Jouy Fabric

How to decorate a bedroom in contemporary French provincial style

During the 17th and 18th centuries the French bourgeois middle class stimulated the emergence of a simpler French style. This style became known as French Provincial. Just as popular in the city as in the country. It is still a very popular style today.

The elements of the Louis styles were simplified. Little or no carving was used on furniture. Window treatments were simple printed linen toiles with pastoral scenes becoming the hallmark the French Provincial style.

How to create a French Provincial bedroom

Parquetry or plain timber floors covered with Aubusson Rugs – in delicate florals or tapestry carpet. Louis upholstered bed head in walnut or painted finish frame or head board with cane insert or a sleigh bed. Place the bed in an alcove or against the wall and add a canopy of gauzy white cotton or toile de Jouy fabric attached to the ceiling or bed posts.

A feather quilt or hand worked lace bedspread or a brightly colored coverlet of Provencal design should dress the bed. Kelsch a French linen plaid cloth in combinations of white, red and blue would be an authentic addition.

Bedroom curtains of cotton or linen plain or with a small scale pattern with a white or light background and one color would work well. Toile de Jouy will give the most authentic look. The most common colors used in French provincial style; blue and white, red and white.

Furnish the room with an armoire (cupboard with full length doors), bonnetiere (tall narrow cupboard usually in oak with a single door) chiffonniere (tall chest of drawers). Or you can create a closet with shelves in a niche with a curtain used instead of a door. Another option; replace the doors of a modern unit with fabric or remove the panel in a door and replace it with toile de Jouy fabric. Also use bedside tables in simplified Louis styles with a top of marble or timber.  You can find examples at http://creativebuzzing.wordpress.com

Add a farmhouse style chandelier, wall sconces or French style table lamps. There you have it an elegant yet comfortable French Provincial style bedroom .

About the Author

Rosena works as an interior design, retail and visual merchandising tutor for Australian College QED. She I has also worked for the Retail Traders Association of Victoria as a Retail Trainer. Rosena has a Diploma in Interior Design, Post Graduate Diploma in Public and Community Health and is a qualified trainer. She also works as an interior design consultant, creates designer art work and is the Australian agent of Sample Board a new cool FREE digital mood board editor for the creative industries.

Acheter Du Tissu

Toiles de Jouy $29.89 For lovers of French decorating, this book reproduces some of the earliest toile designs from 18th-century France. Delicate flower prints, fun animal motifs, rich historic scenes, and complex architectural patterns are just some of the subjects reproduced here in rich color. The patterns in Toiles de Jouy are reproduced from an antiquarian book containing 50 plates of French toile fabric and wallp…

Toile de Jouy $24.88 Riffel and Rouart have drawn upon the rich collections at the Musée de la Toile de Jouy to produce this history of these textiles. The illustrations include original designs that are conserved in the museum, exceptional examples of Toile de Jouy clothing and furniture, documents relating to manufacture and to the founding company, and examples of contemporary uses of the textiles.In the seventeen…

Printed French Fabrics. Toiles de Jouy $60.00 PRINTED FRENCH FABRICS byToiles de Jouy Published by Rizzoli, New York, 1989 Measures 12 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches, with 184 pages. Contains 196 impressive illustrations, of which 98 are in color. The book was first published in France and is translated by Nina Bogen….