French Country Design Colors Celebrate Nature

French country design colors are inspired by the French country side, drawing its splendor from nature, bright sunshine and the sea.


While there are many design principles that contribute to the French country decorating style, one of the "secrets" is the artful use of color.

Think of the impressionist paintings of Claude Monet and others, with their rich vibrant colors of sunflower yellow, poppy reds, and bright grass green, to the more subdued colors of nature with shades of ochre, sienna, umber and terracotta.

Shades of blues are evident from cobalt of the Mediterranean to pale sky blue and the violet blue of lavender fields.


All are welcome French country design colors and evoke an old world charm.


There are many ways to introduce French country design colors into your home, but if you are like many, the hardest part will be settling on which hue you like best! When you are selecting your color palette, limit your choices to no more than three, otherwise it will become confusing to the eye.


Painting your walls in a soft tone will allow for the focus to remain on the furnishings and accessories that are important to the French country interior.


The best French country design colors for the walls then, would be a tone in muted creams and tans, reminiscent of stone, wheat and sun baked yellows. These soft colors can definitely be blended with darker shades if you choose to create interesting patterns for your walls, and a glaze on the walls will create a far richer surface than just a wall color by itself.


The dominant color you choose is more pleasing when it visually flows from one room and is picked up in the adjacent room. Introduce color through fabric, including French toile and provincial prints.


Provincial prints used a lot of time on table linens, combined the bright shades of the primary colors along with greens, lavenders and bright orange. They afford a splash of color in a casual setting. Accentuate the colorful brights of these prints with black.


Although there is other beautiful coloration of toile fabric, predominately they are shown in cotton or linen in a white, cream or yellow background with large motifs depicting country life in a single contrasting color such as black, blue, red or green.


Expand on the colors in the toile with a third color for an accent. Black and cream toile with a raspberry as just one of many options.


Add warmth through simple accessory pieces of charming everyday things, and bring the inspiration of nature indoors with baskets of lush, colorful flowers particularly geraniums and lavender.





Please visit http://www.interior-home-decorating-ideas.com/french-country-decorating.html for more French country decorating ideas.