French Farmhouse Decor – The Ultimate Guide

What is French farmhouse style?

French farmhouse is an authentic, simple, and warm decorating style. Its four main characteristics are natural materials with a strong presence of wood, vintage furniture and decor, neutral hues, and practical and functional rooms.

It’s part of the French country trend but has a more marked rustic side.

Let’s see all this in detail.

Natural materials

Wood

Adopt wood as one of the main natural materials in your farmhouse style. Choose parquet on the floor, have exposed beams installed, and leave some of your furniture in raw wood.

The wood can also be stained, painted or distressed to give it a vintage effect and/or to lighten the room.

Stone

Stone floors are perfect for a farmhouse style, especially in the kitchen, entrance or bathroom. It’s natural and durable and gives a sense of authenticity to the home.

Metals

Iron, copper and brass are all-natural metals perfect for farmhouse style accessories. Think for example of wrought iron fixtures, iron chairs, or copper accessories.

Fabrics

Fabrics have a key role, especially for the farmhouse look. Think cozy blankets, plaid throws, and chunky knits to create a cozy and relaxed place.

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Vintage furniture and decor

Farmhouse style is often about putting together an eclectic mix of items.

Furniture and decor that look like they’ve been thrown together in a random room, but each have a function and purpose.

Mismatched dining chairs, placed around an antique dining table, with a more modern centerpiece can be a great choice, for example.

You want the furniture to look like it’s been pulled together over time into a friendly, beautifully done space.

Neutral colors

For a perfect farmhouse decor, the colors must be natural for furniture and accessories.

You need off-white, ecru, beige, taupe, linen, sand, brown…

To give pep to farmhouse decor, you can add a few touches of color, such as green which is particularly appreciated, an old pink, or a chalked blue.

They can be found on decorative elements such as throw pillows, a lamp or even a rug.

You can also choose to paint one wall in another color. I gathered for you all the best French paint colors right here.

But be sure to make color reminders for a harmonization of the whole.

Forget the colors that are too bright.

The right paint colors can take your space from “meh” to “WOW,”.

But the wrong choices can leave you feeling less than thrilled…

If you want to learn how to avoid the 3 most common mistakes that cost one client over $900, click here and I’ll send them to you!

Practical and functional rooms

You’ve probably noticed that with farmhouse design, everything has a purpose.

All objects have a reason to be there.

That’s not to say you can’t accessorize the way you want but always prefer practical and functional items.

If you over-accessorize with items that don’t evoke a room’s functions, you’re sure to create a confusing decorating feeling.

French farmhouse kitchen

For a farmhouse kitchen, the aim is to provide a friendly and warm atmosphere.

Combining more contemporary furniture and accessories with antique furniture is not always easy.

But it’s not mission impossible, far from it.

The modern cooking range with a solid wood or stone worktop will give a beautiful aesthetic result.

But if you prefer the total farmhouse look, old wood cabinets, counters or even buffets will be the best suited.

For the floor, you can choose tomettes or mosaic tiles.

You should also hang your most beautiful kitchen utensils (cutting boards, copper cookware, etc.) to showcase them.

French farmhouse bedroom

In a farmhouse bedroom, the spotlight is once again given to natural materials.

A solid wood bed sets the tone of the layout.

Associated with a large and beautiful headboard, it adds character.

If all the furniture is made of raw wood, think about bringing light colors, whether through light-colored bed linen or white walls that will nuance the warm appearance of the furniture and the parquet.

French farmhouse living room

A farmhouse living room is a comforting and pleasant space in which you feel good in summer and winter alike.

Organized around a fireplace or a wood stove, it invites you to take a break after work and on weekends.

For the sofa, a mix of wood and fabric will be perfect, it will bring a touch of softness and authenticity.

It’s also good to include lots of places to sit and blankets to feel good.

On the storage side, it’s possible to complete with salvaged furniture such as a beautiful antique sideboard for example, on which multiple decorative items are displayed.

A farmhouse living room has no unnecessary clutter and there are few aimless items in the room.

French farmhouse exteriors

French farmhouses often feature multiple windows of different sizes with wooden shutters, and sometimes its architecture forms an L or U shape.

This style is combined with architectural details like roof windows, wood framework, and elegant landscaping to give it that French feel.

The exterior of these homes is often covered in stone.

Expansive gardens in the backyard make these homes feel lush and inviting.

French farmhouse furniture

To avoid overloading the room, the few wooden pieces of furniture should be highlighted.

These are the centerpieces of your interior.

So don’t fill your room with plenty of furniture.

For example, you only need one wooden furniture in your entrance.

In the living room, the coffee table could be one of your main furniture, and in the dining room a big wooden table.

Get the look

Ready to give your own home a French farmhouse twist? Here are a few of our favorite furniture and decor that will do the trick. I have provided a direct paid link wherever possible, at no added cost to you, so that you can easily shop and decorate.

If you want to know what’s the difference between French farmhouse, French provincial and French chateau, I explain it all here.

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