French Country Lighting
Illuminates Beauty
French country lighting is one of many contributing elements that make the perfect French country home.
Light plays off of home furnishings, fabric and textures in a room differently. Even the finish on your furniture generates their own glow. Whether the piece has a smooth finish or rough, each piece reflects light in its own way, and the balance between the cast of shadows and the light created is essential to your room’s ambiance.
Too much light can be jarring and cast shadows, softly lit spaces are more appealing and flattering. You won’t see any track lighting in the homes of the French. French country lighting is a diffused light and is a key element to this style of decorating.
Therefore, lighting plays a pivotal role in the success for the French country home and decor. If you have the right lighting, it can truly pull the whole room together and definitely make all the difference.
French country lighting highlights this charming way of decorating of being relaxed yet refined, offering comfort with its reference to the past.
The quiet elegance and richness of French country decorating have a lot to do with the furnishings that have been handed down from one generation to the next, and blending various styles from different periods, making for a seemingly effortless way of chic decorating with respect for history and quality giving rooms a sense of warmth.
This style works in any type of home from a modest apartment to a large country home and the lighting is much of the same. From a taste of shabby to the more opulent.
Create this by studying the influence that the natural light has in a room before finally deciding the placement. Then go about layering candles, sconces, picture lights and carefully placed floor and table lamps all with low wattage bulbs.
Arrange lamps (which may be of marble or crystal) in a triangle in a room and take into consideration how the fabrics, lampshades, and floor coverings will have as an impact on the way the light is captured. Lamps will often have embellishments on the shades.
Chandeliers will be shimmering with faceted and prism cut rock crystals, multiplying the many ways it catches the light. Chandeliers of this nature have reflective properties, so hang them in a way that images are reflected whenever possible giving a sense of depth to a room.
Or, look to wall sconces in the natural metals like an aged iron that are often distressed in a black or an antique bronze or gilded finish to give a welcoming “old world” feel to a home.
Put your lighting on dimmers so that the light can be adjusted from bright to a peaceful and flattering glow.
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