Me, too, Sammy!

Glad to see you here, I always like your advice on threads, and am always excited to see others who appreciate various styles.

ETA: Have you been on this thread:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5758296/vintage-thrifted-jungalow-style-needs-upgrading-one-room-at-a-time#n=178

The poster’s rooms are gorgeous. They just shared this link to an IG account — I’ll be poring (swooning) over the photos later!

https://www.instagram.com/neothissen/

Ohhhh, so very lovely! Both rooms are indeed beautiful, each in its own way, while seeming to open arms and just welcome a person inside. Old world, and maybe a little reminiscent of old money... but those few people I've met who live in similar looking places that old money bought and paid for never seem to fret over a bit (and sometimes a lot) of imperfection and timeworn appearance. There's an air of history and family and memories that lives in these rooms. I too could stare at them all day!

I've not yet made it to France. Someday... someday.

Ida (so glad you saw this!), I haven’t, either. I lived in Germany and Austria, have been to England and Switzerland, but never made it to France or Italy. I really want to! And Spain. :)

Looking through all of these pictures makes me wonder if the trend will ever turn back towards this kind of beauty and warmth. Especially in such volatile times.

That first kitchen picture makes me swoon! It’d be considered so ott in today’s times, but man, I love it.

This is the only one I don’t love. I appreciate the different take, that it’s meant to be edgy, but that light ... don’t like it. It reminds me of an operating room. Or restaurant kitchen. Or autopsy lab.

Thank you for the eye candy (and count me in as one of the four others).

Hi, decordummy! Glad you stopped in. :)

This is indeed eye candy! I love those raspberry beams on the ceiling. Now I have to check out the links.

On second thought, are those beams painted? I thought they were but maybe they are wood???

They're both very pretty, though I think in both cases the ceilings are a bit too much for me. And that's as close as I'm going to get to France right now, so thank you, Jinx!

ilikefriday, good question! I’m not sure.

Becky, yw!

All my fav posters are chiming in, love it! :)

I love a very layered interior, a personalized space. Could be French, more likely it will be English (just how I roll) Lately, I've noticed a resurgence of color,pattern,layers but perhaps it is just who I choose to follow on IG? Only recently discovered Garrow Kedigian, he's Canadian!

All in the details · More Info

Oh, that’s beautiful, thank you, hollybar! Will look for Garrow on IG. :)

I also like a lot of the warm, lived in, "accreted" style. Rooms that look like each item has a story - rather than having been ordered online because the colors in the print match the couch. I think it's an excellent remedy for the decorating "white out" effect of the last 5-10 years.

Full disclaimer - I'm also the board's Wallpaper Apostate. Usually the only person encouraging it's use rather than yet another room done in Revere Pewter.

What gorgeous graceful rooms! IdaClaire mentions "old money". Money is the word indeed, I think. Architecture is key here as well. These rooms have serious bones. (Not an aesthetic I'd have an easy time recreating in my mid-century tract house with my HomeSense budget. :P) I wouldn't have thought to describe the two rooms you posted as "French Country" though. The term is now tainted by that contrived "Americanized" aesthetic you're referencing, Jinx.

I love how Elle Decor showcases a range of styles in their magazine. Most of the interiors they feature are so unique, they're timeless. I look at these rooms and simply think "harmony", not "current" or "Year X".

Holly and tartanmeup, I’m so glad you both saw this!

Holly, keep up the good fight with wallpaper. I love to see posters do something other than gray paint, too. I was on a thread recently— the poster had a very pretty paper picked out for one small section of wall over built-ins in her entryway, and I knew there’d be, ‘No, don’t do that, it’s too busy’ ... and a suggestions to borify it. But I am heartened to see lately that more people are embracing wallpapers.

tartan, your quote is spot-on: “I look at these rooms and simply think "harmony", not "current" or "Year X". Exactly!

(Borify is my made up word for threads I see daily in which the OP has a good, individual, unique idea for something, and is convinced to remove all traces of personality from the room(s) instead.)

Oh, what beautiful rooms! I love the architecture, scale, colors, everything.

Have you ever seen pictures of Mas des Poiriers in Provence? It is one of my favorite houses ever. The first place I am going if I win the lottery, rental includes a chef ;-)

https://www.theglampad.com/2017/08/le-mas-des-poiriers-farmhouse-provence.html

I love borify!

Zalco! I just saw you posting on a thread and wanted to say, “Psst, Zalco, come join us over in the French thread”. 😄

Thank you for that link! Ohhhh, wow. That house is STUNNING! Off to drool some more ....

That room that Jinx doesn't like above (with the overhead metal light fixture) actually gives me the heebie jeebies! It's trying awfully hard to be something, but I'm not sure what the something is. The white furniture looks like it's made of barnacles. Ew. No.

The drum set! Love it! I hope those drums are played by a 63 year old grandma. 😁 This room exudes life!

Barnacles! It really does. 😂

Ida, check out the house Zalco posted. I’m dizzy with envy. I want to live there (hopefully if Zalco wins the lottery, we can visit. For years. In other words, never leave).

I want to gather round this table:

And stroll the grounds:

Then have a long soak in here (I LOVE this tile. LOVE) ...

Then retire to my quarters:

Just saw your last post ... I didn’t even notice the drum set before! That’s awesome. :)

Love this!

The stove is probably worth more than my house. I love the color of the stove with the cabinets.
Courtesy of Zalco.

Isn’t it fabulous?! My dream cooker.

I love his thread, Jinx. Thank you for starting it.

The home Zalco shared is indeed stunning! This thread has made me think that maybe I need some gingham in my life. It's also sent me down the rabbit hole and I am obsessing over so many gorgeous photos! I like how authentic French country styling seems to harmonize with different areas, and there's something about it that reminds me a great deal of the Texas hill country tradition... although I know that was largely German derived.

And in a rather unrelated spin, the rabbit hole took me to this photo, which is actually looking out across the Salisbury Plain in England, but speaks to my heart of any place where country and history intertwine.

I love a very layered interior, a personalized space. Could be French, more likely it will be English (just how I roll)

hollybar, this is one reason why I love the English interior and textile designer Susan Deliss, because she combines the two so well -- her English sensibilities in her house in France,

https://www.instagram.com/susandeliss

https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/country-house-in-rural-france

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/interiors/home/vive-la-france-fabric-designer-susan-deliss-finding-perfect/

(I believe for The Telegraph you need to register, but it's free)

By the way, the Mas de Poiriers interior designer is American Susan Long,

https://www.sblonginteriors.com/portfolio/le-mas-des-poiriers/

One of my favorite "windows" into French country is the show Escape to the Chateau and especially Escape to the Chateau DIY, which features various crazy people, usually English, buying chateaus and fixing them up, often on a shoestring. Though to me that budget approach makes the results much more authentic than the "drop all the big bucks" Mas de Poiriers approach which -- I'm sorry, I'm sorry -- leaves me rather cold.

Such a beautiful picture, Ida! The soft colors and shadows are fantastic.

Our two Not Our Cats were looking colorful last evening. They’ve claimed the one chaise.

(Both currently asleep on our bed.) 😸

Everyone: Ida does this on purpose. Posts a cat and starts the road to cat pictures. Watch her a while, you’ll see.

😂

Sorry, didn’t see your post before, Becky ... thank you for the links! Going to check them out now. And that show sounds wonderful!

I’m so happy all my fav posters are checking in. :)

@beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally Thanks for the links. And yeah, we share the Deliss love. I just now finished watching an IG hour of Miguel Flores-Vianna yapping with Lulu Lytle (Soane Britain) in her incredible home. (profiled here,too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtW6fgrUIMI) Part of a series Cabana Magazine https://www.instagram.com/cabanamagazine/?hl=en has been doing. Insights into inspiration,future plans, and much aesthetic musing. Next one on April 28th (1 pm EST) will feature Robert Kime! Jinx, you would l-o-v-e it.

I think now that we've gotten some time and distance from the uber-trendy "fake corbels supporting granite counters with an ogee edge on cream cabinets with an espresso glaze, slap a rooster on it and call it French Country" trend, the appeal of REAL old world rooms is starting to reassert itself. Personally, I like a little authenticity in my layers:

And a good place to look for a lot of that is Eastern European rooms (Wanna bet the table scarf was handknit?)

I love a good layered room:

And then there are the folks who try and... well:

Mmm, love those first two, Holly! But I always lean towards rustic elegance. As Ida said earlier, our Hill Country area in Texas is similar to those — stone, wood, organic elements. Lots of European settlers who built these amazing farm homes in the 1800s. If they weren’t so expensive now, I’d be in one! :)

“ ... fake corbels supporting granite counters with an ogee edge on cream cabinets with an espresso glaze, slap a rooster on it and call it French Country"

😂

:-D

What can I say? I don't have a lot of use for the stylized, homogenized elements that become de rigueur for specific "styles." For instance, hanging a tobacco basket, some fake cotton plants, and a barnwood sign that says "Farmhouse" on the wall somehow makes something "farmhouse" style. I liken it to the saying about being a Lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

I think the best rooms are deeply personal, filled with items that have meaning or stories to them. Not selected because they match the rug, or because brass tchotchkes on shelves between books that are turned with their spines facing away are trending on Pinterest. If you can sweep away the contents of a room and replace them without a second thought, why were they there to start with?

I do occasionally get arguments on this point. On one occasion, I claimed that a particular pseudo-celebrity's new kitchen was cold and devoid of personality. This was challenged by someone who insisted that maybe "clean and devoid of clutter" was their personality. I've also seen it argued that redecorating to whatever is currently trendy IS some people's "style." I don't really buy either argument. I think that the folks who MAKE these arguments haven't sat still long enough to determine what their own style might be. Or lack the confidence to give voice to it, for fear what they like might be outre'.

Go forth and be delightfully outre', I say:

Love these worm and cozy rooms! So much more welcoming than the white and gray, straight lines and boxy sofas! Beautiful!

Here's an example of an older post that resrufaced and is still of value.

That's some lovely eye candy shared, and there is some truth to it being quite the counterpoint to what seems to be the trend lately.

So glad to see this thread again! I have a busy weekend, but will be back. :)

In the meantime, I saw this lovely kitchen this week:

It might seem like a throwback to many, but I love it…. it’s graceful, warm, cozy. I think I’m craving curves and embellishments after so many straight lines for the past few years.

The light fixture is the only thing I’d change.