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French Country
Decorating on a Budget
French Country Decorating - If you've flipped through a decorating
magazine lately, or if you've watched some decorating shows on television in
the past few months, no doubt you've heard about it. French Country is the
latest decorating craze.
What exactly is French
Country decorating? Imagine yourself walking into an adorable little cottage
in rural France. What do you think you would see there? Chances are you
might find a rooster motif somewhere inside, some wrought iron furnishings
sporting elegant, even whimsical curves, and perhaps plastered-surface walls
washed in butter-yellow paint. Rough, exposed beams would be on the ceiling,
and the flooring would likely be aged terra cotta tiles or perhaps brick.
So, what makes French
Country so hot in the U.S., right now? I think many people who have loved
the look of American Country for a while are getting a bit antsy, seeking
something a bit more elegant, but still warm and comfortable like their
cherished Country style. It happened to me this way: as much as I love
Americana, for instance, I started to yearn for something a little more
romantic. The sleekness of my primitive farm table, for instance, needed
softening up. A curvy, iron chandelier was just the thing. And so, my
interest grew from there, and I began to sprinkle French accents around my
existing Country/Cottage-decorated home, and I fell in the love with the
results.
As much as I'd love to
fill my home with real French furnishings and accessories, I have a pretty
tight budget (like most of the people I know). I decided I'd have to
improvise as much as possible, so I brainstormed and came up with a few ways
to make my home a little more French without spending too much. Some of my
ideas include:
-
Placing an
inexpensive, wrought iron bench in the foyer decorated with
romance-inspired throw pillows. (If you want to age a new iron piece,
you can purchase spray-on rust treatments as home improvement stores.)
-
Wallpapering my
dining room (from the chair rail up) with a classic, black and white
toile design.
-
Adding wispy, lace
panel curtains on windows where I don't require absolute cover for
privacy.
-
Painting in French
hues like mustard, celadon, salmon pink or cornflower blue.
-
Adding
inexpensive, unexpected accessories, such as a black iron wall planter
in my bathroom to hold hand towels. (And it cost just $5.)
-
Whitewash old
ladderback chairs picked up at a flea market.
-
Painting cabinets
and rag over them with a glaze. This works nicely with a base coat of
cream paint, brushed over lightly with a mocha-brown glaze.
-
Suspending a pot
rack from the kitchen ceiling to hang pots and pans in plain sight,
especially if they're copper.
If you're interested in learning more about French Country decorating, there
are plenty of places here on the Web where you can begin.
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