8 Ideas from French Decorators to Take Note Of

We always enjoy looking at photos of French interiors: luxurious, stylish, modern, and airy. Take a look at these decorative techniques and find the golden mean between the atmosphere of Parisian luxury and comfort in your own home.

PinterestCombine vintage and modern interior items

French luxury in a contemporary setting is created when something old is skillfully combined with the new. The secret lies in proper pairing: select vintage restored items and pair them with modern ones that look best when new. For example, you can buy a modern table and mix it with old restored chairs. Read more about how to restore a chair yourself here.

PinterestTransform everyday items into luxury

A dining table can appear simple and minimalist during the day, but when guests arrive, it can transform into a luxurious interior item thanks to textiles, candles, candelabras, vases, and fine china. Remember the simple base that you can enhance with elements of luxury.

PinterestPlay with details

Two different interior styles, which seemingly have nothing in common, can look stunning together in one room if combined tastefully. It's all about harmony of color, lines, and proportions. Combine velvet drapes with mosaic floors, Scandinavian furniture with vintage items, classic elements with Provence touches.

PinterestChoose restoration over new purchases

If you manage to find old furniture that can potentially be restored, take advantage of this opportunity, even if the cost of restoration is the same as buying a new item. Refreshing with an interesting expensive fabric and polishing wood creates miracles, and an old chair in its new life can become the centerpiece of your new French interior.

PinterestBoldly mix styles

Parisian apartments look unconventional due to their items not being tied to a single style and harmoniously coexisting together. Think about which interior style is closest to you and what you like just as much. Scandinavian style with boho, classic interior with modern elements, minimalism with countryside notes — the French secret is in mixing and proper proportions. Place a vibrant chair in a white Scandinavian interior, hang expressionist prints, stack old books on a rustic wooden side table. Feel how stylish and unconventional your interior has become?

PinterestChoose a central item in the room

Build your composition around it. Study interior magazines and stop on something that you love so much that it won't leave your mind. Make this find the central element of your composition (not necessarily placing it literally in the center!). Choose items according to your taste based on the compositional rule set by the central item. You won't go wrong!

PinterestDon't overlook furniture with wear

In Parisian apartments, there is an unpretentious setting that doesn't resemble what we usually see in interior magazines. The difference is that French people don't overlook the wear and flaws of wooden furniture. Imperfections are unique, and they have something very personal and valuable in them.

Scars on your grandmother's buffet date back to pre-revolutionary times, and a groove on the wooden table tells you that it has a story: you didn't buy something new, but kept this one, making the room warmer. So instead of throwing away your grandfather's rocking chair, think about how you could transform it.

PinterestDon't limit yourself to one color

A monochrome interior done in one style is not typical of the French. Add a bright detail, play with contrasts in textures, color accents, and patterns — and Paris will settle into your home.

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