Traditional Style 

When we say “traditional style” every person has a different image in mind. Some think of it as outdated, grandma’s twenty-five pieces of dark furniture in one room.

Others think of it as soulful, provenance, and timeless. 

It always touches me when I enter a room that speaks quality and craftmanship.

Even though I would not define my taste as traditional I’m drawn to the history of objects. Perhaps, I was projecting this to my clients since I designed many traditional interiors.

Traditional Style Influenced Many Other Decorating Styles

Whether you are drawn to traditional decorating style or can’t care less I think it’s worth it to learn a thing or two about it.

Apart from being rooted in history, traditional decorating style influences most other decorative styles with just a few exceptions.

Features:

• The main feature is 18th and 19th-century European influence

• Symmetry is important. Almost everything comes in pairs creating a balanced space around the important focal point.
• Curved chair backs and feet, claw-feet, carved wood
• Hardwood floors with rich accents are a staple of this style
• Fabrics are refined such as velvet, silk, damask, and brocade 

Ceilings

Coffered ceilings with embellishments are common.

  Accents

• Candleholders, china, classic lamps, and shades
• Window treatments often with valances and swags
• Toss pillows with embellishments, floral arrangements
• Area rugs in classic styles are a must-have in a traditional home décor

How to Decorate with the Traditional Decorating Style Elements

Tips

• Showcase old or antique china
• Hang chandeliers
• Use wood flooring
• Display aged mirrors and artwork
• Hang elegant curtains
• Use antique or reproduction furniture
• Adorn the room with crown moldings
• Introduce wall paneling
• Place classic wool rugs

French Traditional Styles: French Provincial and French Country Styles

French Provincial is romantic and feminine while lived-in and comfortable.

Features

• Furniture with elegant curves, carved wood with a low sheen finish
• Weathered wood, whitewashed finishes
• Planked wood floors, stone fireplaces
• Seating is plush and cozy
• Ornate, carved paneling
• Fabrics with more saturated colors, such as sunbaked ochre and deep brick red that bring to mind the pigments found in the region’s natural clay earth.

French Country Style

French Country Style is more casual.  It allows for rustic elements, such as metal furniture and accents, rough surfaces, unfinished wood, and less elaborate furniture.

Features

Simple but curved silhouettes

Soft colors, such as warm cream and blue

Toile is a traditional pattern printed on cotton or linen fabrics used for upholstery, drapery, tablecloths, and wallpaper in French country rooms. The toile pattern is characterized by its designs of landscapes and figures of one color printed on a white or cream background. 

Simple distressed painted or whitewashed wood pieces with less elaborate carvings.

Tips

Allow light in 

Use toile and pair it with other patterns, such as stripes, plaids, checks, ginghams, roosters, sunflowers, and florals. 

Use chalk paint to distress furniture to get this style.

Pretty old jars, copper pots, decorative range hoods 

Rustic chandeliers of distressed wood or metal 

An airy, whitewashed, pretty mix of patterns

Sheer curtains

Wrought iron accent furniture 

A distressed or painted bureau transformed into a bathroom vanity and topped with a vessel sink is a beautiful French country touch.

Furniture

 ismore formal with added embellishments than French farmhouse style,

Tip

Wrought iron or rusted metal accents and accessories are often paired with distressed French country furnishings.

Exposed wooden ceiling beams 

Natural stone 

Brick floors

Rustic wood floors 

Shabby Chic

is feminine and soft with a mix of cottage shabby chic and comforting vintage elements. Add in a small crystal chandelier somewhere in the room, layers of soft and lacy white bedding with a toile comforter and curtains, and a headboard made of distressed wood or an old iron gate, and you have the makings of a beautiful bedroom. Use an old metal garden bench at the end of the bed as a sitting area. A bedroom is a perfect place for painted and distressed dressers and armoires.