Provence style living room: 75 photos of ideas

Country unites under the common name of the group of village trends, which include Provence. It is adjacent to such colorful "relatives" as Russian, Spanish, Italian, American styles. Provence is just one of the directions that is geographically tied to the place of its birth - the southern region of France. In fact, this simple, distinctive style with ethnic features strikes a bright spot against the background of its "neighbors", and continues to attract all new admirers who have managed to appreciate its lightness and unpretentiousness. What is the secret of such popularity? In a world where people are accustomed to reaching out to material values, defying, parading their wealth or imitating its presence, putting dust into the eyes of “luxury”, lacking brevity, simplicity and comfort. Provence becomes an oasis of moral rest from the endless race, which has become an integral part of modern life. The direction is characterized by a special light, warm atmosphere, which is difficult to find in the high-tech chrome-plated cold or loft raid of industrialization. How difficult is it to arrange the living room in Provence style? Is this option suitable for budget repair and is it possible to carry out the task without involving outside masters? In the article we will answer these and many other questions.

The history of the appearance of style

Provence style got its charming name because of the terrain in which it was formed. Now this historical region in the south of France is part of a large region (Alpes-Côte d'Azur-Provence). Its capital - Aix-en-Provence is considered one of the oldest French cities. The outlines of the region were formed through natural borders: the Mediterranean Sea, the Alpine slopes and the picturesque river Rodan, which carries its waters all the way to Switzerland. The region is replete with bright landscapes that amaze tourists with their simple beauty and rustic charm. The warm climate, the seashore, the snow-capped peaks of the Alps on the horizon, numerous villages and sights, cobbled streets, low stone fences, neat squares, lavender field carpets and the special comfort of the hospitable backyard - all this magnificence conquered more than one heart that looked at the bright light of Provence . Because of the mixing of cultures, you can stumble upon the tombstones of the Roman Empire, the ruins of magnificent cathedrals, fortress walls, specimens of ancient architecture and monumental castles of medieval nobles. It is this region that has "seasoned" traditional French cuisine with herbs, which has acquired new notes of the original taste, which has become known far beyond the borders of the country. Locals grow spices right on the gardens near the houses: in addition to practical purposes, tiny beds also decorate the landscape.

It is not surprising that a hospitable corner of France has become a Mecca for tourists and those who just want to have a nice holiday. So what style could appear under the warm wind among the mountain ranges and panoramas of the bays, where the waters of the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries gnawing stone cliffs? Unusual, inspiring, picturesque, beautiful and simple in a rustic way, cozy, warm, with a delicate aroma of spices, immersed in greenery and rich inflorescences - this is the only way to describe the true Provence. He is completely devoid of pretentiousness for luxury, it is not customary here to shock the public and to vividly demonstrate his wealth. In the outback even time flows differently - life slows down its course. Provence inspired artists, poets, writers, architects and musicians. Here is the castle of If, behind the walls of which Edmond Dantès, the basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la Garde (the “keeper” of Marcel), the ancient “papal” city of Avignon, the pearl of the azure coast of Nice, the lavender plateau of Valensole, languished on the pages of Dumas’s novel Verdon gorge and the "dead city" Les Baux de Provence, carved into the rocks. The Celts, Romans, Gauls, Greeks, Germanic tribes (Franks and Visigoths), Arabs lived on these lands. In ancient times, Provence was even a sovereign Kingdom, which later became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and after that - France. In this region, over the course of many centuries, a colossal mixture of cultures took place, which was reflected in the interiors of local houses. The beginning of the Provence style is considered to be the end of the XVI - the beginning of the XVII centuries, when he finally found clear forms, primarily in local architecture. It turned into a full-fledged design direction as a counterweight to the complex, ornate baroque, which at that time was "professed" in the north of France. Although Provence existed before, but it did not have clear canons in the design and official status of the “style” of the French hinterland, one of the varieties of country music.

    

Characteristic features and style

For Provence, the following features are characteristic, by which this style can be easily defined:

  • The abundance of white and pastel colors in color.
  • Lots of greenery: spicy herbs, weaving plants (hops, ivy, grapes), small wildflowers.
  • Old-fashioned furniture that has undergone restoration, but has retained its history even under a layer of paint.
  • Wicker chairs and tables, which can easily be used both in the house and on the backyard.
  • Wide panoramic windows that allow access to the magnificent landscape outside.
  • The abundance of decorative elements, made by hand (the so-called handmade), small sculptures, paintings with rural landscapes.
  • Floral prints, playful cell and strip, typical for country in textiles (furniture upholstery, curtains, tablecloths, carpets).
  • The prevalence of wood, natural stone or brick, metals (brass, copper) in the finish.
  • Cotton and linen are the two main textile materials. If you use a different fabric, then it must be natural. Provence does not tolerate synthetics.
  • Massive chandeliers, wrought candelabra and lamps.

The decor is an important component of Provence style. No need to skimp on it. Pictures, vases, mirrors, pots with fresh flowers, wicker baskets, rugs, pillowcases for cushions made by hand are ideal for the living room. The real center of attraction of the living room in the center of Provence will be a fireplace with a bundle of firewood in a wrought-iron fireplace and a ceramic shelf for beautiful trifles.

    

Zoning - space organization

The classical layout of any room, whether it is a bedroom or a kitchen, is carried out according to a simple principle: free space in the center and filled at the edges. Modern interiors of studio apartments and combined premises have long since moved away from these canons. They actively use the original options for the separation of space. In the Provence-style living room, absolutely any zoning methods are applicable:

  • The actual separation of the two zones of the combined room with the use of furniture, decorative screens, classic arches, textile curtains.
  • Conditional zoning by color, light or using different prints / patterns on the surface of finishing materials.

It is possible to delimit the room with the help of paired elements of decor. For these purposes, for example, fit two massive floor vases, or tubs with weaving plants. By the way, the “living wall” of decorative cinch, cissus, ivy, philodendron (indoor grapes) or monsteras perfectly blends into the interior of any room in the style of Provence.

    

Color solutions and prints

Take inspiration by selecting the basis of the interior palette, you can watch the spring blooming nature. The basis of the Provence color scale is white and light shades of lilac (lavender), green (leaves of plants), brown (tree), blue (water and sky), yellow (sun). You can safely use the bright colors of any colors, it is impossible to "miss" them.

White living room

If the room is small, then you can resort to a win-win option and make the main color white. It symbolizes purity, purity, and a beneficial effect on the person. Of course, the "sterile" whiteness for decorating the living room will not work, in any case it will have to be diluted with a pair of other shades. Since white is neutral in nature, it is successfully combined with any bright and pastel colors. As part of the Provence style, it is better to use brown - the natural color of wood and create an interior with an ombre effect: color gradation from white to brown using intermediate tones. From the variety of shades it is enough to choose four or five, which together will create a soft, light composition. To give the interior airiness, you can use a couple of accents of sky-blue or pistachio, olive colors.

Pastel Living Room

Pastel colors - the basis of Provence style. What colors belong to this group? The main characteristic of pastel tones is their muffled, but in no way fading. If you draw a parallel with watercolors, the color on the palette is not diluted with water, after which it loses its saturation, but makes it less bright by adding white. If milk is added to the lush blue of the sky or the greens of fresh foliage, you get one of the pastel shades. The most popular tones of this group include brown derivatives: cream, beige, coffee with milk, vanilla, terracotta, ocher, golden brown, chocolate, flax, pearl and ivory. To create a composition in the style of Provence also fit pink, sky blue, pale lilac, peach, pale yellow. In drawing up a color composition, only the principle of the combination of shades and their number is of importance. It is not recommended to use more than seven or eight pastel colors. It is best to resort to the combination algorithm by analogy: one primary color and two or three of its “pale” derivatives with different degrees of saturation.

The shades of all eight colors (colors of the rainbow and purple, as the connecting link of the Itten circle between red and purple) and even gray, which is nothing more than black-and-white-whitened, are considered to be a group of pastel shades.

Shades of blue and lavender

Lavender color and shades of blue are bright colors, the juiciness of which needs to be balanced with white, gray or pastel tone-neutral, a close relative of the main one in the circle of Itten. For example, snow-white furniture looks great against the background of wallpaper in a blue flower and organically combines with lavender curtains, carpet, tablecloth or upholstered furniture.

Shades of green and olive

Shades of green can be present in the living room exclusively in indoor plants, but these tones will make a wonderful basis for color composition. To finish in Provence style, you should choose muted variations: malachite, olive, viridian, khaki, mustard, jade, emerald. Smaller tones are added to the composition in small portions: mint, pistachio, spring green, chartreuse, lime. Greens shade white, pastel shades of brown (a natural combination of a tree trunk and its crown) and gray.

Bright colors in style

Provence is filled with optimism and warmth; it is simply impossible to create such an atmosphere without bright notes. Juicy colors should be carefully added to the interior picture, evenly distributing them around the room. It is best to use saturated colors in the decor and textiles: carpets, curtains, upholstery, pillows, bedspreads, vases, jewelry boxes, baskets. As accents you can take purple, yellow, blue, green, purple.

Finishing and materials

Provence style does not accept imitation. The decoration should be used only natural materials. Of course, you can make exceptions for city apartments, where conditions, for example, do not allow to sheathe walls with natural stone, but the imitation must be of the highest quality, that is, visually indistinguishable from the original. Although the Provence-style interior looks simple enough, you will have to prepare your wallet for serious tests before purchasing materials, since in this case it will not work out cheaply.


    

Walls

For walls suitable for ordinary plaster. It is casually leveled to create light surface irregularities. Plaster can be combined with brick or stone. It is better to leave the latter for finishing those sections of the wall that are located below 1 m. Otherwise, too heavy masonry will give an extra load on the surface. Such a decoration in the fireplace area will look luxurious. Wallpaper is also a great option for a Provence living room. You should choose a material with a pattern in a small flower. It is allowed to combine several patterns or alternate stripes in flower with checkered or striped wallpaper. In country houses it is possible to use the rounded timber or logs from which the building is built as a finishing. Their surface is covered with special compounds that will save the material and prolong its service life. Look good combination options: wooden walls and surfaces, covered with wallpaper or covered with plaster.


    

Floor

When making a floor you will have to forget about such affordable and cheap materials as carpet and linoleum. Expensive self-leveling coating is also not combined with the rustic simplicity of Provence style. The best solution would be a tree, preferably in the form of boards. Wooden floors with light scuffs - a kind of time stamp are welcome. In the recreation area near the chairs and sofa, you can lay the carpet with a short nap.


    

Ceiling

The ceiling should be white and not attract too much attention to itself, since the main accent of the surface - a massive chandelier more than compensates for this monotony and inconspicuousness. It is better to use ordinary plaster. As we have already mentioned, the Alps frame this region of France from the west; therefore, in the style there are light notes of a chalet - the direction characteristic of mountain villages. One of the distinguishing features of this style is the use of massive wooden beams with roughly treated surfaces. Previously, they were an integral part of the design, but later transformed into a decorative element. The Provence style ceiling can be supplemented with light wood beams, while dark wood is used mainly in the chalet. To emphasize the color of the living room, their surface can be painted in a shade of the main tone. In country houses, where the ceilings are high, wood is allowed to finish the entire surface.


    

Lighting

Decorative lighting, which is so popular in modern styles, is not suitable for Provence. Light should be soft and as natural as possible. Massive ceiling chandelier - a must-have item in the style of the French hinterland. The models decorated with forged elements and crystal are welcomed. Perhaps this is the only element of luxury that has been preserved in the style of Provence, as a relic of classicism, since the heyday of the latter. Local lighting is represented by wall sconces, table and floor lamps. They are decorated with forging, fabric shades in a small flower. As an addition to the main lighting, you can use massive metal candlesticks with high wax candles.


    

Living room furniture

Upholstered furniture is chosen from a tree upholstered with floral pattern, checkered or striped. The recreation area is designed according to the classical scheme: in the center is a coffee table made of wood with forging elements, surrounded by a sofa and a pair of chairs. Near one of the walls put an open rack for books and small decor with a niche for TV. By the way, if there is a possibility, it is better to hide this child of the century of high technologies behind the door, as in the rustic interior it does not always look appropriate. You can use old furniture that is being restored: paint, create artificial abrasions, decorate with painting and decoupage. Forged accessories, decorative monograms, carved patterns on the facades are welcome. The furniture on the high, bent legs will look stylishly.

You can go for a chest of drawers or a coffee table not in a furniture store, but in the so-called flea market, where old furniture and decor are sold. There is always the chance that you will find a great antique piece or armchair, a couch that does not have any value, but is shrouded in its history. Things with time stamp are highly valued in provence.

    

Windows - design options

Windows should maintain their openness, that is, they can not be closed with dense fabrics of curtains and deprive the living room of natural light. In the French outback, houses are equipped with panoramic windows that lead directly to the backyard to the gazebo or patio with a fountain. In city apartments (especially Khrushchev houses) one can only dream of such luxury. For Provence fit Roman, French and very similar to them Austrian curtains. If the windows are large enough, then the top can be decorated with lambrequin. Для узких маленьких окошек больше подходят простые современные портьеры на люверсах или шторы-плиссе. Если владельцам хочется добавить изюминку в оформление окон, то можно использовать стильные модели Color Block с эффектом омбре, в которых ткань окрашена в несколько оттенков, плавно перетекающих друг в друга. Бамбуковые, панельные, японские шторы и жалюзи для прованса не подойдут.If you add them to the interior, it will become more eclectic.

Decor and accessories

Even at the dawn of the origin of Provence style, residents of French villages made their own furniture and decor. If before the furnishings were the result of hard work, now the process of their creation turned into a pleasure and useful hobby. A nice bonus to the handicraft industry will be to reduce the cost of repairs exactly the amount that would have to spend on the purchase of hand-made items. In the interior in the style of Provence used an abundance of decor. Not piling up, but a moderate placement of jewelry that adds special charm to the design. Pillowcases for pillows, curtains, lampshades, tablecloths sew their own hands. A warm shawl or blanket that will be artistically dropped with neat folds from the sofa or armchair can be knitted from coarse threads. Baskets for storing small items weave from willow twigs. Vases, flower pots, boxes decorate a mosaic of placers of ceramic fragments, kraft paper, sacking and twine. The picture in the oval frame embroidered with tapestry stitching will be a stylish addition to the mantelpiece.


    

Living room with fireplace in a country house

The presence of a fireplace in the living room in Provence style makes the interior cozy and adds "warm" notes to it. The hearth is always associated with measured village life. The fireplace can be made of brick or stone. It is complemented by stylish wrought iron logs and decorative stands on high legs with wide metal plates. On them in especially solemn cases place candles. If the room is large enough, you can install a freestanding fireplace. For the more popular attached models, the wall is decorated with a group of paintings in different shapes, painted plates, small shelves on the sides with books and small decor. To designate a separate resting place for the crackling of burning wood, you can put a low couch, an ottoman or a stool with colorful upholstery on curved legs near the fireplace.


    

Living room in Khrushchev

Hall in Khrushchev, as a rule, does not differ in size. For the living room choose compact furniture and combine the style of Provence with the principles of minimalism. The task is difficult, but doable. It is better to refuse the central location of the furniture group (sofa / armchairs / coffee table). Sofa leaning against one of the walls, but on the contrary put a rack with a niche under the TV. It is better to use a compact coffee table on wheels, which, if necessary, can be moved to another place. In the design of small rooms adhere to pastel colors in combination with white. Instead of multi-layered Roman or Austrian curtains, laconic hangings are hung on the windows.

Kitchen-living room in a studio apartment

In the combined versions of the living room is usually combined with a kitchen and dining room. The division of zones can be done with the use of furniture (just turn the sofa back to the kitchen), decor, color and texture of finishing materials. Decorative window lattice partitions made of metal or wooden slats painted in light colors will suit the Provence. The kitchen area is decorated with decorations typical of rustic interiors: bundles of onions, painted dishes, straw and burlap panels, wicker baskets for storing vegetables. In the decoration is better to use tile. From the popular bar counter, which helps to combine areas in modern apartments, it is better to refuse in favor of the traditional dining table with a group of wooden chairs. If the room is large enough, you can resort to the peninsular layout, which in the interior of the Provence will look appropriate.

Conclusion

Provence has absorbed the centuries-old traditions of decorating village houses in the south of France. Unhurried, unhurried life of the outback is very different from the crazy city pace and magnet attracts tired and exhausted residents of the “concrete jungle”. Recreating a piece of this cozy oasis at home is not so difficult, we are convinced of this. It does not matter which apartments are at your disposal: a country house, a private cottage, a cramped or spacious apartment. The light, warm wind of the Côte d'Azur with admixture of alpine freshness, aroma of lavender fields and hints of spices can break into any dwelling, all you need is to want.

Watch the video: Гостиная в Стиле Прованс - фото 2018 Living room in Style Provence photo Wohnzimmer Foto (March 2024).

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