Linen- Decorating Ideas For Your French Provincial Home
Suzanne Kasler -Photo Credit Trouvais
Linen is still the most desired fabric for decorators and interior designers alike. Linen is elegant, durable, and simply luxurious. Linen is the strongest of the vegetable fibers and has 2 to 3 times the strength of cotton.
Linen is from raw flax, a bast fiber taken from the stalk of the plant. Linen is one of the oldest textile fibers known to man.
Over 4000 years ago, it was woven in Egypt and used to wrap royal mummies.Not only is the linen fiber strong, it is smooth, making the finished fabric lint free. It also does wrinkle easily but also presses easily.
Linen, like cotton, can also be boiled without damaging the fiber. From creamy white to light tan, linen can be easily dyed and the color does not fade when washed.
Linen also happens to be highly absorbent and a good conductor of heat, but also has the qualities of keeping cool making it an ideal fabric for summer garments.
-Linen is also prone to mildew in extreme conditions. Don’t make the same mistake that I did and hang drapes in a solarium’s that collects water on the windows, because overtime your drapes will collect mold. Linen on the other hand does well in light conditions compared to all other fabrics due to its inherent resistance to UV damage. – Linen easily creases and wrinkles, and tends to hold the wrinkles, so if you don’t mind that, it could be lovely for slipcovers. Linen has very little stretch, so be prepared to make your slipcovers a little extra large, as linen will shrink a little. Never put linen in a hot dryer. High heat causes the linen fibers to shrink and break. Consider letting your linen slipcovers dry on a table or on Air dry or tumble.
-Linen should be ironed with a good quality steam iron while it is damp, if you choose to iron at all. The more often linen is worn and washed, the softer it will become. However, if you are looking for a crisp appearance, ironing is a must. Use a steam iron and sprinkle on additional water if necessary to get a smooth finish. Press linen on the wrong side to prevent shiny spots. Use spray-on starch to get a crisp appearance. -Of all the areas where you could use linen, the fabric looks best with drapery, because it doesn’t need to be washed as often, which also limits the lengthy pressing sessions.
Consider linen for your drapes. The material looks elegant, rich, yet very natural in appearance, making it a must have for Provence interiors.
French Provincial Furniture – French Provence Decorating Ideas -Aurélien and Pascale Deleuze’s French Home
French Provincial Furniture – French Provence Decorating Ideas -Aurélien and Pascale Deleuze’s French Home
Modo Textured 100-Percent Slub Cotton 3-Piece Duvet Sham Set only $54 dollars. Wrinkle Resistant 300-Thread Count Reversible Cotton Duvet Set Stripe– Twin, Full, Queen, and King $45. Safavieh Becca Grey Linen Dining Chair $249
French Provincial Furniture – French Country Caned Linen Chaise
French Country Bastille Caned Linen Oak Chaise Long Chair $1599.
Sussex Beige Linen Club Chair only $454!
This Louis XVI Armchair Only $319!
French Provence Furniture -Maison French Country Natural Linen Rectangle Tufted Ottoman
Maison French Country Natural Linen Rectangle Tufted Ottoman $1150
Ethan French Country Dark Limed Gray Oak Linen Dining Chair $499
French Country Weathered Gray Hemp Linen Dining Chair $499
French Provence Furniture – White Linen French Country Cloris Bench
White Linen French Country Cloris Bench $1850.
Linen Pillow Cover with Jute Embroidery $33. Cotton Linen Pillow Cover with Jute & Mother Of Pearl Embroidery Sea Horses Ballard Essential Panel Natural Linen 108 Inch-$99 Springcrest™ Trim Linen Drum Shade $14.99 Maytex Twill Wing Chair Cover $71.24 Williamsburg William and Mary Matelasse Pillow, Linen $51.67 Oval Hardback Natural Linen Shade $30.00 Tumbleweed Faux Linen Sheer $29.00 Progress Lighting Off White Shade 1-Inch $16.00
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Decorating With Trunks For A French Home
Exclusive Decor sells a set of three beautiful trunks for $179. These trunks look quite a bit more antique than the others. These trunks are made from wood and metal making them more durable. The set of three measure 23″, 19″, 16″W
Don’t discount a vintage trunk the next time you run across one in an antique or second hand store. Decorating with trunks presents limitless opportunities around your home.
There has been countless times where I have run across great looking rustic slatted wood trunks with old fashioned leather straps and have regretted not buying them.
Trunks can improve the look in any part of your home. Stack them in your closets, use them in the living room, or in the kids rooms for their toys. Consider even using them out in the garage to store excess tools, improving the look in the garage.
Some trunks are more valuable than others. While some trunks can be found locally for under 20 dollars, others sell for hundreds of dollars.
If you are looking for a special trunk, consider scouting on ebay for something vintage with detail.
Often times these trunks aren’t overly expensive. Ebay has a number of spectacular trunks which are very affordable, making it possible to collect a few to stack up tall on a small feature wall.
The brass hardware, and leather straps adds detail to the trunk and is something to look for in a trunk.
Stacking Trunks- Some Ideas For Decorating With Trunks
Many times you can get trunks cheap enough that you can paint the details the color that coordinates with your interior.
Consider a stack of trunks in two tone colors. For Example – consider painting 3 trunks in a blue color range, say peacock, navy, and cobalt blue, and an orange trunk on top to break up the colors. Work with the color wheel to determine the colors.
Consider faux painting your trunks. Buy an overhead projector and copy a pattern on to overhead projector paper and paint on a geometrical pattern that appeals to you.
Make your walk in closet extra grand by setting one aside a wall for a stack of old trunks. They make excellent storage while at the same time looking fabulous.
Exclusive Decor sells a very steam lined set of trunks with burlap and leather details. If you are wanting a set of trunks that have classic shape and form without any fussy details, these trunks are for you. Get a set of 8 and stack them to the ceiling. Exclusive sells them for $179
Great Deal Furniture also sells this wonderful set of three decorative trunks. They are also made of a canvas material with decorative printed motifs giving it a very rustic feel. They sell this set of three only for $74.00
Great Deal Furniture sells a set of four trunks for $115. Their rustic map trunks provide a simple yet stylish solution to storage needs around the house. Accessorize any room with our trunks unique design while providing storage space for any loose items around the house. Each of the four trunk also has easy to open latches and convenient handles for caring.
What makes their trunks so attractive is the red leather material, which adds so much detail to the overall look. The material looks to be a heavy burlap. This trunk is very attractive!
Bombay Jewel sells a set of three decorative storage trunks for $114. These wooden trunks work well as an attractive item in any room of your place. They are not only an ideal storage options but are also perfect to enhance your overall home decor.
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