What’s your style? Farmhouse or French Country?
DISCOVER YOUR STYLE
It's another week, and I am excited about all the amazing things that are happening. What are your wins for the week? Today, we are going to discuss (2) very popular interior design styles--Farmhouse and French Country. One could argue that regionally there are very similar. In the United States when we think of a farmhouse we immediately think of traditional homes in Virginia and Tennessee. In France, our farmhouse style is very similar to French Country.
In my experience, the most effective way to create each of these styles is to understand the essential elements and the best ways to incorporate them in your home.
When you turn on basically any home improvement show today,you will see farmhouse styles everywhere. Some would argue that it has been done over and over again. I find that particularly in the Southeast, even production home builders that would build traditional, federal, and georgian style homes are adding more and more elevations and interior finishes that match up with the Farmhouse Style.
It is my belief that one of the most effective ways to create the farmhouse style is to begin with the exterior. This is most commonly done with paint colors, windows, lighting fixtures, and siding. It is very easy to transition the interior of your home from your exterior. Most often you will find bold white paint colors, black windows, traditional hook light fixtures and hardie plank siding with traditional batten elements.
When you transition from the exterior to the interior, you should strive for a calm neutral yet organic color palette. In this I mean, whites, creams, tans, jute rugs, baskets of various sizes and shapes. I would say that it is harder to implement this style with lots of dark greens and navy blue. Farmhouse design is not just shiplap and tons of word art everywhere. Yes, we want our guests and family to feel comfortable when visiting--but we don’t have to stencil it over the door or in the hallways
Here’s a quick rundown of the key elements that you should consider when creating a home that has strong Farmhouse influences:
Materials
Shiplap. While I think it can be overdone, there is nothing else that you can add to home that immediately creates that feel of a farmhouse. Consider wrapping your fireplace, or lining the walls of your breakfast room with shiplap. Just a little will do. We will be adding other elements to achieve the overall look.
Board and Batten. These are great trim and architectural details that should be added to your home for this style. Dining rooms, offices, mudrooms, and even the siding of the exterior are great places to add this element.
Exposed Brick. Consider solid walls of “non-red” brick, brick pavers in the kitchen and foyer, or even the fireplace. You don’t have to go overboard, but exposed brick is another way to make your home feel like a farmhouse. Again, think lighter bricks that match your overall color palette.
Subway tile. Nothing fancy but small, flat, non bevelled white subway tile for your kitchen backsplash and shower surround are the way to go.
Lighting. While I am a fan of mixing metals all day, this is probably one of the only exceptions that I will make. When it comes to lighting, either stay to black either matte or gloss lighting fixtures. You can of course add glass lamps, crystals, and pottery based lighting, but when it comes to the metals--stick to all black.
Barn doors. This is a very simple way to add architectural character, color and richness to your home. Barn doors scream Virginia Farmhouse. I love using them in a formal more traditional floor plan to separate a formal dining room from the foyer and even the bedroom from an en suite bathroom.
Accents and Accessories
When styling and accessorizing a home, I am a fan of groups or larger items and very few small tiny items. Here are a few examples of how you can turn almost any home into a chic farmhouse.
Cutting boards and wooden bowls. Various types of wood, sizes, and shapes are the way to go. These are excellent for styling your kitchen, breakfast room, and dining room. You can even hang them on the wall.
Large Clocks. Not every clock will work, but you will know it when you see it. Think black to match the metal in your lighting.
Jute Rugs. This fiber is perfect for this style. You can even play with layer jute on other material types. Remember when I said, go lighter on the color palette, Jute is the perfect example of what I am talking about. It is very organic and natural but lighter in color. Far too often when people think earthy automatically rich reds, browns, and greens come to mind. This is not the case.
Photography. When selecting art, think black and white photography and light sepia toning. When selecting the images, consider natural landscapes, like the plains, the mountains, bison, deer, horses, cows...and more.
Furniture
Large farmhouse dining table. You can purchase these almost everywhere and all price points. It is almost a mess when you want to create a true farmhouse look in your home. This communal table will encourage you to spend time with your family playing cards, eating, and doing craft projects. I would shy away from having chairs that “match” the table. This is an amazing chance to add depth to your dining room or breakfast area.
Iron beds. This is another essential for a true farm house. If you don’t want them in the main bedroom, I love to put matching twin iron beds in a guest bedroom or kids room. Add a variety of quilts and pillows and you will be on your way. If you cannot budget for higher end beds, I would honestly prefer that you spend some time sourcing and doing a weekend DIY project to restore an old heavy wrought iron bed. There is nothing like the comfort and security that comes with spending a rainy weekend in an old fashioned iron bed.
When I was younger, I dreamed of having a large French inspiring custom home built. Living in the south, I fell in love with dreamy elevations that many of the well known custom home builders were adding to the marketplace. I would have to say, french country is a design style that I love for my traditional clients to explore. In fact, you honestly blend french country with transitional pieces and have an amazing home that is earthy, yet masculine and femine at the same time.
For me, french is just formal enough, balanced just right and comfortable all at the same time. Glazed cabinetry, copper pots on display, soft color palettes and exposed plastered bricks are all things that come to mind when I think of french country. If you love the idea of a blend of various styles or chairs and casegoods paired with patterns and muted color...you should consider french country
From my perspective, we can have a clear understanding of what french country is from our understanding of transitional and farmhouse design. There are a few key elements that I feel should be added to any home to ensure a solid French Country experience.
Let’s explore
Materials. Exposed brick, plasture, marble, terra cotta, various glazes on wood all come to mind in a stellar french country home. I love the idea of adding caning to cabinet fronts versus glass and caned back chairs in the dining room over upholstered dining chairs.
Accessories and Styles. After nailing down the architecture and materials it is very important to properly style your home. Pottery, glazed pots grouped together are a great place to start. Fresh lavender, crisp white linens and napkins are an extra layer and dimension. Ruffled or fitted skits on the beds, chairs and sofa are also a nice touch. If you have collections of china, bowls, glassware, pots, and pottery, this is an amazing opportunity to put them on display for the family and friends.
Furniture When selecting furniture and deciding on a floor plan, think less about symmetry, but focus on creating mysterious nooks and intimate seating groups for thrilling conversations. Various shapes of chairs, arms, and styles can be mixed wonderfully. Pair muted solids with stripes, and botanicals to tight all of your furniture together.
I hope that you can see that I didn’t havesay a lot about french country to educate you on what it is and how it can be expressed in your home. In essence, it is an extension of traditional, transitional, and even farmhouse styles. The keys to achieving the looks comes down to the way that you use materials like marble, copper, terra cotta, wood and metals in a delight and restrained manner. Less formality and a whimsical approach to symmetry will ensure that you are well on your way to achieving the french country home that you desire.
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Let’s speak more next week!
