The French Provincial style, with its lavish, ornate details and simple colour palettes pair beautifully with the charm and elegance of a tessellated floor. In this article, we'll look at how the warmth and inviting nature of a French Provincial style bathroom can be amplified through the use of tessellated tiles.
What is French Provincial?
Evocative of country France, the French Provincial style is as distinctive as it is beautiful; it engenders a sense of country living, and is a fine representation of the harmony that can be found by combining decorative, luxury stylistic accents with natural simplicity. Colours are earthy and calm, and typically stand on the shoulders of strong white/cream foundational colour palette. Fine details are found peppered throughout a French Provincial space, from highly ornate emboriodered elements to richly textured linens.
Ornate and Classic
French Provincial exudes a sense of luxury and sophistication (which is an interesting juxtaposition to it's humble, agricultural origins). It hardly surprising therefore that the French Provincial aesthetic complements the charm of a tessellated tile floor, the latter possessing an inherent elegance that pairs beautifully with decorative elements of the country style.
Natural Aesthetic
Materials in French Provincial spaces are raw, and analogous to those one would find in a rural farmstead. Wood, porcelain, ceramic and linens are preferred over plastic, glossy materials. Fully vitrified porcelain tessellated tiles, that feature a natural, matte finish are your ideal choice over tessellated tiles that have a glossy, shiny finish.
Above, we see the beautiful floral accents of an old-style armoire sitting atop a monochromatic tessellated tile floor. Notice how well the ornamentation in the armoire's leg complements the motif in the encaustic feature piece on the floor.
Soft Colour Palette
French Provincial is warm; whites and creams form a strong, muted foundational colour palette, and act as the bedrock for other landscape colors such a blues and greens. A beautifully executed French Provincial room coaxes the inhabitant into an atmosphere that is bright, airy, light, inviting and homey.
Textiles and other accents
Reflective of an era in which many French women took to embroidering and needlework, furniture is highly ornamented and features traditional patterns and motifs. Scenes that reflected farm life were common themes, as were country landscapes and floral elements.
Elements such as body and hand towels can be finely textured or plain.
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