How to design a Provençal style interior

I closely follow the interior design industry and all the current trends, seeing how popular Provence is today. Furniture, terracotta, paintings, accessories, flowers and other trinkets, nothing referring to this wonderful land, are everywhere today. On the other hand, they have nothing to do with this climate, smell and culture of Provence. Today I will try to touch on the subject of how to design a provence-style interior, because there is much to write about. This beautiful region, unfortunately, has become a phrase and a code word that sellers and manufacturers use to ” push ” their product.

And it is the mass patching of furniture and accessories that absolutely cannot be combined with Provence. And this is because everything associated with this style should be largely handmade. Because the work of human hands, love of raw materials, as well as a multi-generational approach to creation give us a synonym for things that are part of the Provençal countryside and cities. These are values that are in vain to be found in wholesale and tape production, so all the more reason to direct our steps to special places where we can find our inspiration.

How to design an interior in the Provençal style – meeting with a designer

What’s first, well, what do you mean? Let’s meet with a designer who will guide us through this extremely difficult and arduous process in our lives. Because design is not an easy art, even more so when it comes to particular styles. When we want to take a holistic approach, and I believe we will, we should design our entire interior. Architectural breakthroughs, Provençal living room type, and glamour bedroom is not an option and will look poorly.

To begin with, before meeting with our clients, I ask them to look for inspiration on the Internet for each interior. This is quite an important element, as it greatly narrows our search and shows what our client feels and wants. In addition, we may be tempted to search and save on our phone or computer the colors we like. And if the customer finds some examples of furniture and accessories it will be fantastic.

Common denominators – investor vs designer

Ok, if the client has already found all the inspiration he needs, we arrange a meeting, where we get to know our expectations for long hours, regarding the project and the work between the designer and the client. Because if we do not understand each other at the first meeting, it will be difficult to go through the entire process of designing and arranging a house or apartment.

We also bring with us a substantial baggage of photos, graphics, inspiration and arrangements in the Provençal style. So that the client can see how We feel this atmosphere, what is important to us and, finally, what we can do for him. It is important to know that the customer will not always look for and find good examples of the interior style in which he wants to move.

Final budget

As for me, the important factor here is to determine a very important issue, namely the budget. And this is because if I want to show for a client how to design interiors in the Provençal style I show 2 ways. The first is to furnish with mass products, the second – handmade based on the highest quality materials. I don’t have to say which one is close to me, although today it is possible to make good furnishings for reasonable money.

If the client does not specify a budget, it will be difficult to conduct further discussions, research and work on the project. Since a cross-section of furnishings, furniture and accessories is really huge. So if we have mutual respect, it is essential to determine at what price the customer wants to do the project and all the equipment.

Functional design – synonymous with customer expectations

We always do a long first meeting before implementing a functional design, as I wrote earlier. The conversation is often combined with a questionnaire, where we collect information in relation to the investor’s expectations. Design and style is one thing, but for everyday life you need functionality, which is why functional design is so important.

Here, an important role of the designer is to step into the shoes of the client, who will live in this interior on a daily basis. Provençal style furniture often has a different structure and function than modern appliances. So ergonomics and functionality in daily life must come first here.

Modernity vs. old vibes

Let’s not forget about modernity like air conditioning, underfloor heating, and finally electronic home control. These are points that must harmonize with the aged interior.Because that’s what Provence ist. And it is us designing and arranging that must combine these two variables. Of course, this is not an easy matter, but for the love of design we do what it takes!

If the client does not have projections of his interior we make an inventory to measure everything just for the functional design. Because to see exactly how the furniture and other equipment will stand, we need to look at it from above. The client doesn’t have to be an architect, but he should see in black and white the layout of his interior, along with the proposed equipment.

Arrangement and conceptual design in Provençal interior design

Both the functional design, as well as the arrangement and conceptual design are closely related. Because now comes the search for furniture and all other building materials, as well as other decorations that will fit into the interests of the client. Because the selection of colors, appliances and other necessary things we touched on in the first meetings. But now it is just time to already choose all this.

They are different schools of design, some start from the top – that is, the lighting, others from the bottom – that is, the floors. But with the placement of sockets and contacts, we can already plan how our Provençal-style lighting will look like. And I will say frankly, while the furniture, accessories or other decorations are not a problem, the lighting itself in this climate is not quite clear.

Provençal style lighting

I know that white, whitewashed, or artificially aged chandeliers are often mentioned and shown, so as to resemble past centuries. Although most often we can meet simply white chandeliers, with a lampshade écru. Such proposals, of course, are very templated. As for me, someone spends little time if he proposes such solutions for the client.

Provence is not just white and lavender, as we can boldly include wrought iron, wood, metal or bronze lighting. I’m all for breaking conventions, so my first suggestion is Provençal metal chandeliers. It is the shape of a cage or an old lantern, which can perfectly fit right into this style.

Light or massive?

Here I would like to point out one very important thing, the lighting must be gently at odds with the rest of the furnishings. Because if we want strong and heavy wrought iron chandeliers in the Provençal style, the rest of the furnishings can no longer be in this climate. There must be a kind of correlation, heavy furniture – light lighting – usually white, with flower petals. Light French Provençal furniture – heavy massive lighting.

Of course, this is my personal variation, and the decision is always left to our customers. Here, too, you may be tempted to have ceramic lamps in white, or just wrought iron chandeliers with flower petals. Because, after all, Provence is a lot of lavender and petals of various flowers.

Provençal style furniture

Everywhere I see mostly accents of white, gray and stencil. In my opinion, manufacturers do not fully understand I to design an interior in the Provençal style and create photocopies of other brands. Such furniture is somewhat reminiscent of Schabby chic or Scandinavian style. And yet, Provence is not exactly light in its perception, so here you can be tempted to include elements of aging, heaviness, massiveness and antiquity and solid wood.

It seems to me that the main material that plays a major role here is natural wood. And they will be the nail of the show in our living room, bedroom or study. On the other hand, there is a lot of Provençal-style furniture on the market made of MDF, or other slightly weaker materials. And yet provence is a fragrance, and this is offered by natural wood. So let’s look for just such solutions.

One style – many solutions how to design interior in Provençal style

I know it comes with a budget, but today wood comes at a price. For that, we can have a piece of solid work of human hands in our home that will last for generations to come. Which is also quite important when it comes to maintenance and passing the furniture on to your children and grandchildren. Besides, everyone should have just such things with a soul.

I also often see Provençal style sofas with colorful flowers, very cute, but for me a little too much in the English style. You can experiment with flowers or florals on fabrics, but we must do it sensitively. Provençal style gives us a lot of possibilities, so here you need to consider sofas made of wood, wicker or other heavy materials.

I see many of the designers incorporating antique sofas into this style, and this is not a mistake – but a deliberate intention. And it often gives really great results. And antique furniture itself is not hard to find, there is really a lot of it on the market, so we will calmly choose a product from past centuries. Naturally, you need to do it with great sensitivity and pay attention that the sofa or couch is after restoration. Because it is difficult to order for a customer an antique not fully restored.

Colors of Provence – How to design a Provençal-style interior

Here we find many shades of gray, graphite, or écru – and should be the dominant colors if if we do not know how to design a Provençal-style interior. You may be tempted to marry pink or brown, why not, but everything here depends on the color of the walls and lighting. There must be a symbiosis and chemistry between these furnishings. I still see quilted sofas identified with this style, but this is probably not quite what I would see in such an interior.

Therefore, when designing an interior or provence cabinet we can go wild and implement completely custom furniture. The beaten path is for those who repeat and photocopy, and if you want to have an original you should go your own way. Always in life moving along the trodden steps, we will find what has already been found!

When creating our own Provence, we may be tempted to go for wrought iron furniture, especially when there is a correlation, living room with garden, or living room with terrace. A lot of old wood, wicker, sawn aged wood, antique furniture, or finally currently produced in the old style. The choice is huge today, and the designer should combine it all cleverly.

Accessories, accessories and trinkets for a Provençal interior

We have lighting and furniture, which means we are left to dot the i’s, of course, there is also the question of carpets, but often with a Provençal house or apartment, old tiles or wooden flooring are used. So not quite everyone wants to cover up such rarities.

Let me start with the table, because it is where the whole family usually gathers, it is where we receive guests and spend a lot of our free time. Therefore, it is also worth ensuring that the plates, as well as other accessories, match this style. I immediately suggest the Italian brand Cosi Tabellini, which has the perfect collection and a whole lot of accessories to furnish your dream dining room and living room in style a’la provence.

Their main material is pewter, which harks back to times past, a lot of white ceramics combined with this material, gives an amazing effect. A very important factor is that their offer is extremely wide. So that we complement ourselves with our entire collection.

In addition to beautiful plates, they have glasses, glasses, trays, mirrors and many other wares that fascinate me every time. This is something they won’t do in Asia, so I say every time let’s respect and support European manufactures.

If you still don’t know how to design a Provençal-style interior, read about ceramics

Certainly also will work generally white ceramics, a little rural, a little idyllic, which will refer to this style. On the one hand, heavy and massive, quite thick plates, on the other, light, floral and very fresh. So here, too, the selection should be very individual, under the investor. But I am in favor of more massive and country plates.

When it comes to Provençal-style decorations, there is so much of it on the market that it can often be too much. Perversely, when we have too much choice, it’s hard to choose something interesting. I conclude that it is better to have one or a few ” strong” products that will give atmosphere, than a lot of cheap trash – mass-produced cages, frames, vases, or other dupe.

New vs old accessories – How to design a Provençal-style interior?

A good designer will delve into the subject, find old copper pots in which to put beautiful plants, antique doors with 18th century, or, finally, tinware that served previous generations. It all depends on the initiative, the so-called designer’s sense of smell and sensitivity to true decoration for a Provençal interior.

Provence loves old things that don’t have to cost a fortune, like tiles from demolition, metal buckets, cast-iron stove doors, or maybe wooden parts from dismantled houses. And if you want something even more stylish, you should be tempted to look for old antique decorations, like religious figures, figures from churches, or metal vessels. There’s a lot of this on the market, but let’s outsource it to someone who knows a little about it.

Where to look for good inspiration for a Provençal interior?

I have always bet on brands with class, history and quality products, so I invite you to create interiors of the highest level together. We will easily find you old antique products, antique furniture, including new ones from Italian or French manufacturers, tiles, fireplaces, wood motifs referring to this beautiful style. But most importantly, we will arrange your house or apartment so that it is fully functional and, above all, not a museum.

It is not an art to collapse a lot of Provençal furniture and decorations, but to put it all together. In addition, it must be ergonomic and suitable for everyday life. Because our interiors should give us shelter, but also the comfort of staying in them.

That’s why we invite everyone who wants to change a piece of their space and feel like real Provence to contact us. We love to design original, useful and original interiors, so if you want to know how to design an interior in Provençal style, we invite you to contact us -. [email protected] or 791 394 349