Easy Guide To Using Florals In A Modern Country Girls Bedroom

Today, I want to share specifics of what to do when you want the warmth and romance of florals but hate the chintzy look.

Here's my handy guide to using florals in a 

Modern Country scheme.

One. Stick to using florals only on your soft furnishings. 

You can amp up the romance by including quilts and curtains....

...or keep it low-key by giving the floral treatment to just one or two cushions.

Two. Using only one design allows you to include more pattern in the room, without increasing the impact-overload....

Three. If you want to mix and match patterns then restrict the colour palette of the designs you use. So here, for example, only white and crimson have been allowed in the room schemes, creating a gently laid-back vibe.

...and this room uses the same colour scheme but has kept the use of scarlet to the very minimum.

Four. Incorporate a feature wall, using wallpaper with a vintagey floral design wallpaper. Pick out paint for the rest of the room in the background hue of the wallpaper so that the papered wall blends beautifully with the rest of the room. 

 

In the next few posts, I'll stop the teasing and get on showing you how we've carried out these ideas in our home...

and, yes, it just might involve some gorgeous Cabbages and Roses!

Images via Cabbages and Roses, Country Homes and Interiors, 

Homes and Gardens, Cabbages and Roses, Ideal Home, Homes and Gardens

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Florals in Girls' Bedrooms

Right then. Back to the delicious business of redoing our girls' bedroom. Remember, before the summer holidays all rolled into one hectic (but lovely) roller coaster, we were in the process of turning this room into a heavenly haven for two of our girls?

Well, now, I'm back on track!

So today, let's go girly. 

And let's go floral.

There are several ways you can go with florals in girls bedrooms. Let's take a closer peek at each, shall we?

Romantic Florals

The first is the most obvious. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Particularly for little girlie girls with swathes of pink flowers adorning every corner, romantic florals are the way to go.

The trick with this look, if you want to rock your Modern Country booty, is to keep those florals unobtrusive so that they blend in to the room as a whole. The very last thing you want is chintzy overload, so avoid  florals that are overly busy or overly loud. Gentle and subtle are where it's at.

Industrial Florals

The floral duvet cover and pillows give this otherwise quite stark room a girlie touch. Wouldn't this look be great for a tomboy with just an edge of femininity? Plus this is a room your little one won't be growing out of any time soon. In fact, I wouldn't mind sleeping there myself. But I think that's where the problem lies with this room. It's a little bit too grown up. It needs a bit of a design eye to appreciate the contrasts between the grey brick wall, and the cuddly giraffe. I'm not sure my little girls are quite up for that yet!!

So while this look is uber-cool, I'll be passing it by.....

Country Florals

How could we do florals without delving into the Country look?

Ruffles and painted furniture and chandeliers and elegance. By keeping the walls a subdued Modern Country colour (try any of  these), here, a washed out watery-grey, the whole room suddenly become current and gorgeous.

It's always super-useful to completely immerse yourself in inspiration. Not from one photo, or from two, but from lots and lots and lots. It lets your ideas gradually unfurl. Little seeds of loveliness are sown in your creative imaginings without you even realising.

This process helped me to identify the feel I wanted for our girls room. Come back on Wednesday, when I'll be sharing exactly what I mean...... 

Images via: Silentime, Silentime, unkown, Tia Zolden, Kate Forman

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Modern Country Edwardian House Tour

Though this house obviously needs de-show-homing, given a few toys scattered here, and two mugs of tea waiting to cool by a pile of tatty books, the space would be just delicious as a Modern Country family home.

Don't believe me?

Here's how...

• The painted floor boards would easily withstand tricycles zooming up and down the length of the house. 
• The sofas, which appear to be upholstered in leather, are clearly designed for wiping juice of easily and efficiently. 
• There are very few knick-knacks waiting for tiny hands to 'play with' (ie. break!!).

Yes, of course, it needs some more bits and bobs in it to ensure that it feels lived in and warm but, as I always like to say, the bones are definitely there to build a welcoming family haven.

What strikes me instantly about this house is the way the palette flows so beautifully from room to room.The various grey tones, varying from charcoal to ash, lead you thoughtfully throughout the entire house.

Meanwhile accents of colour are spotlighted in warm, sunny yellow.

Did you notice how the choice of colour was inspired by the encaustic tiles in the hallway? And even the books on the shelves above coordinate (albeit in a very show-homey kind of way).

Shall we take a trip upstairs?

Nothing seems overly fussy. There are no deliberately overly-shabbied pieces here. Instead, everything seems unpretentious yet smart. 

Yet there are touches of country within all this stark modernism.

You have to look hard to see them but they're they're all the same.

 

The enamel pitcher by the bath.

The rustic wooden ladder used as a towel rail.

Look at this pretty headboard in the master bedroom.

And the pattern on the cushion, together with the gently-floralled curtains in the second reception room, combine perfectly to create a house that is firmly Modern yet has echoes of Country.

So, my poppett, will you be taking it?

All images by Amanda Prior via 79 Ideas

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

September Love

Isn't September a wonderful month?

This week, we're enjoying every moment of an Indian summer. 

Warm, peaceful sunshine 

tempered with a mild and balmy breeze.

Perfect for lazy bike rides.

And tea in the garden.

Golden light.

And dappled grass.

After nearly eight weeks of holidays

with the house full of the merry (!) sounds of our five children, 

school has started. 

And all is quiet again....

It's just me.

And baby Sophie.

And you....

Time to get cracking with some projects....

I can't wait.

Photo unknown

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style

Colour Study: Beautiful Farrow and Ball Front Doors...

Did you check out the winner of Farrow and Ball's Great Outdoors competition, which was designed to search for the most beautiful front doors in the world? 

Painted in Farrow and Ball Railings, isn't she a beauty?

Front door in Farrow and Ball Railings

Elegantly refined and traditional.

But there were some entries which, although they didn't receive the winning accolade, were definitely worth sharing....

This lovely arched door, for example, is painted in Farrow and Ball's Blue Gray (click on the link for my F&B Blue Gray case study):

Front door in Farrow and Ball Blue Gray

The most countrified of the runners-up, was painted in Farrow and Ball Lulworth Blue:

Front door in Farrow and Ball Lulworth Blue

But my personal favourite was this next one. I just adore the modern take on a classic door, painted in Farrow and Ball's Light Blue (click on the link for my F&B Light Blue case study).....

Front door in Farrow and Ball Light Blue

If you're dying for some more front door inspiration, I'm over at Relics of Witney blog today, looking at ways to pick your perfect front door paint.

Come over and join me...?

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style