses the number of floors, shape and color for themselves.
In a simple budget version, the house has one floor, a large entrance hall, a living room and a basement. In two-story buildings there is always a spacious kitchen, more than 15 square meters, 1 or 2 bedrooms on the second floor. In buildings on 2 floors with a rectangular orientation, there are 2 spacious halls below and above. Larger rooms add touches of luxury. In huge mansions on 2-3 floors, rooms are distributed on several sides, with many corridors.
The number of storeys also includes an attic. For a house with a provincial style, a spacious attic is only a plus. There they set up one or two spacious rooms, bright and with original decoration.
Facade finishing
Unnatural materials should be immediately excluded from the list of materials. When building designer houses, they are content only with a natural set of raw materials:
- a natural stone;
- clay tiles;
- tree;
- metal;
- decorative plaster.
Mostly, irregularly shaped building stone and wild stone with uneven edges are used. As an alternative, they use artificial ones, and only to save money.
The walls and roof are finished completely differently from the interior. If everything inside should be neat and soft, then rough execution on the outside will be quite normal. The cladding is laid carefully, but the materials themselves may have distinct defects on the surface.
Sometimes designers deliberately add chaos to neat rows. There is nothing strange about this, because from the outside, Provencal houses look like Italian Mediterranean-style houses.
The overall palette is left light with the addition of dark elements. The facade is decorated with wooden beams and forged metal.
Selection and installation of windows
The style is best combined with floor-to-ceiling French windows and double-leaf plastic windows with a thin profile. Shutters are installed together with them - traditional decor and at the same time protection from the sun. The ideal pitch between the lamellas is determined by the climate of the region. For hot areas choose small.
The size of the window is selected as large as possible, because in addition to rich lighting, the French provincial style needs a decorative window opening. Lighting will suffer due to the large number of segments that improve aesthetics.
On the ground floor terraces there are panoramic windows and doors with a folding mechanism like an accordion. If the front entrance door is also present, then this does not violate the style concept.
In the Provence style, windows with a rounded top look more organic, so if possible, the opening is adjusted. In this regard, it is much better to build from scratch, because then you can take into account the nuances and implement your own layout, including size, shape, location and spacing between windows.
Illumination of the house and site
The house is illuminated with simple spotlights and lamps on the walls. Hanging lanterns and improvised torches add decorativeness.
The surrounding area is illuminated in an unusual way, and ideas are implemented at any time, and not just on New Year’s. Right in the middle of summer, the garden is decorated with large jars with candles inside, and as soon as the lighting gets tired, it is replaced, for example, with luminous lampshades, stars, and figures. Garlands are stretched along the veranda along the ceiling and floor. Light bulbs surround trees and gazebos, benches and windows. Illuminated curly bushes evoke great admiration among children and interest among adults. The main light source is placed at the base, and the smaller ones are hidden in the foliage. Illuminated baskets are hung on trees, which are filled with snow in winter and create a festive atmosphere for the New Year and Christmas.
Selection and arrangement of furniture
Provence style in a country house implies massive wicker or forged furniture. Plastic, steel, fittings are prohibited. If you don’t have enough money for real wood, you can purchase elements from chipboard, MDF with high-quality imitation.
For rural style, solid wood furniture or decent imitation with a characteristic design is suitable
If the housewife or owner of the house is a creative person, you can collect old furniture from friends, acquaintances, market sales and put it in order and restore it yourself. Online master classes and advice from more experienced lovers of this style will be excellent “helpers” here.
Real Provence is wooden or wicker furniture with forging elements
The main decoration of the room, decorated in a rural Provence style, are sideboards, chests of drawers, cabinets, chairs, and mezzanines. All of them should be of substantial size, in good condition, painted in light, pastel shades. Paintings and engravings on facades are allowed. A dining group consisting of a massive table and several chairs will add chic to the dining room. In the living room you can put several wicker chairs on which you can place several pillows. You can throw a ruffled blanket over the sofa.
If you want to visually free up space, hang simple shelves instead of massive cabinets and sideboards
See alsoMarsala color in the interior: tips, advantages, photos
Landscape design in Provence style: 5 design ideas
To enhance the impression, for a country house in the French provincial style, a landscape project of one of two types is chosen:
- Classic . Geometric (regular) style includes a clear garden layout and a neat appearance of all green spaces.
- Rustic . A less formal style with lush fruit trees, overgrown flower beds and winding paths.
Timeless classics Source no.pinterest.com
If you want the area surrounding the house to match its internal contents, you should adhere to the following design recipes:
- The image of the French countryside can be easily emphasized with the help of small architectural forms - gazebos, terraces, arches and fountains.
- Relaxing in the garden will be more comfortable if you take care of garden furniture and outdoor lighting .
- The decoration of the garden will be flower beds and flower beds planted with colorful flowers, as well as garden sculptures and flowers in pots placed on the terrace and near the walls of the house.
- The feeling of comfort will be supported by a gazebo and a fence entwined with climbing plants and lilac bushes surrounding the recreation area.
- A garden area in the Provence style consists of wooden fences and paths paved with natural stone .
Modern interpretation of provincialism Source artpractica.ru
Selection of decorative elements, textiles
Country style and, accordingly, Provence “loves” high-quality, natural fabrics (linen, silk, cotton, muslin, chintz). Drawings are preferably plant-based, for example, flowers. Such prints are ideal for decorative pillows, light curtains, and tablecloths. The windows are decorated with tulle with interceptions, ruffles, and tassels. The bedroom is covered with quilts. Do-it-yourself elements will fit perfectly into the interior. Lampshades, floor lamps, and floor lamps can be decorated with fabric inserts with a floral print.
When choosing textiles, give preference to natural fabrics - cotton, linen, silk or chintz
The right mood in the room is created by an abundance of all kinds of decor, many of the elements of which can be made with your own hands
The walls are decorated with paintings depicting nature and rural life. Place small wicker baskets, candlesticks, several lace napkins, and ceramic dishes on the shelves and table. Mirrors are hung in wrought iron frames. In the village you cannot do without flowers in pots and cache-pots, and there is a herbarium on the wall.
See alsoBlack and white interior: features, photos
Lighting
Each style has certain requirements regarding the selection and placement of lighting fixtures.
Lighting fixtures often use open candle-shaped lamps
Basic rules of Provence style
| Using lamps | They should be made of wood, porcelain. |
| Color selection | Brightness or multiple shades are excluded. It is enough to use 2 colors, the main one is white, the additional one is blue, pink, beige. It is advisable that the entire interior be created using similar shades. |
| Style combination | All lighting fixtures should be combined, even if they are in different rooms. |
Several light sources are installed in the rooms, helping to zone the room and adding accents to certain decorative elements
See alsoColor solutions in the interior: tips, photos
Registration of a suburban area
In order for the atmosphere of the Provence style to be fully felt, one must not forget about decorating not only the residential building, but also the land plot. The landscape can be easily transformed with the help of a small gazebo, an old-fashioned fence with a miniature gate, and wicker garden furniture. Along the gazebo you can plant grapes, which will grow over time, bush roses, lilacs, and wisteria.
The appearance of the house and everything nearby must correspond to the chosen style
If you have space in the garden, you can place a small gazebo or even a summer kitchen near the house
Provence style is preferred by calm people who live in harmony with themselves. These are not necessarily poor individuals; there are also wealthy owners who strive to create a homely environment in their country house, warm, without any luxury. Everything is as simple and convenient as possible.
See also African style in the interior: features, photos
Distinctive features of the Provence style
Like any style, Provence has a number of distinctive features that give the room that very rustic luxury in the French style:
- The color scheme is exceptionally light – pastel whitish, as if faded, colors of both finishing materials and furniture;
- As a finish, preference is given to plaster rather than wallpaper;
- No artificial materials - wood, metal, stone and natural textiles with natural textures rule the roost;
- The furniture is often shabby or artificially aged, monochrome, possibly carved or with patina;
- Wooden beams on a white ceiling;
- An abundance of accessories - from living plants and herbariums to porcelain figurines;
- Availability of “hand-made” accessories and textiles;
- Floral and plant prints;
- Abundance of light - natural and artificial.
Thanks to all the above points, any room in the Provence style turns into a stronghold of rustic comfort, warmth and measured life. Moreover, this design is popular not only in spacious country houses, but also in city apartments, where the need for tranquility and home comfort after hectic and difficult work days is especially high.
A cozy corner in the theme of Provence.
"Floral" decoration of a country house.
