French country home design is elegance meeting rustic, natural materials inspired by the French countryside living. It’s a design style that’s timeless yet continues to evolve with modern beauty and comfort.

I’ve never found an approach that I love and resonate with more than the French country style, and it’s what I have throughout my home – it’s even a key element in my brand, Farmhouse by Amitha.

I will show you four ways (plus a bonus tip) of how I styled my dining room using modern French country design.

In this article you will learn:

1. What the French country style is and how I styled it in my dining room
2. Which French country style of buffet to use in your dining room
3. How to find the perfect French Country style dining chairs
4. The type of mirror that adds a French Country flair
5. How to decorate with French Country art
6. A bonus tip to elevate your French Country style

After you watch today’s episode and read through this post, you’ll have many actionable tips to recreate this look in your home!

What Is French Country Style?

The French country style’s popularity dates back to the 1700s, under King Louis XIV. This period was known for its flashy, high style and design – Think Versailles, rococo, sunbursts, mirrors, and gold. Two to three generations later in the 18th century, we see over-the-top French decor meeting more relaxed and distressed designs inspired by the French countryside, specifically Provence.

Toile fabrics, which are linen or canvas fabrics with the repeated surface design of countryside motifs, became popular. Furniture started to become more relaxed and sized to human scale, and table and chair legs became curvier to replicate shapes in nature.

Overall, the style became more relatable and popular throughout history—and with good reason!

Now that you get the gist of why I brought this centuries-old design style into my home and brand, let’s jump into the four ways I added French country style into my dining room.

1. French Country Buffet

The first thing I looked for when adding the French country style into my dining room was a buffet table with distressed wood.

I knew I wanted something light in color, but most importantly, I was looking for a buffet with curves—and ooooh, baby, this piece has curves!

This piece has rounded details throughout the cabinet doors and has cabriole legs. I love that it has florals and c- and s-scrolling details carved into the doors and drawers. It’s a classic French style. The natural, romantic flow of these curves tie back to nature, and that’s what French country is best known for.

2. French Country Dining Chairs

The second way I brought the French country-style into my dining room is with this particular type of chair.

What I loved about these dining chairs is the rounded back, contrasted by my large, heavy farmhouse dining table. This contrast adds a relaxed, romantic flair that French country-style is famous for. I love how this also introduces more softness into the space. Your eyes tend to follow the curves throughout the room rather than stopping at straight lines.

Other key details I love about these dining chairs:

• The carves flowers
• The cane back
• The classic curved, cabriole legs

I chalk-painted the wood on these chairs in French Gray to exaggerate the warm and welcoming feeling I wanted to bring in. I plopped some loose blue silk toile cushions on them that bumped up the French country flair for more comfort.

French Country Mirror

The details in this mirror are quintessentially French country. It has very specific design motifs, such as a basket of drooping roses, and it’s painted in a delicate cream and gray palette. This mirror reminds me of that gorgeous countryside feeling that I saw in France.

I love that the expansive scale of this mirror makes a statement in this room, adding that touch of glam which is something I do in my design projects to prevent my rooms from becoming too rustic.

4. French Country Art

When we think of French country, nature immediately springs to mind. I decided to display pressed flowers on a gallery wall in my dining room.

This is such an easy and inexpensive decor idea to turn a large, plain wall into a gallery for artwork.

You can easily replicate this project by pressing flowers from a drying bouquet or leaves in large, heavy books. I kept this gallery very natural and rustic with the frame colors and made sure that the foliage and flowers were still tied back into the color scheme of my dining room.

If you look closely, you can get a clue about my bonus tip—can you guess without scrolling?

Bonus Tip: French Country Decorating Ideas

I promise you this is a good one.

If you guessed gold, you’re absolutely right!

Gold detailing is such a classic glam look, which functions perfectly in the French country aesthetic.

To prevent your spaces from becoming too rustic, you can introduce glam into your space with decorative objects like gold picture frames, candlesticks, or chandeliers—remember to include that little pop of gold in the space, and you’ll have captured the essence of this style.

How French Country Interiors Tie Into The Rest Of My Home

I hope this little tour of my dining room helped you see how simple and easy it is to add a little bit of French country style into your home.

If you enjoyed this sneak peek into my home and how I incorporated the French country-style into my space, definitely let me know in the comments. And if you’re interested in seeing a step-by-step design of each room, I can create more content like that just for you.

If you happened upon this blog but you’re not subscribed to our email list, make sure you sign up to receive your free design newsletter. There’s lots more where this came from, and there are some big projects in the works that you don’t want to miss!

Keep using your amazing gifts to create heart in your home,

Amitha

P.S. Love all of the decor in this week’s blog? Many of these pieces can be found at Village Antiques in Houston, TX. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00 pm, stop on by! Or feel free to give us a call at 713-468-3931 if you have any questions.

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