Parisian style gallery
Work with what you have got
Just as the body should be dressed in matching and elegant clothes (because the clothes do make the man), the shape, character and past of the room are the garments of every good design. Many Parisian apartments have bizarre layouts and charming architectural details, which is why Parisians are often doomed to skillfully combine history and modernity.
Accept the imperfections
Not every space has to be exceptionally beautiful, but each can have its own charm. Make yours outstanding. Resist the temptation to renew second-hand or antique items with a patina, and don’t insist that everything in your home is brand new and shiny. Avoid buying all the furniture from one store and try to create a friendly, eclectic atmosphere in the interior.
Do not overact with elegance
The aesthetics of a modern Parisian interior is an exercise of willpower not to exaggerate with elegance. The main thing is to keep the style. Do not try to finish the room to the “last floor stave”. Parisians are not obsessed with details, but they keep it simple with elegantly crumpled, natural bedding that looks great whether your bed is made or not.
It doesn’t make sense to do anything by force
Parisians love history, but they don’t want to live in a museum: the black and white chessboard on the floor and the freestanding retro bathtub go perfectly with a modern shower cubicle and other bathroom equipment. Spaciousness and perfect lighting dominate, which makes the room look like an elegant bathroom lounge.
Take care of classic accents
Adding a marble fireplace can give you a feeling of glut, but a gilded mirror, vintage chandelier or wallpaper with architectural embellishments will add an instantly recognizable French touch. And of course, there is nothing wrong with paying tribute to the city’s most famous landmark – a mural with the Eiffel Tower will suit perfectly to evoke the atmosphere of Paris.
Paris – the city of light
The Paris apartments are dominated by overhead lighting in the form of classic chandeliers and effective, modern hanging lamps. In more modern apartments, multiple light sources are being increasingly used to create a variety of moods, mixing table lamps, work lamps, floor lamps, wall sconces and candlelight in all four corners of the room to keep balance.
Don’t sacrifice beauty for convenience
Although Parisians (and the French in general) pay a lot of attention to the beauty, they do find common sense and appreciate the comfort of life. That is why Parisian interiors are usually tall and spacious, well-lit and in bright colours. In the kitchen, there are usually white carpentry cabinets and an expressive worktop. Black furniture perfectly harmonizes (by contrast) with the highest-quality oven and hob.
Bigger doesn’t mean better
Most apartments in Paris have modest proportions, which requires clever space planning and creativity. The French appreciate comfort, but are also deeply practical and can organize festive meals without huge kitchens or dining rooms, friends and family, without separate guest rooms. Think about how you live most of the day and design for those needs.
DETAILS
The French could never be accused of sacrificing themselves for style. While modern Paris could easily move away from powdered wigs and its former glitz, it was still stuck in a constant effort to create and tone fashion, art and architecture. Maybe that is why Parisian houses do not have only one style, each of them draws from the French attention to detail, while reflecting the deepest desires and the most powerful passions of their dwellers.
In Parisian apartments and houses, it is easy to notice that the Parisian style is about combining the old with the new and allowing the unique elements to complement each other and stay together, rather than creating a look in which we would have to wonder if each element fits together.
What is a Parisian style decor? The French are quite traditional when it comes to interior design. They appreciate classic, historic apartments located in the city center and like to mix modern and antique furniture. The French are masterful at combining classic with modernity and maintaining a constant balance between design and antiquity. The Parisian style of the house is, above all, the perfect balance of elegance and comfort. There are few architectural elements that define Parisian apartments very well. These are:
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white walls (emphasizing historical decorations)
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parquet floor
- floor-to-ceiling windows for maximum natural light
- built-in shelves
There is nothing flashy in the chic Parisian interiors. The walls are painted white, and the rest of the colour palette is focused on beige, gray, black, khaki and blue. Parisians pay attention to detail and quality: they may have little furniture, but – the ones they do – are of the best quality they can afford. Finally, the French know the value of minimalism and are not afraid of empty space on walls and floors. Art works are often large and stand alone, but furniture have more room to breathe.
Axis of symmetry
This is by far the most important element of this style. The axis – in its assumption – is to bind individual interiors and create order. Any artistic deliberations do not exist here. The spaciousness of the interior, the natural selection of finishing materials and good lighting are most appreciated.
Go for simple colours and patterns
The interior design in the Parisian style is characterized by order. This applies to each of every element of this style. So the colours cannot be over-exaggerated. The dominant colour is white, which perfectly emphasizes the brightness and transparency of the room. The frequent additions of white are gray, beige, as well as all kinds of pink and black.
Harmony of style with a touch of glamour
Order and spaciousness in Parisian finishing does not mean there is no room for extravagance. Stucco, cornices and rosettes are often used elements in the Parisian style of interior finishing. The Parisian style often uses wooden materials: e.g. in the form of paneling on the walls or wooden floors arranged in the so-called herringbone. Patterns and decorations can also be found on doors, furniture and windows.
Lighting and decor
It is well known that without good lighting, even the most tastefully finished interior may not satisfy the Parisian esthete. This applies to both the equipment and the method of interior lighting. The most common is the central lighting point in the form of an exquisite chandelier with a touch of glamour (numerous crystals and glass are designed to brighten the room even more, but also fulfill an important decorative factor). It is also acceptable to use wall lamps with some artistic forms, e.g. carved stands. The walls can be filled with art in the form of graphics, paintings, sculptures or photographs of famous artists. After all we are in Paris!
Richness and modesty
The Parisian style very skilfully combines these – often opposing – elements. One could say that the Parisians were able to go modern in a very flexible way while respecting history.
Therefore, we should not be surprised when staying in a Parisian apartment, that we find cornices or stuccoes straight from Versailles, as well as modern forms of construction. This is Paris, which has always wanted to set fashionable trends, regardless of the political, historical or economic situation.