The History of French Design
Intricately carved bed frames, ornate armoires and gorgeous floral linens are just some of the more obvious features associated with a French bedroom. French themed interior design is more than just a fleeting trend, it is truly a timeless classic and continues to add class and elegance for decades and beyond.
Coming to prominence in the 18th century, French design earned its place in high end properties with elaborately mounted furnishings, often incorporating bronze and porcelain materials to create an undeniable high-class finish. Elaborate tapestries and linens softened boudoirs to combine luxury with comfort before extravagant beds were incorporated to create enviable style amongst those in high society.
Now, French style lives on in the bedroom, and throughout the home. Whilst trends in colour palettes may change and modern technology may be incorporated, the principles of French interior design live on, bringing unrivalled elegance to 21st century homes. Eye catching armoires, finished to perfection with intricate detailing, combined with centrepiece French beds is guaranteed to add a true sense of luxury to any home.
Combining History with the 21st Century Home
Luxury Beds
How does one create a French Bedroom? Of course, the obvious starting point is to invest in a Luxury French bed, however, once you have this, we appreciate that tying the vision together can often feel like an incredible task. French beds come in a variety of shapes and sizes, which means there is a style to suit every taste and home. But what is a French Bed?
The Renaissance period in France saw a succession of rulers that put their own unique spin on French furniture, which characterises traditional French style furniture. Whilst Louis XV characterised the ‘rococo’ period with ornate carvings of shell motifs and acanthus leaves, Bonaparte re-characterised this with geometric detailing and solid forms. Unlike both of these rulers, Louis XIV’s aesthetic vision for furniture was opulence - think gold, velvet and silk. All three styles beautiful in their own right, and the variety means it’s easy to find the perfect forever French bed for your boudoir.
The first element to keep in consideration when choosing a French bed is whether you would prefer a slatted or divan base, as this choice will make a difference to the overall feel of the bedroom. At French Bedroom, we offer both of these options and are able to help you choose the perfect style for your needs. Divan bases provide a supportive base for your mattress, however, they do not allow the same amount of air flow to your mattress as a slatted base. Nonetheless, should you flip your mattress regularly, this shouldn’t pose an issue.
Once you have made the decision on divan or slatted, it’s time to think about your headboard. Carved, rattan, upholstered? The world is your oyster, and your choice determines the aesthetic your boudoir will follow.
The final element of focus is dressing your bed in French inspired bedding. With a choice of lightweight linen, playful ruffles, ditsy florals, bold prints, elegant silk and so much more, our luxury bedding collections will make dressing your luxury bed a breeze. Complement this with a French style bedspread and et voila! A French Bed fit for a King (or Queen!).
If you are looking for more information on buying one of our French beds, don’t hesitate to read our Luxury Bed Buying Guide, or browsing our luxury beds collection.
Classic French Furniture
Although a French Bed is the pièce de résistance to a French style Bedroom, the furnishings also play a crucial role in creating the most authentically French boudoir. French style chests of drawers, dressing tables, chairs, and armoires are all pivotal parts of creating a French bedroom to boast about. Although we offer an abundance of carefully curated collections to pull together pieces seamlessly, luxurious French bedrooms can also be created mixing and matching pieces to create a uniquely styled home.
French Style Wardrobes
Your bedroom should be a safe haven for relaxation and serenity, however understandably, you still need storage. Combining practicality with elegance are French Style Armoires - the perfect piece for tucking away your bed linen, whilst still creating an authentically French bedroom. Not just a piece of storage furniture, a French armoire is an accent piece that truly pulls a room together.
Carefully select the colour and style of your armoire to match your luxury French bed, and pair this with the other furniture within your room to seamlessly bring the room together. To further create a vision of unity within the bedroom, consider placing decorative items such as flowers, decorative candles or books on the shelves of the armoire that match your soft furnishings, so the room continues to look tied together even when the doors are open.
We have two fantastic guides on How To Style Your Armoire’s Interiors, and our Ultimate Armoire Buying Guide.
French Style Chest of Drawers
Alongside a French armoire, French style chests of drawers are an additional piece of French furniture that can transform a bedroom from basic to boudoir. French chests of drawers are the perfect piece, combining both storage with a surface area perfect for styling. With a selection of styles, you can opt for elegance, shabby chic, rustic or simplistic to create an illusion of unity with your French bed. Pop an ornately framed mirror or a framed piece of art above the chest to add height or complement the piece with a uniquely styled lamp or distressed urn to add visual intrigue. However, you choose to style your French chest of drawers, by selecting a piece that complements your French bed, you are easily tying your bedroom together to create the perfect French bedroom.
Complement your storage pieces with a co-ordinating French style dressing table and chair to truly pull the room together. Dressing tables are the perfect piece to open a bedroom as the mirror will bounce light, creating the illusion of more space, whilst being a gorgeous place to get yourself ready for the day ahead.
We understand why creating the bedroom of your dreams may initially feel daunting, the cost of getting it wrong us an unbearable thought! Our customers rate us 4.8*’s on Trustpilot, we’ve helped thousands of homemakers design their dream bedroom and we’ve sold hundreds of thousands of products since 2006. Which is why we’re always happy to offer styling advice (free of charge). Let’s get it right together. Contact us.
