French Country Ideas

Entry Door

• The French pay attention to each and every detail. This is just as evident in the French country house as it is in Paris. Thus, the entry door is no exception. Look for a door that is awash with color, with brightly shining hinges, knocker and door handle. The French also look for longevity in their design schemes. Expect to see a door that is painted and finished in high-quality paint that will last for at least a decade.

Exterior Window Frames

• On a French country home, the door and window frames are the only color assets of the entire stone exterior of the building. Look for window frames that are the same color of the entry door or simply white. Typical construction of the window frame is solid wood that will last for several generations. In the countryside, the French are partial to double hung sash windows. The interior of the window will also be finished with shining locks that coordinate with the findings for the doors.

Lace Panels

• Lace panels are the window treatment of choice in the French Provincial interior. While French royalty enjoyed ostentatious interiors until the French Revolution, French country folk only had the means to interpret the royal preferences for interior design. The hospitable inhabitants of the French countryside used lace for two reasons. The fabric was far less expensive than the sumptuous velvets and silks used by their monarchs, and the lace allowed the sunlight through. Thus, an interior that was potentially gloomy due to inferior lighting was altered by the natural light entering the French country home.

Cotton Rugs

• The French always enjoyed their carpets and the poor French families subsisting as farmers always had handmade interpretations of the finer French Aubusson carpets used by French monarchy and the wealthy French elite. When copying the French country interior, install cotton rugs that use floral, not geometric, motifs.