Decor in the style of provence. Create a unique atmosphere of France with your own hands!

Provence is one of the favorite design areas that are widely used for interior decoration. It got its name from the province of the same name in southeastern France, combining the simplicity of rural life, as if the colors of the Mediterranean coast faded in the sun and the lightness of the French character. At the mention of Provence, the imagination draws the flourishing of meadow herbs under the rays of the bright sun, an abundance of spices and the aroma of coffee. To organize the interior in the Provence style, designers are trying to use these features that help to maximize combine such a different spirit of the French provinces into a single whole.

Due to the enormous popularity that Provence-style interior design has gained over the past few years, inviting professionals is expensive. However, knowing the characteristic features of this direction, you can create your own romantic atmosphere in your home, filled with warmth and light.

Provence style interior decor

Provence Design Decoration Idea

Modern Provence Decor

History of occurrence

Provence as a design originates from the distant XV - XVII centuries. Since that time, considerable contradictions were noticeable in France, its northern and southern regions, however, lightness, the desire for elegance of outlines, airiness, and the advantage of warm and gentle shades remained a unifying component.

All this was reflected first in art - music, poetry, painting, and then in everyday life. Provence is deservedly called the French country. By the middle of the XIX century, it finally formed, having absorbed the breath of the southern province, embodied in the paintings of famous artists - Van Gogh, Matisse, Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso.

Provence style interior decoration

Provence Decor

Features of creating an interior

As already mentioned, the features of the Provencal interior are pastel shades, elegant, natural outlines of objects. However, given that Provence has absorbed the features of the rural life of the south, professionals recommend using the following elements in the design:

• antiquity on furniture;

• rough, rough plaster;

• mandatory presence of natural materials;

• parts made of forged metal;

• discreet textile, as if scorched by the sun;

• rough wooden beams under the ceiling, or their imitation;

• floral motifs on the fabric, floral prints, flowerpots with field bouquets.

In other words, to create an interior in the Provencal style, you do not need to fill the house with luxurious, elaborate pieces of furniture or decor. Here prevails simplicity and grace, proximity to nature. Provence is characterized by the presence of wicker furniture, wrought iron metal candlesticks on the mantelpiece, the use of wild stone or burnt bricks for the kitchen and corridors.

For interior decoration, warm tones of yellow, blue, olive, purple, orange are preferred.Combinations of deliberate rudeness and simultaneous airiness are most easily achieved in spacious buildings. Here you can, based on your knowledge and your own imagination, create your own little island of Mediterranean life.

Provence style interior decor

Provence Design Decoration Idea

Modern Provence Decor

Wall decoration

If you want to make an interior design in the Provence style, you should paint the walls in discreet pastel colors. For plaster you can use textured mixtures. With them, even a layman can decorate his house in the Provence style. The masonry made of rough brick or savage is appropriate in this style, showing in places through the plastered surface of the wall.

In addition to plastering, walls can be painted. Regardless of the purpose of the room, gentle shades of white, milky, beige, terracotta, lavender or sea wave, ocher or sunflowers should prevail. The walls painted in pastel colors convey the atmosphere of this Provence, with its aromas of flowering meadows, a clear summer day and a light sea breeze.

In addition, for a partial finish, wood panels are good. You can give them any of these colors, as well as emphasize the natural beauty of the texture by treating the surface with a stain and a layer of varnish.

If you design a house in the Provencal style, but do not have the skills of a plasterer or a carpenter, you can paste the surface with paper wallpaper. It is better to choose plain embossed wallpaper - in the Provence style there should be no picture on the walls. The main rule in this style is naturalness and unobtrusiveness. Choose wallpapers that can be painted.

Tapestries, paintings with landscapes or still lifes, upholstery fabrics on furniture will help emphasize a gentle neutral background. It is also important not to overdo it: bright inclusions should be selected as an addition to the main background.

For bedroom decor, fragmentary textile draperies are appropriate. If you decide to strengthen textile draperies on a large surface of the wall, it is preferable to a canvas of milky, light beige color.

Provence style interior decoration

Provence Decor

Floor requirements

In order for the dwelling to give the impression of a French house on the coast, the following materials can not be used for flooring:

• laminate;

• parquet;

• carpet;

• ceramic tile.

Simple wood planks are best suited for Provence-style floors. They are laid in the usual way, without any ornament such as Christmas trees or squares.

It is best to paint the floors in muted shades of gray, perfectly combined with all the elements of the decor. If desired, the floors of the bedroom can be made white. There is no need to achieve perfect coloring - small glades will add originality and create the desired effect of antiquity.

In addition, an unpainted board can be used to finish a Provence-style floor. Protect its surface from external influences: after thorough sanding, coat with several layers of transparent varnish. The wood texture fits perfectly into the overall style. Also, terracotta stoves are well suited for the kitchen. They can be wiped a little, with small cracks or small chips.

Provence style interior decor

Provence Design Decoration Idea

Modern Provence Decor

Furniture in Provence style

When choosing furniture in this style, it is necessary to remember that Provence is the embodiment of nationality, proximity to nature. Therefore, in the manufacture of furniture, you can use only natural materials. These cannot be serial headsets: all furniture elements are carefully selected or made to order. The trend is old things inherited from previous generations.

Characteristics

All pieces of furniture in the Provence style have simple shapes, without excessive luxury and intrusive decorations. Numerous dressers, cupboards with transparent or blank doors, open shelves, chairs with carved legs look good. For decoration can be used forging, for example, handles on furniture, the head of the bed. For painting the pediments of furniture, darker paints are used than for walls. Lacquered natural wood always looks beneficial - light walnut, oak, chestnut.

Provence style interior decoration

Provence Decor

How to make DIY furniture in Provence style

It is not necessary to make custom-made furniture for a new interior - it is very expensive, moreover, almost everyone has pieces of furniture inherited from previous owners. Do not throw them away - just work hard enough to give your furniture a new life:

1. all pieces of furniture are cleaned of old paint;

2. sand their surface with sandpaper;

3. the next stage is to paint the furniture with black or deep shades of gray, brown;

4. after the first layer has dried, all the furniture elements are painted again - with white or shades of the selected pastel color;

5. waiting for the paint to dry, gently pass the sanding paper on the protruding parts of the painted furniture, creating the effect of light scuffing, aging;

6. polishing of surfaces with a soft rag with the addition of wax completes the job.

This type of finish will help to age even new furniture. The desired effect can be achieved by giving the surfaces a slightly worn look, imitating chips or traces of wormholes.

To combine different pieces of furniture in a Mediterranean interior, you can not only paint them the same way and then age. An even greater effect can be achieved using the decoupage technique for furniture, which is very welcome in the Provence style. Designers advise decorating the pediments of furniture with style drawings, using ordinary napkins, glue and a brush for this. After drying, do not forget to cover the surface with a layer of protective varnish.

Provence style interior decor

Provence Design Decoration Idea

Modern Provence Decor

Provencal cuisine

One of the main premises of any home is the kitchen. It looks especially beautiful in the Provence style. Light walls, solid wooden cabinets, shelves and chairs of natural color or warm pastel colors, original decor items, an abundance of spices, the presence of free space - these are the main features of Provencal cuisine.

If the area allows, an open hearth with a large wooden, stone or brick facade is appropriate here. High ceilings can be decorated with artificially aged wooden beams, on which several fixtures can be fixed with forged hooks. On them, you can nicely place items of kitchen utensils.

There shouldn’t be many forged details of the decor - just a few antique pieces are enough. This grill and tongs for the fireplace, one or a pair of candlesticks, furniture handles. In this case, gilding should not be applied to the forged parts - it is better to create an imitation of a light patina patina.

Provence style interior decoration

Provence Decor

For curtains on the windows of the kitchen in the Provence style, you should take natural materials - linen, chintz, cotton with a small addition of viscose. The color palette of curtains for the kitchen is also limited by pastel shades of the background, but at the same time they can have a bright floral pattern or print - here you should take into account the size of the window. Suitable fabric, which is used for upholstery in kitchen furniture, or linen, combining the colors. The shape of the curtains for the kitchen can be varied - these are stained-glass curtains, Roman, rolled, in the style of a cafe or full curtains. The choice of shape depends on the size of the window and the area of ​​the kitchen.Lightweight wooden blinds painted in the basic tone of the interior look interesting.

Do not forget about the lighting of the kitchen. After all, the Mediterranean is an abundance of sunlight. If the kitchen window is small or faces the north side, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of natural lighting with the help of lamps, placing them above the working area of ​​the kitchen and dining table.

Provence style interior decor

Provence Design Decoration Idea

Modern Provence Decor

How to make a "provincial" watch

The interior, decorated in the Provence style, does not allow the presence of modern details. Ready-made vintage watches are very expensive. But you can make a "provincial" watch with your own hands - at the same time you can create an exclusive copy to the envy of all your friends.

For the manufacture of watches, we will again use the decoupage technique. We will need:

• clockwork;

• wooden or plywood blank for the dial;

• primer paint;

• decoupage drawing;

• PVA glue;

• brushes, sponge, water;

• clear nail polish.

We purchase a clockwork or use an existing one from old, but existing watches.

Provence style interior decoration

Provence Decor

In shops for needlework, you can buy wooden blanks for the dial and stencils for decoupage watches in the Provence style with your own hands. And you can cut the base out of multilayer plywood. Watches in the style of Provence can be of any shape, the dial is located exactly in the middle or shifted to one side.

Getting to work.

1. The workpiece must be well sanded with sandpaper, especially the sawn end parts.

2. If using a plastic base, degrease it well before use.

3. Mark the hole for attaching the clockwork and hands, and also fasten the suspension bracket on the back wall.

4. Prime the wooden base with white paint or a selected shade of pastel colors to create a general background.

5. Mark the dial in any convenient way, taking into account the general picture of the base.

6. Carefully tear out selected elements of the picture from a napkin or decoupage stencil and glue them onto the base using a brush and PVA glue diluted with water. It is better to break off the edges of the picture, so it will more naturally lie on the base. Avoid the formation of wrinkles of paper when gluing, when they appear, try to smooth the pattern with a sponge.

7. Let the pasted blank dry, then coat it with a layer of acrylic varnish. After the first layer has dried, repeat the operation again, covering the base for the watch with three varnish layers.

8. After the blank has dried completely, stick the numbers on the marked places (you can make them from any natural materials, especially if the watch is designed for the kitchen), or carefully apply them with dark paint using a stencil.

9. Fasten the clockwork on the back, and set the arrows on the front.

Your exclusive watch is ready - you can hang it on the wall and surprise guests with your talents!

Create a cozy, sweet heart interior in the Provence style on your own, regardless of whether it is a private house, city apartment or a separate room. The main assistants should be your imagination, desire to create, and, of course, the advice of experienced designers. A compulsory addition to the created interior should be decor elements, united by a common idea, bought or made independently using accessible techniques.

Video: DIY Provence Decor

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