Ideas: Decorating a Shabby Chic Bedroom - French Country Style

My favorite decorating style is what I call "French country shabby chic". I love the rich organic colors from the French influence and the old worn look of what we now call "shabby chic". One place that invites this type of relaxed yet elegant feel is the bedroom in our homes - the place where we are hopefully relaxing, unwinding and de-stressing at the end of a busy day. The wonderful thing about French country shabby chic is that this is one decorating style that can absolutely catapult you into a different atmosphere - almost like you are visiting a bed and breakfast or a night out at a fancy hotel. Some of my fondest vacations have been in bedrooms that featured this beautiful yet elegant style.

One of the most important things in any bedroom are the linens and the bedspread (or duvet if you like to call it that) With French country shabby chic you can choose to use pure white for your bed cover then add some punches of color in other areas of the room. Or, to achieve the same comfort and color you can do the opposite - choose a rich colorful bedspread then decorate the rest of the room using some accents in white and colors from the spread throughout the rest of the bedroom. If you prefer that rich color feel you can even mix and match patterns (just be careful you don't overuse too many patterns - and you will achieve a really beautiful vibrant room)

When choosing sheets don't forget to check your thread pattern - good sheets are worth the extra cost. They may be more expensive but the feel of them against your skin is so worth it!!

I'm a big fan of pillows on my bed, just not too many though! Too many for me on the bed means they just get thrown around! If you like really lounging on your bed though I recommend at least 2-4 nice pillows with some color to add a little punch to your bed. Some bed sets come with 2 pillows but I usually like to add a couple comfortable throw pillows in addition to my sleeping pillows.

With French country you can do a mish mash of textures, or be really chic with some tone on tone pillows in white or beige (light stripes work well too) As you can see from the photo to the side the homeowner added different colors - red, black and white with a little pattern and texture for interest. Choose comfy pillows and pillows that you can sink your head into. Stiff pillows are...well...just useless to me! Pretty, elegant but comfortable is what I want when my head hits that bed!

Wood floors, although stylish, can be a little cold on the feet. If you want to add a little warmth to your feet and cozy up the room you can add a full length room rug or a little throw rug in to add some color and texture. Area and throw rugs are always a good investment because you can move them around, take them with you if you move or even change them up in other rooms in your house (assuming they will match)

Drapes and curtains are another very important part of your bedroom decor, and depending on how much light you want to let in, you may want light "fluffy" very sheer and chic tab curtains or the heavier drapes with lining to block out light. Either way, there is a vast selection of drapes that will accent your French country shabby chic bedroom decor. I personally like a lot of light so I go for the light airy curtains myself. Although, drapes that darken CAN be nice when you want to sleep in! Some bed sets come with matching drapes that are available, but you can pretty much have a safe bet using white or beige in your color scheme for the windows.

To achieve that truly shabby chic and comfortable feeling in your bedroom; choose some nice lamps for your room. If you 2 have 2 nightstands, matching lamps will work. A nice ceiling lamp with adjustable lighting will add nice ambiance to the room also, with the light playing off the different colors and tones. Brass works well but my favorites are whitewash with a touch of the "used" look (and BTW when decorating French country shabby chic your nightstands do not have to match, non-matching accessories are part of the charm of this decorating style) Your lamps also do not have to match but I prefer that mine do. Some symmetry and balance in the room is good.

I think one of the fun things about decorating with shabby chic French country style is the ability to mix and match different colors and textures of furniture. Some great pieces can be found at garage sales, thrift stores and on Amazon. I have a few collected pieces from all of the above -- and some of my favorites have been flea market finds. I like to mix wood tones and white pieces, the more distressed the better. If you find a piece of furniture that you like but it doesn't fit your color theme exactly - you can always buy it and paint it yourself. Use sandpaper to rub some of the edges of paint off after drying to give it that "shabby" look (my favorite look!!) Old trunks to hold blankets and pillows are good additions to your room (they make good seats too!) Wicker can be added in, along with some touches of even gold or sliver furniture to achieve that beautiful comfy mish-mash of styles.

Last but not least to complete your bedroom would be to add some touches of art, vases and decor to your French country shabby chic bedroom. Some nice vintage artwork, scenes of flowers and landscapes in black or white or color. Flowers in vase groupings add lots of charm along with any other sentimental belongings you have scattered throughout the room, alone or in like groupings. Some of my favorite pieces are silver urns and candle holders that were given to me. Other favorites I found at garage sales. A few pieces are from my childhood, which fit in well with the old fashioned charming look.

I hope you have enjoyed my hub on French country shabby chic decorating in your bedroom. This style is one of a relaxed worn and cozy look. Gentle yet pleasing to the eyes. Rich but not overpowering, comfortable yet not stuffy. If you like this kind of environment in your bedroom consider mixing and matching pieces in your bedroom to make a cozy retreat that you will love coming home too! My french country rooms continue to develop and that's part of the fun of this type of decorating - you can change and add pieces without having to change the theme of your whole room.

(Dorsi Diaz is a freelance writer/publisher who writes on a variety of topics including home decorating,kids, health and topics of the day. Please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by and reading and join her reader/fan club/rss feed so you can be notified of new new articles that she writes)