Provence Style

Provence Style

Provence Style is a design style that can “take you there” whenever you walk into a room.  

From the sun-drenched hills to the Cote d’Azure to the lavender fields, perfumes, or the heights of Mt. Ventoux the south of France is famous for its magnificent sceneries, food, fragrance, incredibly blue sea, and bright sun. 

Climate plays an important part in the styles of Provence. With a strong affinity to Italy and the Romans through history, the south of France is both an agricultural area and a playground for the rich and famous.

Provence style is based on the unique components of, land, climate, and history. We call it the terroir of decorating.  

From New York to California you can bring the sense of place home with your decor. You’ll instantly feel like you’re deep in the heart of the region.

What do you need to turn your place into a Provincial dream?  Decorate with these  five essential elements, color, architecture, furniture, textiles, and interior decor for a pin worthy home.

Color

You can not think of the colors of Provence with out seeing lavender and yellow. Between the artists like Van Gogh and the fields of lavender it enters every color scheme in the region. 

The Provincial color palette is also composed of warm primary colors red, green, and blues.   Fiery red and burn rust mix with bright and dark green. Mediterranean  blues combine with lighter vibrant sky tones.

Rooms are not typically decorated in a single or even dual color scheme. Instead, they are full of multiple colors like the countryside its self.

Exterior stucco is faded by the intense sun while interior plaster is more neutral and cooling.

Colors of Provence

Architecture

Natural building materials are important. Stucco is the primary building materials in Provence. The exterior is painted in strong colors that become weathered by the sun and wind, turning to a softer pale color. 

Deeply cut window hold tall narrow glass. Exterior shutters close to keep the hot sun out in the summer. Windows and doorways are often encircled with wildly growing vines.

You’ll find exposed wood-beamed ceilings natural stone, brick or wood planked floors often covered with wool or cotton rugs.  Materials, whether wood or stone, usually have a weathered appearance. Nothing is perfect rather, finishes feature subtle distressing for a lived-in feel. 

No home is complete without a stone fireplace. A massive beam at the top serves as a mantle and tiles or stone form the border.  

Provence exterior

Aged Antique Furniture

Antiques and rusted metal have always had a place of honor in a Provincial home. Furniture both functional and decorative, with the patina of time, is handed down from generation to generation. The antique market at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a legend and not to be missed on a trip to the area.

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

The heritage of the furniture varies from the flowing style of Louis VIII to a more sturdy and utilitarian table leg used on large dining tables. Most wooden pieces are made of chestnut or oak with a waxed low sheen finish. Curved and carved details often grace the legs, and the chairs are sturdy farm style, usually latter backs, with rush seating.  

I think of it as a heady mixture of sturdy wooden tables mixed with iron elements, combined with lighter and sometimes more modern but iconic upholstered pieces

Ironwork plays a large part in both furniture and decor. Forging isn’t massive or pretentious, more refined, and practically weightless. Iron tables and chairs abound outside.

Textiles

Textiles are natural tending to be cotton or linen.   Traditional provincial fabrics designs include lavender, roosters, olives, and sunflowers, though these are more typical for things like table linens and curtain panels. Often these motifs are embroidered.  Today the traditional patterned fabric of proven is being updated to a more subtle look. Toile is a traditional fabric design with large motifs depicting hunting, romance, or other country scenes.   

Provence Colors

Interior decor

Interior decor especially ceramics and pottery have their roots in the farmer’s markets and regional agreculture. Abundant colors come from spices showing a Moroccan heritage, while patterns often include roosters, olives and flowers. Both colorful and muted pottery adorns the dining table. (No fine china here!) But you can overdo the flowered pottery filled with olive leafs and bees. Make certain to add some antique styles with aged color.

Fresh flowers abound all year long, and no table would be complete without flowers or candles.

At the end of your Provincial decorating experience there is an opinion that Provence has been created by years and generations, its details and features accumulate over time. After all, the Provence style is not just an interior: Provence is a lifestyle. 

You might also enjoy our other posts on Paris Style.

Scandinavian Ornamentations

Scandinavian Ornamentations

Gustavian Appliques

Anyone who has read this blog knows I love Gustavian and all Scandinavian Style.

Ornamentation came to Sweden and the Nordic region with King Gustave. After spending considerable time with the French court of Louis, he brought a specific esthetic home with him and moderated it for his court and castle.

For the most part Scandinavian even Gustavian moldings and appliques are not as ornate as French or Italian carvings. They often herald back to simple countryside pleasures, and sometimes the embellishments take the form of hand painting which we can duplicate so easily in stencils. For more on King Gustave read here

Here are 4 of the best northern ornamentations on Swedish antiques that we just love.

I name this photo Singing the Blues and love everything about this piece, the color, the trims. It is a full quad of different appliques all used differently.

Guillach Trim

  •  Simple bead trim like our T70
  • The acanthus leaves going up the legs
  • A simple Bell Flower drop – (one like this coming soon)
  • A typical Swedish guilloches

Speaking of guilloches – which is simply a round interlocking molding.

More Guillach Trim

This little table leg shot has such charm first the guilloches and then this lovely little flower. On this piece note, the flower is not raised high.

Natural objects play an important role in Scandinavian decorations.

Natural objects

Aha, simplicity how doth I love you? Let me count the ways: one piece of furniture, a straightforward pattern done with three interpretations. The top would lead you to believe it’s a form of egg and dart, but when you look at the matching rosette and carving on the leg, you realize it is variations on a theme.

4 – Rill Work

Rill work

The last one for today is Rill Work. It is everywhere! From Cupboard doors to table skirts, it is a simple, unpretentious embellishment. Often made fancy by making it a diamond instead of a square it is a staple of Scandinavian county style.

More on this subject later as we roll out more of our new products for now

xoxo Lydia

Treasures From The Country Living Fair

Treasures From The Country Living Fair

What a delight. Just back from several days at The Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck New York with my friend Michelle Delgatto Meese from Huston Texas. Her great store WonderFaux Home can be found here.

We spent some significant time at both the fair and several stops at local antique malls and thrift stores. The beautiful antiques ended up being an inspiration, not purchases, but the market and the thrift store had some lovely finds.

Some were for our home, Maine Country Home, and others could become Efex Flexible Molds.

We found a bit of everything, ceramic pots topped with gold were early finds.

Then this lovely ceramic box. The roses are stunning but were most likely made with a disappearing wax mold, so I am not sure I can copy them. But…. I will try.

The next box has the beautiful dainty carvings on top.

A set of antique plaster molds that Michelle found are stunning and a wonderfully carved pediment.

As the week at the fair went on, we met up with some of our favorite friends and made new ones. More later on our progress.

xoxo Lydia

Hunting For Moldings and Onlays

Hunting For Moldings and Onlays

Manor Homes with History –

A vacation in the English Country Side

We have often written  about different Manor Homes in England. This week we flew into Heathrow for a vacation dedicated to viewing some of these great Estates. A side note here we are about to be hit by a weather bomb so any thoughts I had of great outdoor garden photos have been put aside for now. Honest, only I would get this as my weather report for a vacation!

This trip combines by husbands love of history with my love of architectural buildings and all things embellished.

First we’re catching up with son in Southampton on some top secret sailing stuff… then were off on the Manor House, History, and Molding Tour.

On the tour

Chartwell, and Blenheim

Chatsworth

and Cliveden, all perfect English Manors.

This history, Churchill, The Mitford Sisters, Profomo, and Vanderbilt there is a such a range here.

What they have in common is a historic lifestyle  mixed with some of the strongest patriotism ever seen worldwide and many a scandal.

This is the vacation you get when Mr and Mrs Efex travel.

Along the way were going to London and maybe a short stay at one of the Soho Club in Oxfordshire.

Watch the Instagram Feed for fun photo’s of places and historic snippets about some of the great Manors of England..

Maybe I’ll even find some more  embellishments that we can turn into Efex.

Look Books…

Look Books…

Efex on Books

Last week several people asked about using Efex on Books.

Our lovely friend Johanne from Quebec did it last year. She ran a D8 down the spine of the book and painted it with Chalk Paint.

Special Book Cover

More recently our dealer Apple Box Boutique in Alberta did a great example. This example is T14 cut upon the face of the book. Again painted with Chalk Paint and finished with dark wax.

I love the idea of painting and decorating books as a way to set up a bookcase or reading space. Just the addition of painted and decorated books adds an extra touch, making it something special.

In fact, we did it here at Maine Country Home also when we were doing projects for our Quick and Easy e-book.  If you have a book that does not need painting, you can just paint the Efex, and glue it on with Rapid Fuse.

Book with rosettes

xoxo Lydia

Auckland Antiques

Auckland Antiques

Auckland Antiques

We are in the middle of our family and friends New Zealand holiday and I haven’t mentioned my favorite antique store.

Yes, most of my friends lust after stores in Paris and London, and while I  also do that the top of my list is right here in Auckland.

John Stevens Antiques is filled with great  great antiques both French and Scandinavian as well as some of the best reproduction chairs I have ever seen. I keep wanting to bring them to the USA and hubs keeps asking who the manufacture is.

This sofa was hubs favorite which was a big of a surprise to me. Yes, it really was the sofa not the boat behind it.

But he also like the new more modern ones l

My favorites are still these.

These tall chests with swags certainly would be easy for us to paint up…. and they are so cute.

Or, I just love this small one with our bead trim.

Mirrors are a passion of mine,  though they are a little hard to ship to the USA. I suppose they have already been around the world once so why not twice 🙂

Sigh… when in doubt I may just have to leave them all here and keep dreaming.

xoxox Lydia