Turning Baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance design elements into interiors with a natural flow and energy is the hallmark of French design. There are countless ways to pull off a French interior: You can go Gothic and use dark and heavy woods like red oak and cedar for work desks and coffee tables, or perhaps you may want to go Baroque and use gold and bronze accents on detailed Florentine cabinets.
Conceptualizing new French interior designs for your home means utilizing numerous architectural influences from France’s history to create a bright, sensual, and modern-looking space.
Living rooms and dining rooms in Paris have always carried an effortless romance to them, but each end table and lounge chair has been studied and placed in just the right spot to provide an air of chic and wistful drama.
In this guide, we’re going to outline some rules to help you create a stylish French interior for your home or place of business. We’re also going to give you a few tips on how you can unravel France’s history and identify the historical influences you could use for your new Parisian space.
1. Don’t Be Afraid To Try New Things
From groundbreaking films, television series, and operas, France has always been the capital of artistic expression and experimentation, and their interior designs are no exception. There is a spirit of innovation and eclecticism even within French interiors that hearken back to the most conservative ages of art.
French interior design is playful and bold. It’s not afraid to deconstruct past art movements and take only the influences that make sense within a grander theme. For example, the gold-lined mirrors and chandeliers so prominently displayed in many Parisian interiors are gifts from the Italian Baroque movement of the 18th century.
These gold pieces are brought up-to-date with sleek, straight lines with no fillers and accents, diverging from the curved and highly ornate beams from the Baroque era. Clean lines without folds and adornments transform the aesthetic of the Protestant Reformation by blending in some 21st-century elements, an age where everything is minimalist, space-saving, and multifunctional.
2. Respect the History You’re Borrowing From
If you look at the buildings around Paris, you’ll notice influences from the 19th, 18th, and 17th century. Most Parisian structures have survived from that era, having undergone only minor renovations that have made them more resistant to fires and earthquakes.
The French have great respect for their architectural record, which artistically inclined homeowners sorely miss from most western designers. One must have a healthy appreciation for the history they’re borrowing from so they can know which influences to emulate and which ones to discard. It’s impossible to have a refined taste for design without falling in love with the history of French and Greater European architecture.
French interiors don’t just set a mood or convey a tone that you and your houseguests will soon forget. They tell a rich story that outlines the character and lifestyle of the designer.
French interiors symbolize romance, luxury, and practical elegance. You won’t often find the lumbering furniture and overly decorated walls like those found in historic homes in the United Kingdom in any Parisian structure. Instead, you will see a few callbacks to the Gothic and Victorian eras through highly ornate crowns and ceiling moldings, paired with floor lamps for dramatic lighting.
Research which periods in French history you want to carry over into your design, and then treat your room like a blank canvas for your next expressionist painting. The colors, pathways, and furniture must denote a subjective expression of your lifestyle.
3. Remember: Chic Means Effortless
Compared to the over-engineered and autocratic roots of English and German architecture, French interior designs are breezier and easygoing, while also being more experimental and unrestrained.
Picture yourself on a picnic in the south of France atop a hill in Marseille or Nice, where you can see the yachts and colonial merchant ships from all over the world trading colorful goods and chattels in the straits below. That’s what it’s like to design a French interior: taking inspiration from the most impressive milestones of world architectures and turning them into avant-gardes piece without having it appear overwrought or too planned out.
In many ways, French architecture lies opposite to the Baroque and Gothic movements, even though it borrows from them quite heavily. It espouses a laissez-faire philosophy of keeping things simple while engaging art styles from different periods. French designers are often free to let their patrons add sentimental touches to their interiors, such as knick-knacks and souvenirs from their world travels, which adds romance and personality to any room.
Add your favorite books, paintings, and sculptures in creative storage spaces, which will impart a sense of bountifulness to an otherwise plain interior. Mix light and dark colors, like dark blue sofas and lounge chairs, topped with striped, spotted, and checkered throw pillows on a neutral-colored rug.
The overarching goal of French interior design is to have things look beautiful without looking too arranged. The use of complementary colors and mismatched furniture will tastefully communicate that you’re not trying too hard, but you know what you’re doing.
4. Use Recycled Materials
France is one of the world leaders in recycling and sustainable energy. According to a 2018 survey by Statista, about half of all France considers bikes as a primary mode of transportation.
France’s focus on recycling did not just develop overnight. It was cultivated over the ages, starting with the orders of King Francis I to recycle household waste items in the 16th century, which formed the basis of recycling for the world yet to come.
The French’s attitude toward recycling is still evident in their design philosophies today. Secondhand shops can be found from the busiest streets in Paris to the farthest corners of France. Recycled picture frames, shelves, cabinets, and plant pots are commonplace in any French home.
You can’t make a genuine French interior without being ecologically responsible. Use secondhand wood furniture to add a vintage touch to your receiving area, dining room, or living room. The longer wood serves as furniture, the darker its color will become, and the more long-lived any chamber in your house will look if when it’s added.
Secondhand marble, porcelain, and clay accessories will add fullness to any end table or barren countertop. Just be careful not to over-accessorize. An essential precept in French design is to make things look effortless without having them look amateurish.
5. Limit Your Use of Neutral Colors
Bright and lavish colors are hallmarks of French artistry. In the middle ages, they made France stand out from the blacks, burgundies, and emerald greens of English Gothic and Italian Baroque. French artists were the pioneers of naturalism, impressionism, dada, and cubism — art styles that benefit from contrasting and neon-like colors.
It was perhaps inevitable that these wild artistic influences would carry over to the color palettes of modern French interiors.
In our post-modern age, interior designers break what little rules are left when coordinating color, furniture, and wall accents. It’s no longer uncommon to see neon-yellow and deep-blue Parisian bathroom wall tiles that were once white or teal. Spaces that were once sulking in neutral tiles and carpets are now awash with bold and daring hues that would make a surrealist blush.
Try mixing up furniture from different decades, such as a 1950s ottoman with a 1980s sofa, and then use a striking paint color on a prominent wall to bring a cohesiveness to your design. You can be more adventurous and use a few added complementary colors that will make your room look less coordinated, but will connect a broader range of design elements.
6. Build Your Interiors With Practicality in Mind
While French interiors are the furthest thing from short-term corporate housing, they never emphasize form over function. A French interior should be as practical as it is beautiful. Your home’s doorways, mirrors, and furniture should make moving from room to room a pleasant task.
Potted plants are a staple in French interiors and give an organic, breathable feel to any room while providing fresh oxygen. You can place different kinds of plants on small benches that you can also use for creative storage. The body of your staircase can serve as a home to many picture frames, souvenirs, and artsy baubles.
Final Thoughts
French interior designs are some of the most beautiful you can find in the world, not just because of their originality and intricacy, but because of how many influences they can effortlessly meld together.
Mismatched furniture and bold complementary colors are considered taboo in many design schools, but French designers make these and many other opposing elements work flawlessly.
Remember the three pillars of French design:
- Practicality
- Experimentation
- Individualism
When you develop a firm grasp of these three tenets, you will be resistant to all the fads and disposable affectations of modern interior designs. You’ll be able to pick which trends work best with the themes of your final product.
Learning to create a French interior design can be fun and engaging. It will help you find order in the chaos of modern art and architecture.
Let Ron Nathan Interiors take care of your furniture selection, lighting design and installation, and more. Give us a call at 201-666-8185 to refresh your home interiors and take care of the heavy lifting.
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