French Country Bedroom Furniture

Give your Bedroom a French Touch

French country bedroom furniture as in the bed, armoire and commode make up the three main classic elements found in the French bedroom.

The French Country Bed

The bed is the largest piece of furniture and the most important. However, be careful in the way you treat it so that it does not take over and overwhelm the scale and balance of the room.

Photo: Home Mag Archive

It is unlikely to see a heavily padded and fully upholstered headboard in a French country bedroom. Bedsteads are fashioned out of wood or wrought iron with the head and foot having either simple or ornate embellishments and carvings. In the past wooden beds were often carved in the same style as the armoire and finished off in polished wood or painted a pale colour or limed. Headboards can also consist of wooden frames with cane inserts.

It is also not uncommon to see a simple four-poster bed as part of French country bedroom furniture.

Sometimes headboards are freestanding or fixed to the wall. There are minimum rules as to what one can use for a headboard of this nature and variations are endless. Anything of interest can be adapted as a headboard, but take note that usually it is something that is traditionally crafted and cherished, mounted in a place of honor. See some ideas below.

Some beds have modest coronas with simple hangings. Others have posts and again hangings will not be elaborate, but rather light in design and weight, giving a soft and airy impression and most likely made from muslin or unlined linen. The canopy is often left unadorned or it might have a piece of fabric stretched across the frame, keeping it simple.

The French Country Armoire

No French country bedroom would be truly complete without the icon of French country bedroom furniture...the trusted Armoire.

This versatile 'cupboard' traces it roots back to Charlemagne, when noblemen first used armoires to hold their precious suits of armour and weapons. With time it re-invented itself to become a versatile cupboard with ample storage space, adapting to its contents in various styles and forms.

The French Country armoire is rather large and can be quite ornately embellished or pared down and simple, usually with double doors. However, the bonnetières was designed with a single door and its original function was to hold a lady's hats - the symbol of her status in society.

Armoires can be polished, limed or painted wood with the most popular designs being from the Rococo period. In the bedroom it is likely to have mirrored doors.

The Commode

French Country commodes are found in various styles and shapes. The most well known being the bombé commode from the Rococo period, recognized by its curvaceous lines and sweeping front curve.

Creating the Look

If you are not able to possess authentic French Country bedroom furniture as in an armoire, french bed or bombe commode, try the following to give your bedroom a French Country touch.

Use an ordinary wardrobe with panels in the doors. Remove the panels and paint the wardrobe a soft antique white and distress lightly. Replace panels with softly gathered fabric like muslin.

In place of a bombe commode, paint and lightly distress a commode or chest of drawers with curvy legs and fix some interesting porcelein or glass cut knobs.

Try and find a rather large oblong picture in an ornate or gilded frame from a flea market or garage sale. Paint the frame if necessary and replace the picture with a mirror. Turn it so it can stand upwards and lean against a wall in the bedroom.

For a headboard see some of the ideas below.