The refined style of Provence transports you to French villages, covered with wildly flowering trees. Delicate shades of lavender, white and blue create the unique color for which the Provence style garden is famous. Romance with a warm blanket on cozy summer evenings, and with clear days when the house and garden are covered with blooming greenery and warmed by the warm sun.
Features of a Provencal garden
Provence garden has a number of distinctive features that make it so cozy and attractive for landscape design. These include:
- availability of places to relax (gazebos, benches and other antique garden furniture);
- Vintage and aged items are used in decor;
- places have been allocated for the cultivation of herbs that are used as spices;
- many flowering trees, shrubs, etc. in delicate shades;
- fruit trees (for example, apple, cherry, etc.);
- aged decorative items and accessories;
- harmonious combination of home and garden design in the style of the French province;
- use only natural materials in design;
- the use of Provencal flowers in the selection of flowering plants, decoration, etc.;
Color spectrum
Provence is the southern part of France, full of warmth and light. Based on this, when decorating the interior of the living room, you need to use the same colors that you can see while walking along sunny fields and the coast - muted tones and colors, as if bleached by the sun. All wood tones and stone tiles are used as complementary shades. The main thing when decorating a room in Provence style is the use of warm and pastel shades, which can be done by adding white paint to the rich pigment.
Pure white color is not used here; it can be replaced with shades, for example, milky or beige. Color accents can be used, but they should not be bright, but rather as smooth transitions (terracotta, olive, turquoise or blue). The main colors when decorating the living room are terracotta and ocher, green, blue and the color of aged wood.
Garden in shades of Provence
One of the distinctive features of garden design in this style is the color scheme, which tends towards lavender, pink, lilac and white shades. Moreover, the abundance of flowering plants will be harmonious for this style. Interspersed with blue, terracotta and beige shades will dilute the color scheme.
These colors apply not only to plants, but also to garden furniture, decorative items and textiles in the form of capes, pillows and bedspreads. All shades should have a slight touch of age and create the feeling of sun-bleached materials.
Style Features
Provence is a native French style that appeared in design not so long ago. The name of the style comes from the province of the same name with a unique microclimate, glorified by dozens of famous artists and writers. Local landscapes are full of colors all year round, creating an atmosphere of love, warmth and comfort. It is these motives that designers are trying to transfer into the design of the premises of a country house.
This style is universal, making it suitable for all types of rooms, regardless of their shape and size. Provence in the living room creates a unique spirit of a European village, charming with uneven walls, worn furniture and warm decor. As practice shows, this style is most often used to decorate the bedroom and living room.
Modern Provence carries the spirit of a serene country life, thanks to which anyone entering the living room can close their eyes, moving to a farmhouse on the seashore. The main distinctive feature of Provence is the shades of antiquity that can be seen in every detail of the interior. For finishing and furnishing, natural materials or their artificial analogues are used. The hallmark of this style is sunflowers, olive trees and lavender.
Distinctive style features that need to be taken into account when decorating a living room in a country house:
- Wooden furniture.
- Simple furnishings.
- Neutral and warm colors.
- Use of natural building and finishing materials.
- A fireplace is not required, but is encouraged.
As for finishing materials, metal, wood, stone and brick can highlight the beauty of the style. However, the cost of such repairs can stun many, because natural materials are not only beautiful and environmentally friendly, but also very expensive. You can save money by creating a rural atmosphere by using artificial imitation of natural materials, repeating their color, shape and texture.
The living room is also characterized by large windows hidden by light canvases or colored curtains. Paintings placed in antique frames and wallpaper with floral patterns will help complement the interior. If floral motifs do not suit you, you can replace them with lined or checkered wallpaper.
Garden paths and the front side of a country house
A country house in the style of provincial France has a touch of history and a feeling of tranquility. Finishing building materials, in accordance with the embodied style, should be natural and create the impression of aristocratic simplicity, rooted in the past. Garden paths should be made of natural stone, wood or natural stone tiles.
For a harmonious perception, the facade of the house should look natural, in the spirit of the general direction. Modern artificial materials, such as plastic and chipboard, cannot be used for finishing paths and facades.
Provencal style is very demanding on the appearance of the house. Finishing with natural “antique” materials will harmoniously combine with the plants weaving around the walls and framing the windows. There is no clear separation of the house from the garden, and the more plants there are on the site, the better. The house is in the embrace of the garden, when plants entwine the house itself, the fence and arches. Flowers - not only in flower beds, but in the house, on the terrace, under the windows and on the windowsills.
Landscape design in Provence style
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Endless lavender fields and vineyards, silence and tranquility mixed with sea air - this is Provence.
Everyone has their own, but invariably simple surroundings, fresh air, herbs are integral components of this picture. The landscape design of a country house in the Provence style can be created independently on your own small or large plot of land.
What is Provence
The name of the region in southern France comes from the simple word "province", which was given to it during the Roman era. Until the 13th century, Provence was part of the Roman Empire, and later became a province of the French Kingdom. From the south, Provence is caressed by the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, from the north the Alps block the winds. A special climate has been created here, and the cozy atmosphere of provincial towns and villages is conducive to a leisurely rest.
Far from bustling Marseille and medieval Avignon lie lavender fields, which provide 80% of the world's total volume of this fragrant raw material. The mild climate allows grapes to be grown in large quantities in this area and excellent wines to be made from them.
Provence is the smell of lavender, roses, good wine and the sea. Everything is surrounded by centuries-old village walls and fruit trees.
Do-it-yourself landscape design in the Provence style is easy to implement on your site. In this style, the main attribute is simplicity and naturalness.
The creation formula assumes the presence of:
- fruit trees or one tree;
- spicy herbs;
- plants in all possible shades of pink and blue;
- walls painted in soothing pastel colors or simply white;
- fragrant roses;
- garden furniture with traces of antiquity;
- stonework around the flower bed;
- paths paved with natural stone or sprinkled with gravel.
Fruit trees are planted under the protection of a wall and form a crown shape similar to a fan. In real Provence, these could be peaches, but it is important not to blindly copy, but to create a landscape based on the real climate. If it is possible to protect trees in frosts or plant zoned varieties of peaches, then pourquoi pas?
The main attribute of the “Provencal” corner is the presence of lavender. This plant is not capricious and can easily grow in conditions much harsher than the French province, if it is possible to shelter for the winter. A planting site is chosen that is protected from the winds, which is facilitated by a wall. Lavender is sowed for seedlings around the end of February.
Each gardener has his own vision of this corner. Perhaps some will only find scuffed wooden furniture, old chairs or armchairs from the family storage room appropriate. Light openwork metal furniture with a touch of antiquity will look good, the main thing is that it is comfortable and does not look like a stranger in the world of simplicity. To do this, you can use pillows that add comfort to the interior. In addition to furniture, clay jugs from grandmother’s inheritance, carelessly placed among flowers and herbs, would be appropriate in a corner of the garden.
Herbs look great in jugs and pots. Such a garden can be set up right on the summer veranda within walking distance from the kitchen.
Connecting link
Landscape design of a summer cottage in a Mediterranean style suggests decorating paths and paths with natural stone or wood. A combination of wooden furniture and paths made from wood cuts will be harmonious. These pancakes are used to pave the path. They are laid on a sand-gravel mixture, which, in turn, is poured onto insulating material. Such a pillow is necessary to protect against weeds and tree shoots that destroy logs that fit tightly together.
For garden furniture made of stone or metal, it would be logical to use natural stone or fine gravel as a covering for the path.
Maintenance of any type of path is required almost year-round. The wood becomes moldy and must be scraped once a year and treated with special compounds. Stone slabs can also collapse depending on the structure of the stone and atmospheric conditions. When moisture gets into the cracks, it subsequently freezes and breaks the stone and spoils the appearance of the coating.
Peach wall
The name of another attribute of landscape design in the Provence style implies not a color, but a plant. Peaches are planted along the wall of the house, painted in light colors. In order for the harvest to be abundant and large, the trees are pruned and shaped into palmettes. In this form they take up less space, each peach receives more sun and light. As a result, there is practically no shade under the trees and there is room for flowers or a vegetable garden, or better yet, all together. After all, a zucchini with beautiful leaves can decorate any flower bed. Beauty and benefit are nearby.
In areas with a harsher climate, apple and pear trees can be selected as participants. A decorative apple tree will delight you with beautiful unusual flowers in the spring, and small but edible fruits will ripen on it in the summer. Professionals recommend having at least one such beauty on your site, because its fragrant flowers attract pollinators for the entire garden.
A thrifty owner sees potential jam in apple and pear trees. If you boil syrup from aromatic Antonovka and keep small apples from a decorative apple tree in it, then such a product is unlikely to survive until winter. Here at the table in a cozy Provençal corner, tea with mint that grows in a flowerbed, with a bite of jam from your own apples, will put a caring gardener and his family in a lyrical mood.
Shaping the tree for a peach wall is quite simple. In May, the young seedling is pruned above the third bud from the ground. The central branch begins to develop from the upper bud. It is given a vertical position, the rest are formed as it grows.
Grandma's old chest gets new life
Each item in the Provence style garden has traces of age and wear, but not dilapidation. The wooden bench in the cozy relaxation corner does not sparkle with brand new planed boards, but the ceramic pots with spices seem to have been passed down from generation to generation.
An old wooden cart wheel, left near a flowerbed, must definitely be useful to the owner, and waiting in the wings it is already overgrown with flowers and aromatic herbs.
When creating a landscape design for a country house in a Mediterranean style, the ability to dress old things in a new setting becomes an art. A clay mug discovered in grandma's old house makes a great napkin holder or basil pot. And that old round wooden table from the attic will fit very well into an outdoor dining area. You just need to wash it and sand it down to remove any loose paint. And the fact that it is old and shabby is even cool and fashionable.
House in the village
Provence style refers to the rural style of southeastern France. “Country” and “Provence” are the same thing, but each “country” has its own characteristics, which in the case of France resulted in a separate style.
In Provence, only natural materials and hand-made parts are used to design and decorate your home.
Buildings in the garden can be wooden or stone, but painted in light and warm colors:
- white;
- lactic;
- beige;
- peach.
It is good to have a wooden gazebo entwined with climbing fragrant roses in such a country garden. It will contain a wooden table and rough stools or a cozy wooden sofa with scattered pillows. The design of a site in the Provence style should show slight negligence, but not abandonment. The refrain in this style is the idea of comfort and warmth.
Color of sky and sea
The province of Provence is not only about black and white cows and pink-cheeked thrushes. This is also the luxurious Cote d'Azur, endless fields of plants, the color of which is unforgettable. This color is called lavender after the name of the plant itself. The main colors of Provence are the color of the sky, sea and lavender.
By adding greens and silver-gray paints to blue and cyan, you can get a painting in the style of Claude Monet. Pink touches will add cheerfulness to the landscape.
Blue color will be added:
- hyssop;
- catnip;
- sage. The silver-gray olives of Provence will be replaced by the common silver oleaster, growing along the banks of rivers and spreading the amazing aroma of its inconspicuous flowers in the spring. Wormwood in all its gray forms will highlight the deep blue of hyssop with its panicles.
Apart from lavender, no other flower has a lavender color. In the climate north of Provence, she feels quite confident under the protection of walls or stone. If there are doubts about its winter hardiness, you can use the potted form of this plant.
Lavender can be replaced by:
- blooming Sally;
- mountain mint "Burning Sunset".
- Landscape design in Provence style. Photo examples
- Blooming Sally
The color of these plants is not lavender, but the variation on the Provence theme allows deviations from the ideal.
Place Provence in your soul and make your dream come true!
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Herbs of Provence
When creating a garden, it is recommended not to skimp when planting plants - there should really be a lot of greenery. When choosing suitable specimens, French provincials gave preference to sun-loving varieties that should not be afraid of windy weather and are easy to care for. Spicy herbs are the highlight of the Provençal garden. Planted in separate flower beds, they will emphasize the atmosphere of a relaxed, rural south.
A good solution would be to land:
- lavender;
- basilica;
- sage;
- rosemary;
- thyme.
The most significant, embodying Provence in full measure, is lavender. As a symbol of style, it is used in the form of dried flowers in home decoration. Without the opportunity to grow lavender on the site, you can decorate the garden and rooms with dry branches.
Tip: A small vegetable garden can be located in the backyard.
French provincial garden furniture
When decorating a winter garden or doing outdoor landscape design, you cannot ignore furniture that will serve not just as a decorative item, but also create cozy places for relaxation and communication.
Old or artificially aged items can be used as pieces of furniture. It can be:
- sofas;
- table;
- chairs;
- armchairs.
The following materials would be appropriate:
- forging;
- tree;
- vine.
The upholstery of furniture for the winter garden, soft seats for chairs on open terraces and pillows should be made of natural textiles in Provencal shades.
Wooden furniture can be in natural wood shades or painted, for example, with white paint and aged. Forged sofas and armchairs with soft, cozy pillows are a good option for placing in the garden.
Important: Plastic cannot be used as garden furniture.
Furniture and decor for the living room in Provence style
In order to create a unique atmosphere of the French village, a special role is given to furniture, which plays a more decorative role. Here you can place old chairs with carved legs, night tables and chests of drawers, sideboards and wrought iron beds. You can find similar things in an antique shop, at your grandmother’s dacha, or you can make them yourself.
Furniture should have characteristic wear and light shades. As an addition, antique albums with photographs, mirrors and paintings in vintage frames are used. Wicker furniture, baskets and old treasure chests will also fit harmoniously into the design. If you plan to receive guests in the living room, then you need to place a round table covered with a checkered or embroidered tablecloth with a floral pattern. The chairs should be metal, you can decorate them with pillows with ties. A mandatory attribute of the living room is a fireplace, near which it is pleasant to sit in the evening with a cup of coffee, wrapped in a blanket.
Sources of artificial lighting will also play a decorative role. For Provence, it is best to use a central wrought-iron chandelier, as well as lampshades, sconces, floor and wall lamps with an antique effect. Chandeliers and lampshades can be covered with natural fabrics with floral patterns, which will soften the light, resulting in a cozy and relaxing atmosphere in the living room.
Winter Garden
When starting to design a winter garden, you should take care of sufficient lighting - natural and artificial. Large windows, and possibly a glass ceiling, should allow sufficient sunlight to pass through. Wooden frames and bindings can be white or in shades of natural wood. A chandelier or a lamp on a forged base can be used as a lighting device. It is advisable to make the floor in such a room stone or tiled.
Upholstered furniture can be represented by several sofas and armchairs on a wooden base with an abundance of pillows. Subtle colors of furniture upholstery will not distract attention from the plants of the winter garden themselves. Flowers and shrubs arranged in tubs and large boxes will create a natural, cozy atmosphere even in the cold season.
Decorating the living room of a country house in Provence style
Renovating a living room made in the Provence style will not require a lot of money, since initially the French used only plaster to decorate the room with the addition of pigment that fades in the sun. In order to create a vintage effect, you can use decorative plaster, the relief of which will hide surface imperfections. To achieve the effect of aging, brick or stonework may be visible through the plaster in some places.
The classic solution is to decorate the wall with boards installed vertically. The surface is coated with a pigment, for example, a light tinted varnish. You can also use wall panels matching the color of the plaster, which cover the lower part of the wall (up to 1 meter in height). Window and door frames are painted white or the same shade as the ceiling beams. Particular attention should be paid to windows; they should be large and open, made of wood or plastic and imitation of a wooden frame.
To finish the ceiling, use white paint, lining or boards coated with cream-colored paint. You can also leave exposed beams on the ceiling, which can be artificially “aged.” The flooring is terracotta tiles or porcelain tiles with a matte surface. You can also use wooden parquet or laminate that imitates wood for flooring.
garden plot
When designing a garden, you should start with a well-thought-out planting plan, the location of garden paths and the installation of gazebos and decorative arches. Fruit trees can be located around the perimeter of the site. It is recommended to monitor the formation of the tree crown, trying to ensure that their height is not excessive.
In the flower beds laid out on the site, in addition to herbs, blooming decorative flowers are planted. Among them may be geranium and petunia. Flower beds, often round in shape, are lined with uneven stones, bricks, and pebbles.
The decor of a European rural courtyard is achieved by observing all the nuances. There are garden paths with smooth curves, and stone, brick, wooden or forged arches entwined with flowering plants. And a huge number of flowers in the flower beds. Flower pots can be placed in the garden, outside the house, for example, against the wall of a building, on window sills, in flowerpots hanging on windows, along paths.
Decor in the garden
Practicality and beauty go well together in the Provence style. For example, wicker baskets that can be filled with dry herbs. Or they are used when harvesting apples. Wicker pots with flowers provide a decorative and convenient design for the façade of a building and a gazebo.
There should also be a lot of ceramics. Around the house, in the garden, on the terrace, plants in large and small ceramic pots can easily be placed.
A Provençal garden should be created with soul. Filled with the scents of flowers and delicate colors, it will become a cozy place for those who want to isolate themselves from the bustle of the city, enjoying the peace and romance of country life.
Go to the catalog “Forged Furniture”
Video description
For example, in this video, the architects proposed a gazebo in the “Provence à la Roux” style:
This might be interesting!
In the article at the following link, read about the landscape style in landscape design: how to recreate the beauty of nature.
Point 8 – design of the facade of the house
Correctly designing the exterior of a residential building is the most difficult task. It must comply with the landscape design concept. For many owners, this is the most painful moment. If you do nothing, all the work on gardening will be meaningless. The house will turn into an alien object, which will be very different from the general landscape. This will definitely spoil the overall impression of the site. Therefore, you need to try to remove such dissonance.
House in Provence style Source pinterest.fr
The house should not give the impression of a modern home. Its finishing should not contain artificial finishing materials (plastic, for example, or artificial stone). It would be good if the structure was built of brick or wood.
If there is no desire to stylize the façade of the building to match the chosen concept, you just need to cover it with green climbing plants. Place pots with herbs in front of the entrance doors, build an open terrace in front of the house and decorate it with hanging flower pots.