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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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July 26, 2016

Why French Country is My Favorite

When I got engaged to my husband in 1997 and began to plan for our home together, I knew exactly what I wanted for our bedding. I had seen a comforter in a movie (Father of the Bride??) and just like the moment when I realized my husband was ‘the one’, I had no doubts that this comforter and I were meant to be. It was a sage green Ralph Lauren set (I found it at a discount outlet) with muted burgundy floral details. I loved it so much that I registered for all of the coordinating burgundy and sage green things I could find. Don’t forget, this was the late 90’s.

Bless my heart, right?

vintage scale

 

Even though I was quite certain at the age of 22 that the sage green and burgundy comforter perfectly captured my style, it’s still taken me MANY years to really feel confident in my home decor choices. In fact, it’s only within the last few years that I feel that I can actually state what I believe to be the style that most represents me.

And today, I’m going to tell you why I have a love affair with all things French Country.

You see, I kind of think of French Country as the little black dress of home decor styles.

It can be dressed up to appeal to a more formal, elegant sensibility.

mirrored glass cabinet

Traditional bedroom with a French country flair

Or dressed down for a more casual, comfortable feel.

Family room windows with woven shades atthepicketfence.com

 

metal lantern in a wire basket as easy summer decor

It can have hints of farmhouse style.

hydrangeas in milk bottles

Vintage inspired summer tabletop decor atthepicketfence.com

And definitely hints of cottage.

shutter doors as backdrop for french country decor

Breakfast nook with farmer's market sign atthepicketfence.com

In French Country designs, vintage and heirloom pieces are easily incorporated, expected even.

basket tray vignette

 

china cabinet with cream ware www.atthepicketfence.com

And I think that French Country style gives a nod to the traditional without being stuffy.

French Country mantel decor with rooster print

French Country style allows me to bring in some European elements and indulge the fact that I alternate between being a wannabe Francophile and a wannabe Anglophile. A little bit of French and a little bit of British.

entry table with french country decor

Almost 20 years ago, when my eye was drawn to that sage green Ralph Lauren comforter, I wasn’t really thinking about whether or not it was MY style. I just knew I liked it. And the funny thing is, I think that it would quite possibly still work in my house today.

You see, that’s the thing about defining and refining our tastes. It’s about tapping into what we are naturally drawn into and understanding what it is about those things that we love so much.

But for years I got distracted by what I saw everyone else doing and allowed their home decor choices to cause me to second guess myself.

What to love about French Country style from atthepicketfence.com

But now, I’m finding that just as I’m feeling more comfortable in my own skin at the ripe old age of 40 ;-), I’m also feeling more settled in my decorating skin.

I only wish I had held onto that sage green comforter!

Thanks so much for meeting me at the Fence today,

Vanessa signature

20 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas Tagged With: decorating

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Comments

  1. Gee says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:03 AM

    Aaaah French ountry. So comfortable and easy to live with. Luv your touches!

    Reply
  2. Linda Hogeland says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:20 AM

    Your style is as lovely as you! I always enjoy your posts and your pretty pictures. Your home is beautiful, but also , so welcoming and warm and comfortable!
    Have a great day!
    Linda

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 26, 2016 at 9:09 AM

      Awww…thank you so much for your kind words Linda! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Betty Whatley says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:32 AM

    Loved the items and comments on Country French. It is also one of my favorites. It not only looks beautiful, clean and so homey with all the different things you use with it. There are just so many different colors and old things as well as beach things you can use with it. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 26, 2016 at 9:10 AM

      Thank you so much Betty!

      Reply
  4. Michelle Mortensen says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:41 AM

    French country is so versatile. It is the style I have used for my home. Incredibly, I never made a conscience decision to decorate in a French Country style. I simply began purchasing items I loved and over time I realized those items all came together to form my style. I love how French Country brings elements of the outdoors inside.
    Thanks for your post.
    Best & Bisous,
    Michelle from Simply Santa Barbara

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 26, 2016 at 9:11 AM

      Yes!! Michelle that is such a good point about French Country bringing the outdoors in!

      Reply
  5. Michele says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:51 AM

    Well written – and I agree with you completely about being confidence in our decor choices and mixed styles.

    I have always been; it’s just I have had my own place in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and now 2016 – and I have gone from going up in a tradition and running screaming away from it and did my time with ultra sleek contemporary for 25 years – then did the touch of Tuscany for quite a while and loved it – and now – golly I wish Mom were still here to see it – I have come back to what I grew up in; transitional on the side of traditional with touches of contemporary, farmhouse and antique. Who knew. My mom HATED my contemporary, but she would absolutely love my home now. She has been gone over 20 years so she didn’t get to see the Tuscany decor but would have liked it too.

    Anyway, not sure why I told you all about me, sorry, haha, just liked this post. It reminds me it is OK to change as we age – it’s just stuff, right? I do wish you’d have held on to your sage comforter set though – kinda wish I would have held on to my sage comforter set too. I had a set that was absolutely gorgeous I gave to my niece. Wonder what she did with it? : – )

    Reply
  6. Eilis says

    July 26, 2016 at 2:24 PM

    You are so right. I fell into French Country by accident when I chose our dining room table and chairs many years ago. It is so comfortable and versatile. I tend to mix in some Italian with mine 🙂 Your photos are just beautiful!

    Reply
  7. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    July 26, 2016 at 6:01 PM

    We all went through that sage green and burgundy in the 80″s and 90’s…I loved navy mixed in with those colors…but tastes and styles change…I would say that I love French Country for all the reasons you do….you can dress it up or dress it down…add a touch of farmhouse, like the wonderful farmhouses in France..or dress it up like an elegant Paris apartment….French Country is so versatile…lots of color, or lots of neutrals…My very first “European” type pieces of furniture was when my hubby gifted me with a new Ethan Allen dining room set…it was called Old World Treasures….then I was hooked…I love your home Vanessa….you style is so perfectly to call it your own!

    Reply
  8. Vicki says

    July 26, 2016 at 6:15 PM

    I totally agree and LOVE your French Country style!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 27, 2016 at 7:11 AM

      Thank you Vicki! 🙂

      Reply
  9. pamela Lepage says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:44 PM

    Love your post. Your house looks great!! I started out traditional and little country and then went victorian and now Im back to farmhouse , french countryfarmhouse and boho with a little rustic. Except Im at point where if I really do not love a item we don’t buy it. 🙂

    Take care.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 27, 2016 at 7:10 AM

      I think that’s the key Pamela! If you don’t love it don’t buy it. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Becky says

    July 27, 2016 at 4:16 AM

    I could have written this post myself. I still have the French provincial bedroom suite my husband and I started housekeeping with 54 years ago! At the ripe age of 19 I knew what I liked and still do to this day!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      July 27, 2016 at 6:55 AM

      When you know, you know right Becky? I’m sure that bedroom set is just beautiful! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply
  11. Char says

    July 30, 2016 at 9:37 AM

    Lovely home. My first two homes were French Country mixed with pieces brought from England. Then I lost my way in my current house. I’m hoping to move soon and return to my style roots.

    Reply
  12. Summer says

    August 3, 2016 at 2:22 PM

    I lean towards french country style too! Love your decor ♥

    summerdaisy.net

    Reply
  13. Melissa Weldon says

    September 11, 2018 at 12:39 PM

    Where did you purchase your sofa? Is it a slipcover? I love it!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 11, 2018 at 1:00 PM

      Hi Melissa! The sofa and slipcover are both from Ikea. We love it too! 🙂

      Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

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