10 simple ways to achieve a French Provincial look in your home

I love a French look for my home. In the last few years, I have transformed our house mainly with white paint, vintage, second hand furniture and my own efforts. It's lightened our house, making it feel cleaner, fresher and prettier. I've also added more furniture and detail into some rooms and pared down others, creating a more liveable and interesting space.

Sure, if you are building or renovating a house or have an endless supply of money then there are many ways of getting this look - panelled walls, floor to ceiling windows, flagstone flooring, wallpaper, French doors etc. However realistically most of us are just making the best of our homes with our limited resources – both time and money – and so these are my tips for achieving a French look in your home quite simply.  All the photos below are from our own house and the look below is realistic to achieve - not some magazine photo-shopped and styled expensive house! 

1. Choose a neutral palette and add accents of colour. While you may think a neutral palette is boring, it does give an air of calm to your house. The walls in our house are painted in Dulux Sleigh which is a muted beige that is lovely - not too beige or creamish - I'm struggling to describe it but it's very French looking! It is a great backdrop to the white wooden trims, painted furniture and wooden floors. For colour accents we have some Persian rugs and an aubergine sofa.

2. Paint your furniture! The French are renowned for their penchant for painting furniture  Good colours for French furniture are white, muted grey or taupe - although you can also go bold with deep red or navy or duck egg blue. You can also add interest to your painted furniture by adding mouldings, painting the detail in a different colour or lighting distressing for a more rustic look. For a more palatial French look you can use gilt on the trims. Remember that not every piece of furniture needs to be painted – keep some lovely pieces for a balanced look but not those orangey pine ones! Don’t be scared by painting furniture. It is quite easy - see my furniture painting tips here.

3. Keep an eye out at auction or antique shops for a couple of spectacular vintage pieces of furniture such as an armoire or French sideboard to enhance your French interior design concept. These can completely transform a room and become a conversation piece – as well as offer great storage. I often see vintage French sideboards in beautiful condition priced between $60 and $200 on eBay and at auction. Armoires will often sell between $300 to $500 at auction in Sydney. Very affordable for an impressive piece of furniture.

4. Add mouldings and paint your kitchen cabinet doors. You can easily transform your kitchen without spending much money. One of the best ways to update or transform a kitchen relatively cheaply is to replace the cabinet doors. I bought my kitchen cabinet doors from Sydney Doors and hand painted them in British Paints Colorbond Dune for a French look. If you want to save money and your doors are in good condition you could also just add mouldings to your existing doors and then paint.  I also had a French rangehood built for my kitchen out of MDF. This classical French shape added to the overall look without costing much money at all.

5. Lighting – Chandeliers look wonderful over dining tables and in more formal living spaces. You can often buy chandeliers second hand or at auctions. Clean them regularly with soapy water to keep them sparkly. In living spaces and bedrooms, turn off your overhead lights and make use of matching lamps for mood lighting.

6. Use soft muted furnishings such as rugs, sofas, cushions and throws. Motifs for a French look include a crown, fleur de lis, bees, and stripes. You can also use neutral linens with red or blue stripes or accents.

7. Wicker and wire baskets offer great French style storage – either use unpainted or give them a light wash with white or grey paint and add stencilled numbers. We use a wicker basket in the kitchen for our potatoes etc, one in the bedroom for dirty clothes and we used to use them in the lounge room for kids' toys but thankfully our kids have outgrown toys all over the living room! I have a lovely vintage wire crate that I place old mason jars in and use as a huge vase.

8. Cheap accessories in the kitchen easily add to a French look – timber breadboards, striped tea towels, enamel jugs and cloches or cake domes. I have a lovely white enamel jug I bought at IKEA for $20 that I keep on my bench top. Old silver and bone handled cutlery can be found at markets and paired with white plates and a French striped or white table cloth can really make a table feel special. 

9. Create vignettes. Group beloved objects on your sideboard or consoles for an interesting composition. I have found that having these vignettes also make me not use sideboard as dumping grounds for all the clutter.  We have a little wicker basket by one of our sideboards to dump keys, sunglasses, loose coins etc = but I still find keeping my desk neat and tidy a daily challenge...that I usually fail!

10. Mix the old and new together to create a well rounded, comfortable effect. Mix flea market finds and antiques with new pieces, choosing pieces that have meaning to you so your home holds a special meaning and is unique and shows your personality even though it is decorated in a particular style. 

Do you have any French influence in your home?  

What else can you add for creating the French look?

If you are not into DIY, why not check out my latest pieces of furniture for sale.

yours in all things French
Fiona xx

On my sideboard today - my gelungan and my grandad

On Sunday afternoon we were relaxing at home and I felt like painting something but not tackling a big piece of furniture so I decided to finally paint the galung that I bought when we were in Bali last year. Gelungans (I had to write to a Balinese friend to check it's name again) are the terracotta finial to Balianese temples and I fell in love with them. They are hand made and I love the rustic, crude nature of them - fingerprints and indentations and all.

While I initially liked the gelungan painted, it has discoloured since the photo below was taken and had started turning black in places and it just looked dirty. So I painted it using some of my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. As it says on the can, one coat was enough. 

I am still finding a home for all the stuff I brought back from mum's so I have propped a lovely old photo of my Grandad from WW1 on the sideboard also. He was so young and brave. I loved sitting with him and listening to all his stories from Gallipoli and Ypres.

I am not sure whether I prefer the gelungan it's original terracotta form or its new white look. What do you think? (not that it is really a problem either way - I paid about $12 for it and it's not going to change the world either way).

Do you have anything you regret painting?

Yours in all things white paint....
Fiona xx

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Well hello there...

I have been missing in action for a few weeks.  Thank you for checking in on me - I am doing well. My sister, my aunt and I (and the kids) have been down at Eden sorting out the remains of Mum's processions. What a week it was! Besides dividing up her treasures - vintage linens, kitchen paraphernalia from our childhood, the wedding cutlery and crockery, etc - we also took 3 carloads of fabric and sewing stuff to a patch working friend and numerous carloads to the Op Shop. We also took two huge carloads to the tip, as humans we really need to find a better way to dispose of rubbish as it was very confronting and rather grim.

I came home with a carload of my mother's treasures and many of my grandfather's orchids - that are now at least 40 years old and still doing well. Grandad used to spend hours in his orchid house tending to them so I'm glad to be able to carry on the tradition. I have several bits of furniture for sale from her house as well as a few pieces I am keeping -it's going to be a shuffle here to fit them in but I can't part with all of them!  I'll share them soon but today I'm going to share some photos of the beautiful township of Eden.  Eden is such a lovely place - very unpretentious  - not like some other coastal towns, it's roots are steeped in logging and fishing and while there's some tourism it's not the mainstay of the town which is surprising as it's so beautiful.  It's one of those towns though that is easy to drive through - the highway does not go past the beautiful little port or past the beaches so I am sure people who don't know the area or don't explore would drive quickly through the town and just think well that's not much.

The wharves at Snug Cove are picturesque especially with Mount Imlay rising over the bay.  My dad and his wife had a house overlooking cove and I loved it's busy-ness - although it seems much quieter these days.  One of my very good friends and her husband have a cafe and a restaurant at the wharves - a taste of Eden and the Wheelhouse Restaurant - both are fabulous if you are in town.

Twofold Bay is majestic and dotted with beautiful pristine beaches. It is very easy to get away from it all. When I was growing up, we mainly went to Ben Boyd National Park to Long beach and spent the whole day playing on the beach and in the wild surf while our parents cooked a BBQ on the sand using rocks and twigs from the surrounding bush, drank their wine and read their books. My sister and I would explore, rock hop, make intricate sandcastles and get sunburnt. Children of the 70's.

Down the hill from Mum's place is Cocora Beach. It usually has gentle waves and is a great spot for picnicking and families. Although we have fun memories of a huge storm one afternoon that created a massive surf at Cocora - there must have been 50 kids swimming in the rain and loving the change in this usually mild beach.

We found this wonderful driftwood cubby house that someone had made. I'd like to camp here!

...sending a little coastal love your way

Fiona xx

My 2012 Painted Furniture Review

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying some down time.  Although I think this is the week most people are getting back into the swing of things. The airport was certainly busy yesterday with everyone returning from their summer holidays.  I'm back painting furniture this morning after our wonderful time at the beach.  (I'm missing swimming in the ocean already!)

I thought you might like to see a recap of some of my painted furniture projects from 2012.  It's interesting looking back on it all. I've linked up the original posts to each piece if you want more detail. Most of my painted furniture this year has been white and a lot of it I have kept. For all the people who have either bought my furniture or asked me to refresh and paint their old pieces, thank you so much.  And for all the rest of you who follow along with me via my blog, facebook or instagram, thanks also.  

This old chest of drawers was crying out for a makeover and I love this Miss Mustard Seed inspired bird motif. I have used this design on several pieces and it is always popular. I just draw the design on in pencil freehand and then paint with a soft grey paint.  It really transforms a simple chest of drawers into something special.

This dressing table is one of my favourite paint projects for 2012.  The shape of the furniture is so beautiful  and I loved the bevelled mirror. It was bought by a very friendly lady for her lovely teenage girl. What a thing to do for your children - buy them beautiful solid furniture that they can keep for ages - rather than cheap "made in China" furniture that has no meaning or value.

More white paint makeovers - The sideboard was my husband's favourite and he was surprised and a bit sad when I sold it. I didn't even realise he loved it!  The desk was a gorgeous sold piece that unfortunately had tuned very orange and desperately needed refinishing. White paint to the rescue once again.

White painted long low cabinets are also very popular with my customers. They make beautiful TV cabinets. I loved both of these with their ornately carved doors. The first one was part of a bedroom suite. The matching bed head was bought by an Australian linen company for their advertisements -I'll let you know more details soon.  

I have so many "favourite" pieces, but the table below is right up there at the top. When you paint a piece of furniture and put time and effort into each piece you get to know the curves and fall a little in love with each piece- (ok there are some bits of furniture I don't love at all - the ones that are super tricky and just a heartache) but generally I chose pieces whose shape appeals to me regardless of the finish and then with the painting and sanding and repairing I  just know the piece so well and love the end result.

I bought this vintage butterfly extension table and the 4 chairs for $35 at auction. It actually didn't sell for 3 weeks in a row and I ended up grabbing it for a bargain. It came up magically once the high gloss old finish was removed and the apron, legs and chairs were painted white. I recovered the seat pads in beautiful damask upholstery material that retails for $220 a metre. I bought each piece of material for $1 each by buying old fabric sample books. This is a fabulous way of buying very good quality material cheaply. Keep an eye out for them and snap any up you come across.

I painted many pieces of vintage or unloved furniture for our house. The French armoire in my son's room got a two toned French country look using soft taupe colour with white trim. I replaced our old hall cupboard with one with more storage.  This cupboard I bought on eBay for $30 or so and it was orange pine with Spanish style iron handles. It now looks completely different and I love how it looks in our tiny hallway.

I did a lot of watercolour painting this year (I'll do a recap later) but my favourite art this year is my chalk board sketch of Lillian Bassman's famous photograph. I found an old vintage frame, painted a blackboard and then just sketched her out with chalk. I have love the original photograph for so long, it's lovely having this copy on my wall.  The white cabinet underneath was another paint project. It has the smoothest finish I have even achieved. I painted it using a home-made chalk paint recipe with a wax finish and I just buffed and buffed. Lots of elbow grease equals a super smooth surface.  I also made over an old coffee table that didn't turn out how I expected but the end result is ok.

I also tried out some new paints in 2012. I finally got my hands on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint which Annie tells me will be available in Australia in February. I will let you know more details as soon as I know.  The Windsor carver chairs are painted in ASCP French linen with a white fleur de lis on the seat. They are still for sale if you are interested. Super solid chairs.  The little fleur de lis cabinet is long gone. It was a sweet little makeover that left the mahogany top natural.

I also did a few projects using milk paint. I don't think that milk paint is for beginners but it does give a beautiful finish. The main reason I think you need some painting experience is that you need confidence to persevere when it looks terrible and the paint is doing it's own thing (in the case of MMS's paint).  I use wax over milk paint and depending (once again) on how much you sand a buff you can create either a glossy finish or something more distressed and rustic but it does give a beautiful smooth and soft old fashioned velvety look.  The bedside tables below are painted using Porters Milk Paint. 

 and this beautiful cabinet is painted in Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Tricycle with dark wax. A pop of colour in all that white for the year!

I've decided to sell this cabinet so please contact me if you are interested.

Actually I'm not averse to colour - I did paint several pieces in a beautiful peacock blue also!

That's just a portion of what I've painted this year but if you are new here it'll give you an idea of my style and hopefully you'll find some inspiration.  I have received some lovely emails from people who have been inspired by me to start either painting furniture or blogging. That really thrills me because I'm all about giving it a go and making the most of your talents and time.

If you paint furniture or are thinking of starting then you might find my furniture painting tips useful.  I'll be blogging more tips this year.

If you have any furniture you would like painted and you live in Sydney please feel free to contact me for a quote.

What's your favourite piece that I've shared this past year? Have you been doing any furniture painting. I'd love to hear about what you are up to, please leave a comment below.

Here's to a productive happy 2013 with lots of projects to share.

Fiona xx

The Shabby Creek Cottage , DIY by Design , Primitive&Proper , Feathered Nest Fridays at French Country Cottage

Redoux Interiors Party , Furniture Friday at Decorating Insanity , Not Just a Housewife, Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday , the Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday DIY Project Parade  Homemaker on A Dime Funky Junk Tuesdays Treasures
Elizabeth and Co, 

Beach holidays

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a fun time bringing in the new year. We have had a fantastic and luxuriously long holiday on the beach in Glenelg (a beach suburb of Adelaide). Long days spent swimming in the ocean, reading books, walking, bbqs by the beach as the sun sets over the ocean and generally relaxing. The weather here has been divine, even the 44 degrees yesterday didn't seem so bad when the ocean was so calm with just a gentle sea breeze.

I'm sitting in the shade as I blog ... But I'm salt encrusted and almost ready for another swim. I'm going to miss this pace of life when we head up home tomorrow. I think 10 days is almost the perfect length for a holiday though and in some ways it will be good to get home. We all miss our dog lots (he's being house-sat at home by friends) and I'm not sure if he's going to forgive us for leaving him behind.

I have a funny story about Hallett's Cove which is a little south of Glenelg. A friend wrote on my Facebook page that there is a lovely boardwalk down there so we decided to go one afternoon. I showered, washed and dried my hair, wore nice clothes and make up even. I was going to wear nice wedged heel sandals but had broken my toe the day before (anohter broken bone on holidays...I seem to do that!) so just wore thongs. On public transport it took us over an our to get there and it was not at all what I was expecting... It was a nature boardwalk along the ocean (complete with a big sign warning of snakes) ... I had thought it was a boardwalk/esplanade with shops and cafes etc. My husband laughed so much and said he was wondering why I was wearing makeup and doing my hair for a bush walk in the blistering heat! Anyway I slowly relaxed into the walk and it was very beautiful (if not boiling hot, sunburnt shoulders weather).

But it was followed by dinner at the pub on Brighton Beach with a couple of cold beers so it all ended well!

Most nights however we BBQ our dinner on the grass esplanade next to the beach. Free bbqs provided by council is a great thing. It's beautiful sitting there eating our dinner watching as the sun sets.

I could take photos here forever. My Instagram feed is full of summer.

I'll be back soon with more painting projects. Thanks for all your nice words on my last post. I'm feeling the benefits of taking care of myself and slowing down, meditating, walkng along the beach.

Hope you are enjoying summer also...or enjoying this taste of summer if you are in the Northern hemisphere.

Fiona xx