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?

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.

Or dressed down for a more casual, comfortable feel.

It can have hints of farmhouse style.

And definitely hints of cottage.

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

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

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.

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.

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,