Right now, all eyes are on the continent as the Tour de France riders battle it out in the ultimate test of strength and endurance. This year, the tournament kicked off in Yorkshire before returning to home turf. But as ever, the competition has awakened a fever for all things French.
If you’d like to give your surroundings a gorgeous Gallic feel, Kirsty Martin from the Web-Blinds team has five fantastic ideas for your next decorating project.
1. Pick pretty farmhouse shutters
Pretty shutters are a classic feature of many French farmhouse cottages, but they also suit a variety of different properties. If you live in a built up area and your windows are overlooked, Tier-on-Tier styles are a great choice to maintain your privacy.
2. Adopt a ‘shabby chic’ theme
Our continental cousins have truly mastered the art of shabby chic, but the look is surprisingly easy to achieve. Distressed textures put the chic into shabby and our Country Chic Wooden blinds are a great example of this. Each slat is perfectly imperfect with a unique grain and individual characteristics.
3. Use a blue and cream palette
Blues and creams complement each other beautifully and the chic colour combination is a hit no matter whether you live in Brittany or Bognor Regis. Here, we teamed a cream Deluxe Wooden blind with duck egg blue walls.
4. Choose delicate toile prints
Delicate toile prints have a whimsical and romantic appeal, which is very Parisian. In our bedroom, we wanted to create an intimate boudoir atmosphere, so picked out the French Treasures fabric, from the ravishing Roman blinds collection.
5. Pay attention to the small details
The cliché goes that no self-respecting Frenchman would be seen without a beret. Naturally this isn’t true, but there is something to be said for accessorising your outfit… Or adding the right finishing touches to your room. In this case, a wonderful waved hem completes our simple Blue Cross blind from the blue Roller collection.