One of my favorite French Country designers is Tara Shaw. Let’s take a tour of her house as it was featured in Veranda magazine several years ago! Photos via Veranda.
Here is the entrance to her New Orleans home.
get the look:
Love her style? Yeah, ME TOO! She has an antique shop here – but all the antiques are quite spendy (but totally gorgeous!).
Or you can shop French Country Favorites Below
I may earn a small commission if you purchase with these links
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
A fantastic French Empire chandelier brightens any room! I’ve rounded up some of the best of this chandelier style in all price ranges.
Below is my dining room with a French empire chandelier. This is the most formal room in the house. French empire chandeliers can be dressed up or down! It doesn’t matter, the style is classic!
Not all of these are the French frou frou – there are rustic and modern variations of the classic design as well.
When I was searching for my chandelier I was frustrated that no one had a round up post that I could find, so I created one! Oh, by the way, there are more than 15 chandeliers listed.. I just kept finding them and adding them to the post!
Affiliate links are used – meaning using them for purchases won’t cost you extra but may earn me a small commission. This helps keep the site up and running.
Paris Chandelier, comes in two sizes small here and large here
Same one as above but in a wood bead version.
Auvergne French Country Chandelier
Downton Abbey Chandelier _ I used this one in a bedroom!
rustic beaded 6 light chandelier
rustic beaded 8 light chandelier
Black Modern French Empire Chandelier
Etruscan Empire Chandelier also available here
Antique French Empire Chandelier
Also, because they are so pretty, I’m including pictures of the ones below. They are by Julie Neill. They are for the trade only. Aren’t they beauties?
If you love French Country Style, then check out my other French Country Posts here!
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
Looking for ways to add French farmhouse decor to your home? I’ve got an easy decorating idea for you today using faux olive trees.
This is a sponsored post. All pictures, words and opinions are my own.
I have been looking for a pair of faux olive trees for some time now to go with my French country style. I have partnered with Silk Plants Direct to show you these beautiful faux trees! My brown thumb kills all of my plants inside so these faux trees are just perfect for me! Silk Plants Direct has tons of other silk flowers, trees, and other plants.
I received this pair of faux olive trees for review. The white pots go well with ironstone. A key to farmhouse decorating is using ironstone. You don’t have to use traditional ironstone to get the look – Any white pitcher will do! Fresh hydrangeas sit in the pitcher. The pops of white and green are so soothing to the eye!
These faux olive trees even have faux olives on them! Aren’t they cute? The leaves look like the real thing! I was so thrilled when I saw how real these look! Look at how the branches even have different colors in them to mimic the real deal.
These are the perfect height for displaying in the center of your island or in the centerpiece of a table. I love how low maintenance faux plants are! Occasionally you have to dust them, but that’s it!
This vignette I created could be even lower maintenance if you used faux hydrangeas from their silk flower collection. This farmhouse vignette is so simple and one you can duplicate for your own home: faux topiaries/trees, white pitcher, fresh (or faux) hydrangeas. Done and done!
Now I have an offer for my readers to use at Silk Plants Direct. Use the code “BLOGGER10” and receive 10% off on all products except for custom! Perfect opportunity to pick up some faux plants or flowers for Spring and Summer decorating!
Thank you to Silk Plants Direct for partnering for this post! Like French Country Farmhouse Style? Check out my other posts here.
Thank you for stopping by today!
While I was writing my hen on nest post, I realized I had not shared the details of my mudroom!
The mudroom is right when you come in from the garage and it is also near the front door. We do not have a coat closet – so this cabinet door on the right serves as the coat closet. We noticed when we were touring many new homes, that they lack coat closets!
Now, originally when we had designed this room the bank of cabinets was going to go in between the door and the window where this bench is. However, once the walls were framed, it made a lot more sense to tuck the cabinets in the little nook. I haven’t quite decorated this area yet… just stuck a bench here and a little painting but will change it when I find just the right thing!
You can see the edge of the bench in the bottom picture – what we had originally thought to be the location of the cabinets. I wrote about it in my mudroom design post here. It’s kind of fun reading those old posts – I was really hesitant about the brick!
The brick we chose with Arto Brick – it is a smooth finish in creme fraiche color way. I will say, it hasn’t snagged my socks as I was worried before, but isn’t comfortable on bare feet! The reason it is uncomfortable is because the tile guys didn’t fill the grout lines as high as we would have liked. So when you walk sometimes a higher corner sticks up and pokes your foot. This can be remedied if you fill the grout lines higher – and we have done that in other parts of the house… just haven’t done it in this room yet! Would I choose this tile again? Yes I would. Do not let that deter you from using another product if you were thinking about this one!
Underneath the bench are drawers – usually holding shoes, but it seems I’ve kicked off my shoes elsewhere!
This paint color of the cabinets is called French grey. It has a green hue and not so much a grey! I love how it goes against the brick.
Sources: (affiliate links)
Cabinet paint: Farrow & Ball French Grey
Room trim paint: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
Wall and ceiling paint: Benjamin Moore White Dove
Hardware: Restoration Hardware Bistro knob in oil rubbed bronze, Restoration Hardware Gilmore Pull in oil rubbed bronze, oil rubbed bronze coat hooks from Amazon
Brick Floor: Smooth Brick by Arto Brick in Creme Fraiche
French Market Basket (exact one here)
Lutyens Bench – similar at Target (great price!)
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
It’s finally here! I am sharing my farmhouse kitchen reveal with you all today! I wrote about designing our dream kitchen here and now I’m so excited to walk you through the details of my kitchen.
Our kitchen has several areas – the “main” kitchen and the “baking” kitchen. Below is the main kitchen. The island below is countertop height and we love sitting here for dinner. Many islands require taller bar stools – I like having them at countertop height. The microwave is in the island. The microwave drawer slides out (as opposed to the door swinging open). It took some getting used to but I love it now. Plus, it kind of hides the microwave (face it – microwaves aren’t pretty!)
Below is our freezer and refrigerator. We had custom wood panels made to mimic the rest of the kitchen. We had the two door panels made to look as if it were 4 drawers and 2 doors.
The 14 foot ceilings are accentuated by these beautiful beams. The beams were custom stained by my mom! She did an incredible job. We kept telling various contractors what we wanted with the stain and no one could understand – so finally just did it ourselves.
We decided to put brick in between the range and the sink – the area we have called “the splash zone”. I wish we had put brick through the whole kitchen in retrospect – it is more forgiving with spilled food! 
I was looking for a pretty French blue/gray color for the islands and eventually settled on Benjamin Moore Silver Song. I love how it looks with the Carrara marble.
The island has a ton of storage – below you can see that there are doors below the island on the seating side. I have seen so many kitchens where they just put panels here and I think about all of that wasted storage space!
We absolutely love our double ovens and the French cooktop on our range. I also love our pot filler! I had not initially wanted a pot filler, however the night before the plumbing was finished in this wall I had a dream about using a pot filler. Now I am so glad we have it! 
One of the cool things about our kitchen is that we have hidden spice racks next to the range! Next to the ovens we also have pull outs where we store baking sheets and our pizza peel.
We *love* our apron sinks. I love how they hold our pots and pans. I also love how pretty they look with flowers! These are the Reinhard apron sinks. We liked them better than the Shaw apron sinks because the drain is in the middle and the profile is a little slimmer. Did I mention they are also a bit cheaper than the Shaw sinks?
I always knew I wanted a bridge faucet. I loved the profile of this one. I love how easy it is to clean under the faucet. We went with polished nickel finishes in the kitchen as we felt it was the most timeless.
In this photo, you can see the main kitchen and baking kitchen – we dubbed it “his and hers”. My husband is the Chef de Cuisine (head chef) and I am the Pâtissier (pastry chef).
At the end of each island we have a little bookcase for our cookbooks.
We can’t share sinks you see – so another sink is in the baking kitchen! Just kidding about not sharing – it’s nice having two sinks.
The marble counters are perfect for rolling out dough. I had known about all of the bad things about marble counters, but couldn’t care less! I am in love with them! I had mentioned in my designing a kitchen post that we chose Carrara marble. The Calacatta marble is a bit warmer in color, but as you can see we needed a lot of marble and that was way too costly. So we went with an extra white Carrara marble – same look, a fraction of the cost!
We have a little table on this side of the kitchen – the breakfast nook is what most would call it. But in reality it is the puzzle table! We had debated about doing open shelving next to the windows, but decided against it. I don’t like dusting, plus now I have more room to hang things such as this French Faience platter.
The white cabinets are Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. We had to choose a white that would not make the Carrara marble look too grey. Any whites with a cream undertone made the marble look bad. The trim in the room is the same as the white cabinets – if your cabinets are a white/cream color, the trim in the room needs to be the same color!
The chandeliers are from Restoration Hardware. I had debated about pendants vs chandeliers. There are so many beautiful lights to choose from, but ultimately I decided I liked the rustic and European vibe of these.
Again, brick is in the splash zone. That appliance is another oven. A steam oven for this baker! I still need to make my baguettes but there has been no time! Ample storage for baking – I receive many baking pans for gifts and now I finally have some places to store them! Yes, you counted correctly – 3 ovens. Why so many? Well it’s really nice when we host parties and cook for 30-40 people!
The cabinet hardware on the upper cabinets is different here – I went with an icebox latch. Since this is its own little corner in the kitchen, I decided I could do some different hardware here. What rules? 
We went with large pulls for the drawers. We felt it was easiest to open a drawer if we had a big handle. Also, you can see where we hid a plug on the side. We had to have one by the sink for building code and stuck it here as opposed to in the counter.
I just love this area of the kitchen. The kitchen sink is bumped out with little furniture feet. The sink looks out on the country with cows grazing – hence the little Staffordshire cows by the sink. Charles Faudree would be happy! Let me tell you also – it was not an easy task building the house so the window sits flush with the countertop! Another story for another day. 
I hope you enjoyed the tour of our farmhouse kitchen. We love our kitchen and have been really happy with it. It is very big but we love hosting parties and it is certainly meant for entertaining! And guess what?! There’s more. I didn’t even show you the pantry. Update – Now you can check out the pantry, butler’s pantry and coffee bar here.
Here are all of my sources.
Sources (affiliate links)-
Hardware and Faucets:
Kitchen Bridge Faucets: Rohl Perrin and Rowe
Pot Filler: Rohl
Hardware pulls: Jeffrey Alexander
Hardware knobs: Jeffrey Alexander
Icebox latch hardware: Top Knobs
Finishes:
Kitchen cabinet paint and room trim paint: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
Kitchen island cabinet paint: Benjamin Moore Silver Song
Kitchen wall and ceiling paint: Benjamin Moore White Dove
Sink: Reinhard Apron Farmhouse Sink
Countertops: Honed Carrara Marble
Backsplash: Marble Subway Tiles and Wavy Marble Mosaic
Brick Floor: Smooth Brick by Arto Brick in Creme Fraiche
Styling Accessories:
French counter bar stools: Cost Plus
French dining chairs – exact similar here and here
Chandelier – Restoration Hardware, discontinued (similar here)
Wall sconces – Restoration Hardware, discontinued (similar here)
Blue pot on stove – Staub, rooster knob
Towels – Williams Sonoma
Black and White Check Candlesticks – Mackenzie Childs
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
Today I am sharing this little French farmhouse powder room as I slowly make my way around the house sharing various rooms with you all!
It was not easy taking pictures of this room – poor lighting in a small space. I figure you all won’t mind.
Ok, so here we are stepping into the room. I love the cement tiles that are so popular right now and decided to go with one up here. It took me a long time until I found just the perfect one. This tile is a French encaustic cement tile.
I am aware they are trendy – that is why I stuck to a small space. But like all things, this trend is nothing new, just recycled! The trendy tiles actually started in the 1850s!
I loved the light colors on this particular tile. I knew it would be perfect for the room! Now with cement tiles, you have to seal them twice. Once before you grout and once after! You want to make sure your tile guys know what they are doing!
Bonus – the tile matched the trim and wall colors I had already picked out for the room! No repainting needed in here!
Now this little vanity we picked up at the Restoration Hardware outlet for a steal. It is from the now retired Montpellier bath collection – perfect for French farmhouse style. I love the Montpellier collection because it was inspired by a pair of 17th century Louis XIV doors. There are hand-wrought antiqued iron hinges and raised panel doors.
I love the little diamonds here too on the hardware- so French! On a side note, too bad RH is removing all of their French pieces! I am not digging their modern stuff at all.
I adore the little sconces in here too – also from the RH outlet. Now, I know this mirror is a bit too small for here – but it is only temporary until I can find a mirror that I love.
I hope you all enjoyed this little French farmhouse powder room! If you missed my French chinoiserie powder room then check it out here!
Here are my Sources:
Trim and Door Color – Benjamin Moore 1557 Silver Song
Walls – Benjamin Moore 1548 Classic Grey
Cabinet – Montpellier Collection from Restoration Hardware
Sconces – Restoration Hardware Lugarno Sconce
Faucet – Restoration Hardware
Marble – honed Carrara marble
Mirror – Antique
Floor – French Encaustic Cement Tile
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
I’m excited today because I am finally sharing the first room in my house with you all! Today I am sharing my favorite room – the French country Chinoiserie powder room. I am sharing this room first for two reasons – one, it is my favorite, and two, it is clean on photoshoot day! I’m still putting Christmas decor away!
If you have been following the blog for a while, you know that we built our dream French country home. We moved in last November. I have shared some Christmas home tours but I have not yet shared specific rooms in the house. I’m still hanging pictures and busy decorating other parts of the house – they are not ready for the unveil!
I knew for this powder room I wanted to have it wallpapered. I also didn’t want it to become too formal. I felt that with the brick floors and the chippy antique piece, it would provide the right amount of “country” to this elegant powder room.
It took me some time to settle on a wallpaper pattern. I love Chinoiserie papers but didn’t know if I would be bold enough to go that way. I considered toiles and other floral patterns as well. I eventually found the perfect paper and settled on the green color way. I have written several posts about Chinoiserie wallpaper: chic chinoiserie wallpapers and chinoiserie wallpaper for less. These were kind of my research posts! So I went with my gut and chose this paper! I was nervous how the husband would like it – turns out he loves it too!
The wallpaper I chose is Kanchou Wave by Brunschwig and Fils. I adore the white birds on it! The green goes well with the brick floors too!
I love the vintage French wall sconces. They were painted a powder French blue but I decided to strip them down to the brass as I felt that the brass went with the wallpaper better. I found them at a local antique store over a year ago and had been saving them before we even had our house built!
Then a year later at that same antique store, we found this little French mirror! I love the ribbon details on the mirror and the sconces. I wanted a small mirror because I didn’t want to hide the pretty paper!
I had my heart set on a wall mounted faucet. I always thought they seemed so chic. When designing a house, you need to know your fixtures (at least the wall mounted ones!) before you end up with the finished product. We purchased these before the framing of the house, so that way we knew exactly where to place the pipe. I am still amazed we got this spot on, centered where I wanted them, considering we were just measuring off of a pile of dirt a year ago! (Yes, it was a year ago, almost to the day…)
As it turns out, installing wall mounted faucets is much more difficult than what meets the eye, which makes me appreciate them even more.
This is the only room where I went with the “trendy” brass fixtures. They don’t seem so trendy when paired with the antique pieces!
The backsplash was designed by my mom and me. The marble guys said, “we’ll do whatever you want”. Uh, great? Now I’ve gotta come up with a pattern. So we doodled for hours on scratch paper templates and came up with this.
The cabinet is 1800s French antique. We did cut the wooden top off of it and had marble countertops placed on top. I knew I wanted to use an antique cabinet for the vanity in this room. It took quite sometime finding the perfect piece – at the right height! Turns out many antique French cabinets are much too tall for vanity height. I love the carving on the bottom of the piece and the carving on the doors. We did not do anything to the finish on the wood – this is “as is”.
Oh yes, the toilet is to the right under an arch, but who wants to see a toilet? Not me – and that’s also why this room is designed this way! You can peek in and see a chic little room with the toilet hidden to the right.
I hope you enjoyed my French country chinoiserie powder room as much as I do!
Sources –
Wallpaper – Brunschwig & Fils “Kanchou wave”
Flooring – Arto Brick
Brass towel holder and faucet – Restoration Hardware
Sconces and mirror – antique
French vanity – antique
Marble – honed Carrara marble
Door and baseboard paint – Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
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We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
For this week’s weekly design inspiration, I am inspired by Charles Faudree’s Christmas cabin. I really love his style and wish he were still around.
Photos Jennifer Jordan, Captions Kristine Kennedy, by Traditional Home.
Designer Charles Faudree replaced a stone fireplace with a Louis XVI mantelpiece and matching side cupboards. The focus of the mantel’s winter scene is an 18th-century, hand-carved wooden horse and carriage. 
Only a rafters-high Christmas tree could compete with the “big room’s” 18th-century Belgian Verdure tapestry. Nicholas, a cavalier King Charles spaniel, and the cabin’s top dog, remains unimpressed. 
The 19th-century French country chaise longue in a casual ticking stripe offers fine views of Spring Creek. 
A 19th-century Swedish secretary from the Gustavian period displays a French tureen and fits easily into the cabin’s country spirit. 
Charles created his own old-world kitchen with walls of open shelving for his many collections, including Staffordshire chickens and a mixture of blue-and-white porcelain made in China, England, and Spain. The 19th-century Napoleon III tole tray features a charming winter scene. 
Wallpaper that mimics barn siding is a rustic backdrop for framed tiles and pewter pieces. Staffordshire chicken lamps, on a 19th-century pine buffet, flank a still life from the 1800s. Louis XVI chairs are covered in a small-scale country print.
Above the mantel, a garland of greens, fresh eucalyptus, berries, and miniature apples and pears surrounds a child’s portrait from the Louis XV period.
Nicholas enjoys a snooze on the grand circa-1800 Edwardian bed. Charles added the iron tester so canopy panels could hide the original log cabin’s front door, behind the headboard. Swedish checks and stripes from the rest of the house are carried into the room, but the blues are darker in deference to the log walls. 
The master bedroom is an appropriate setting for a vintage portrait of a British soldier. To the right of the original stone fireplace is a toile-covered wing chair from Charles’s custom furniture line. The horn chair at left is an English antique. 
The guest bathroom’s zinc tub is 18th-century French. Tulsa artist Janet Davie painted the vanity—an antique chest—in the Swedish style. The painted motifs she created echo the curves within the blue squirrel-print wallpaper.
Read the entire article here. Really a lovely article with even more pictures!
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
The French country Christmas tour continues today. If you missed part 1, you can start here. The rest of the house has more traditional colored decor.
Below, my front doors are decorated for the season.
In the entryway, my little French market basket is full of poinsettias.
I put a fresh cedar garland a top of my Christmas mantel. It smelled so delightful! I had not yet found my stockings from the move when I took this picture!
I tucked these little berries into the garland. I love the pops of red they add!
I love these little natural nutcrackers – these are years old but sometimes I see similar ones show up at Homegoods.
In the family room sits the big tree. This tree is a 10′ flocked tree. It is just so beautiful. I have tried to stick with more traditional and vintage appearing glass and wooden ornaments on this tree.
A closer look at some of the ornaments. A lot of these ornaments have red on them – I love how they pop against the flocked tree. Many of them have sentimental value – the little wooden snowman is from a trip to Germany. The red and gold crown is from a trip to Sweden. The red rose is from a trip to Southern California when we went to Disneyland – reminds me of Belle (although not a Disney ornament!). Ornaments are great little souvenirs to take home from your travels!
I love this little glass snowman!
A few baubles and boxes are part of the decorations in this room.
This season I tucked the dough bowl under the tv and filled it with mercury glass ornaments.
Not all of my Christmas decor is French country! Here are some of my Christmas village pieces that sit under the tv. I love the whimsy of the shoe house! They are Department 56 but I picked them off of eBay for a fraction of the price, so look there for some bargains!
Let’s take a look in the dining room. I draped garland on the table – I will do a Christmas tablescape but haven’t decided what to do yet… so this simple centerpiece is perfect for now!
I set out a few cookies for the photoshoot – also perfect for a hungry photographer (that would be me!).
I love pomanders! These ones are actually fake, well, kind of. The orange is fake but the cloves are real! I was surprised when I opened them from their box and a clove scent filled the air. I have a tutorial on how to make pomanders here.
I placed some faux greenery and some of my German snowmen in the cabinet.
This tree was courtesy of Tree Classics last year. This year I added garland and kept the colors to gold and silver. The bejeweled snowflake topper is new! I hung a garland that states “greetings” in this tree.
I love this little paper flower ornament that clips on the branches.
Well, one last look at the dining room…
Up next, I’ll be touring my kitchen which has traditional German Christmas decorations and I’ll also be posting my Christmas tablescape! If you missed part 1 of the tour, go here.
Shop the post (affiliate links – thanks for supporting the site!)
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
I am decking the halls with 19 other bloggers and thrilled to be kicking off It’s a Wonderful House Christmas Hop! A big thank you to Olivia at Reinvented Collection for arranging this hop!
This is a French country Christmas tour… We’re starting in my most French room of all. A little French desk sits on the left.
I love the pastel bottle brush trees below! The colors of the little trees match my Staffordshire figurine. The hydrangea candlesticks were originally black but I had painted them some years ago. I love this little Christmas vignette.
In the center of the room sits the woodland tree.
The woodland tree is actually my favorite of my various trees. Wait, I thought this was a French country tour, you say? Well, we are on the “country” part!
I love the little deer sitting under the tree. Sometimes my cat joins them!
An “icicle” on my nature tree – part of an antique chandelier!
Many acorns – glass and glittered – decorate the nature tree!
Adding some ornaments in a bowl is an easy way to create a Christmas vignette in any room. I filled my American brilliant cut glass footed bowl with vintage style mercury glass ornaments. I bought some of these this year, but I had discovered in unpacking that I already purchased the pink ones last year!! Ha ha! I suppose I really like them!
The footed bowl sits on a gilded French table with a bergere chair next to it.
In another room is my romantic pastel tree – this tree is more French country Christmas than my woodland tree. Although I confess my woodland tree is my favorite one!
It is a pencil flocked tree that can go anywhere. I put it in my mudroom this year. I love the pastel baubles on this tree.
I was so excited to find this beaded glass garland this year.
I love this tree topper. It is actually an ornament but I think it is a perfect tree topper for this tree!
I love miniature ornaments – such as this little clip-on tree and the little crown!
We are nearing the end of today’s tour.
Below is a sneak peek of Part Two of the tour, which you can get to by clicking here! Or you can skip ahead and go to my Christmas Kitchen with traditional German Christmas decor. If you missed last year’s tour, here is part 1 and part 2 of 2016.
Shop the post (affiliate links):
Thank you for joining me on my French country Christmas home tour! Now, grab your eggnog latte and head on over to visit Brett and Kelly’s North Country Nest!
A Neutral French Country Fall Mantle
Sharing my Fall mantle today.
This year I stuck with the theme -inspired by the garden.
Miniature topiaries mimic those founds in gardens. A faux-owl candle appropriately perched next to the little tree.
Clippings from olive trees in the yard provide the soft and natural foliage for this mantle.
Mini white pumpkins are sprinkled along the mantel as well.
I love the color scheme of my Fall mantle this year.
White and green. Hmm. Reminds me of Christmas. Which, by the way, is just around the corner.
Although, I mentioned Christmas was around the corner, when really, it is Halloween! By the time I have posted this it is about time to post a Halloween mantle!!
This week I am thrilled to be participating in a week of fabulous Fall Home Tours and I’m sharing my Farmhouse Fall decor!
Now, if you were paying attention yesterday, I accidentally hit “post” and so some of you (well, 37 of you!) saw my tour already. Whoops. Too many things going on right now with organizing these tours!!
We are sharing tons of inspiration for Fall Decor and Entertaining! If you are joining from Hood Creek Log Cabin, welcome!
I was ecstatic when I found this antique goat cart this Summer and knew immediately that I would be filling it with pumpkins this Fall!
Post contains affiliate links.
I was inspired by cozy Fall evenings when I was setting this table.
Except, it was 100 degrees the day I shot this picture! Ha! Well, a little turn to the left with the AC made it more Fall-like in the house!
I used a tartan throw as my tablecloth. I have a blanket problem, such that, I own too many. But I use them for other things too- such as tablecloths! Mini boo pumpkins pop against the blue plates.
This year my husband noted that I had a new-found love of the color orange. I used to always hate orange – but starting with my Spring French Country table this year and now with my Fall French country table, I find that the oranges go so well with the French blues! They are the opposite sides of the color wheel, after all!
On the antique French buffet sits my beloved collection of velvet pumpkins.
I just love the colors of these pumpkins! The big blue pumpkin is new to me this year.
I love the look of these pumpkins with the Spanish moss in this antique urn- the various textures in this picture are interesting!
My woodland owls perched themselves on the kitchen island once again.
The scent of sweet cinnamon pumpkin fills the air.
The owls are flanked by dried wheat bundles, antique transferware and Staffordshire dogs. I suppose I should call this “French Country Fall with touches of English Country”. I noticed bits of antique English here and there.
This squirrel nut bowl stays out year round but these cute woodland napkins add an extra touch of Fall!
The squirrel guarding his nuts… I just love this nut bowl!
Touches of Fall are tucked into this antique secretary.
Sometimes I think about painting this antique English secretary – it would look very Swedish if I did!
In the living room, the scent of wood fire fills the air. I love this Feu de Bois candle for the Fall and Winter!
I used freshly clipped olive tree sprigs on this year’s Fall mantel. Mini topiaries and pumpkins are perfect for this French country mantle!
The dough bowl has been moved to the coffee table and is filled with heirloom pumpkins. In previous years I have been using it as the centerpiece on my table, but I decided to switch things around and moved it here!
Chloé the cat decided to join the photoshoot.
I have my tea tray set out. I have been thinking about my favorite pumpkin spice tea, although it is much too hot to serve today!
Another vignette of velvet pumpkins sits on top of this antique Swedish piece.
I just love the velvet corn!
At night, this room glows with candle light. The candles are faux, but I love their timers – they pop on every night for 6 hours and provide nice ambiance at night.
…And back outside we go. A last look at my little goat cart!
Thank you for joining me on my French country Fall home tour this year!
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| French Country Farmhouse Fall Decor Ideas |
Shop my Fall Favorites below:
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Be sure to check out all of the other fabulous bloggers in this Fall Entertaining and Decor Blog Tour! Lots of wonderful inspiration for all different types of styles!!
DIY Beautify || Raising a Farmhouse || Unlikely Martha || The Welch House || Life on Shady Lane
Frazzled Joy || North Country Nest || A Purdy Little House || Hood Creek Log Cabin || Peonies & Orange Blossoms
The Whimsy One || Polka Dot Poplars || A Home to Grow Old In || Virginia Sweet Pea || Lincluden Cottage Life
Semigloss Design || Keys to Inspiration || Reinvented Collection || Of Fairies and Fauna || Rosemary and Thyme
Kim Power Style || Back to the South || Living Large in a Small House || From House to Home || Centsably Creative || Life is a Party || The Organized Mama || || Our Crafty Mom
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In this post – a review of My Stylish French Box
note – I did not receive compensation for this review. I purchased this.
This Francophile finally broke down and ordered My Stylish French Box.
My Stylish French Box is a quarterly subscription box curated by Sharon Santoni of My French Country Home.
She started the box this year and I was a little hesitant to order it because of its cost – $200 for a subscription box is a bit steep! Especially since you don’t know what you are exactly buying!
Well, I bit the bullet and pressed purchase.
And last week, my box arrived! Oh I was so excited to see what my goodies fresh from France were!
I opened the box and immediately this subtle smell of fig, lavender and olive wafts out of the box!
I felt like I was being transported to France and knew I was going to like whatever was in this box!
Descriptions of each of the items was in the flier.
This box’s theme was Summer in Provence.
Here are all of the goodies inside of the box – a mini French market basket, a linen scarf, a candle, body scrub, Provence salt, soap, a vintage key, a bracelet and a watercolor.
This body scrub is great! I have already used it and love it. It is a nice big size too.
The French soap smells wonderful too – I love to put these soaps in my linen closet so the sheets smell amazing!
I have not yet used this but it is Fleur de Sel with rosemary and thyme. How cute is that little spoon on the side!
I am burning this candle as I type this and it smells so lovely – a pleasant scent of sweet figs! The green behind the candle is actually a green colored scarf – already have worn it!
There is a cute little watercolor included as well.
A vintage key perfect for little vignettes.
I’d say the only thing I don’t care for is this handmade ceramic bracelet – it is just not my style at all.
I have already put my French market basket to use and filled it with dried lavender from the garden.
Overall, I really enjoyed this box!
I am contemplating purchasing it again for the Winter box.
I was pleasantly surprised by all of the goodies and have already used almost all of them and I have only had the box for one week!
You can see contents of previous boxes here and decide if this is right for you or as a gift.
http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com/
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In this post – a French lavender farmhouse table setting
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I posted a picture on Instagram recently of a lavender table setting I put together several years ago – and I thought, oh! I should make another one!
I love using lavender in my decor. All of this lavender I dried from our garden!
The trick to drying lavender is to harvest your lavender just before it is about to bloom!
I dry the lavender in my closet! It provides a nice aroma and keeps moths away.
I stuck lavender in these mini glass candle holders. Some earthquake hold inside keeps the lavender propped up.
The grapes are also from the garden… the first year we have enjoyed any grapes! Did you know California is the world’s fourth largest grape producer? Well, wine grapes, that is. These ones are table grapes!
Growing grapes is not easy – you have to spray for flies and mold. And then you have to fight the birds!
You may have noticed the grapes and bread are served on antique purple transfer ware.
Now, instead of a baguette we have slices of San Francisco Sourdough – this is California, after all. That’s why I like to sometimes call my style California French Farmhouse!
I used vintage ribbons as napkin rings.
Can I confess though, that this table was not set for a party! It was set for my family.
I would have set for just four of us but then the table looks silly when it is only set halfway!
Do you ever set the table “just” for your family?
Why should we set tables for parties? They should be set every day, if I had it my way.
I also love these scalloped plates I got at Williams Sonoma earlier this year!!
I hope you all enjoyed this farmhouse table.
This is just my ideal style – a touch of France, a touch of farmhouse, and a touch of California!
In this post: You don’t have to move to France to have a slice of Normandy!
You can move to…. St. Malo in Oceanside, California!
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It is a private community with all homes created in the French Normandy style!
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In the 1920s an architect had an idea to create this little community.
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Below, this house totally looks like it is in France! But it is not, my friends!
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This little community has been somewhat of a secret – about only 80 homes are in the community and many have stayed within the same family for decades.
It is extremely private and basically it is difficult to get in – unless you know someone living there!
However, sometimes there are some beach house rentals… so if you go, sneak a picture or ten and share with us!
It was hard to find pictures!
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It is modeled after Saint-Malo in France, a walled port city in Brittany.
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Below is a picture of Saint Malo in France.
St. Malo in Oceanside, CA. It is nestled between a lagoon and the ocean.
I hope you enjoyed this taste of France… in America!
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