How To Create Belgian Style Interiors: Soft Industrial

Number two in my list of Belgian Style Interior Essentials is Soft Industrial...

I don't like a harsh industrial look but creating a wee nod to the past by using items with a touch of the mechanical totally floats my Belgian Style Interiors boat.

Belgian Style

Belgian Style Living Room

This is a tricky balance to pull off: not enough of the Soft Industrial and it can look as though you've made a couple of badly though-out purchases from a bric-a-brac shop. Too much, on the other hand, can made your room look as though it's become that bric-a-brac shop!

Industrial Cart Coffee Table!

Architects Plan Drawers as a coffee table!

I use the term Soft Industrial to give the idea of the level I'm talking about. It's fine to embrace this in your Belgian Style living room....but keep it gently industrial. You don't want to feel as though you've walked into a blacksmiths when all you really want to do is settle down with a hot cup of cocoa and your slippers.

Galvanised planter as a statement vase

Large lockers....secure storage!

Belgian Style living rooms are, it's true, a hard look to get right but when you do? Oh, they're heaven!!

 

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Belgian Style AND Modern Country Interior Heaven!

This is what I'm talking about when I say that I love Belgian Style but I like to tweak it to make it my own. The owners here have done a brilliant job at doing just that, turning this newly constructed conservatory into a gorgeous Modern Country home....

Remember our five Belgian essentials? Let's see if they're all present here in this Modern Country interior.

1. Muted colour palette....try Farrow and Ball Mizzle for the woodwork.

2. Texture...the basket, the rattan chairs, the wirework planter...

3. A touch of soft industrial....

4. Used furniture...the painted pew, the wine-glass chandelier, the old pendant lanterns and wall sconce...

5. Raw wood...literally, in this case, with that beautiful stack of logs!

Plus, as a little bonus, they've used one of my favourite fabrics, Cabbages and Roses Hatley for the blinds and table cloth.

Yes, all five Belgian Style essential are here!

I adore this Modern Country open plan living, using the very best of Belgian Style!

Images via Westbury 

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How To Create A Belgian Style Living Room: Untreated Wood

Let's take the time now to look in more detail at how to get the look of a Belgian Style living room. We've broken down this look into five essential elements.

Gorgeous Belgian Style Living Room

Today, let's start with wow-factor wood. The first on our list of creating Belgian Style in your living room. Left completely untreated, that very rawness acts as a spotlight to its natural allure. The grain will show that much more clearly, allowing for increased texture.

So, the million dollar question: how can we make this look work for us?

Smart Belgian Style 

Let me be frank: if the thought of sanding and scrubbing doesn't fire you up, look away now. You see, this is a look that involves getting your hands dirty....metaphorically and literally.

Let's call in my new BFFs: oil, wax and varnish, who will give your hard-won wooden treasures the endurance you need. 

Modern Country Belgian Style 

I'm all about keeping it real here and, in my experience, unless you like a truly worn-out look, children and bare wood in large quantities just don't work.

Small touches of Belgian Style 

But, please, don't be put off! A little wax here, a little varnish there (matt, natch) will make all the difference. This look can work a treat in a family home, just as it can in the most grown-up of spaces.

Take stock of all the inspiration here and be encouraged that you can do this! Even a little taster can make all the difference.

Belgian Style living room

Where to add raw wood to your Belgian Style living room? There is a whole array of options.....lamps, coffee tables, side tables, light switches, doors, cupboards, shelving, mirrors....as well as all those quirky ideas that work so well.

And the best part is that these pieces can travel with you in your style journey, if you tire of Belgian Style in the future. See how this next image, with much more of a country prettiness about it, also features untreated wood (or at least the impression of it!).

Country living room

In my next post, I'll be sharing how to make your floorboards look fantastically old and loved; taking my love of Belgian Style and making it work for me.

White Belgian Style!

Will you join us?

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Five Essentials In A Belgian Style Living Room!

Let's dive right in to Belgian Style! What is it that makes a Belgian Style Living Room? My definition would be that it's about combining extreme visual restraint and rustic warmth to create elegant, pared-down rooms with a strong nod to an industrial past.

In these posts, I'll only be drawing on elements I love about Belgian Style living rooms. I looked at herrr-yuuuuuge numbers of pictures of this look, discarded what I don't like and curated what I do. I think that's always the way to create a look that you love, a look that feels like a space to call your very own.

I've put together a list of elements I consider to be my Top 5 Belgian Style Living Room essentials, which we can break down, bit by nectarous bit.

The first element has to be bare wood: Usually left unfinished, perhaps waxed at most, which creates that essential rustic atmosphere.

A restricted muted palette: The colours used (though colours seems a rather flighty word to use in this slightly sombre context) are restrained greys, taupes and off-whites in order to draw your eye to the charms of what lies within the rooms.

A touch of Soft Industrial: By which I mean upcycling beautifully-made objects with some kind of mechanical past to give them a joyfully stylish present.

Used Furniture: You'll find very little newness in Belgian Style Living Rooms. The pieces have a somewhat battered beauty and are the better because of it.

A mix of textures: yes, the colour palette is extremely restricted but these rooms are visually extravagant. The interest springs from an array of different textures. Belgian linen is beautifully nubby and, combined with cottons, velvet, weathered wood and wicker, plus wool and cashmere in the colder months, create the perfect means to draw your eye.

And now, let's take each of these five esssential elements for any Belgian Style Living Room to see how we can get the look...

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Farrow and Ball Shadow White - The Best F&B New Paint Colours For 2016!

Today, from Farrow and Ball's nine new paint colours for 2016, we're looking at another Modern Country favourite....

So far, this week, we've seen:

Cromarty, a soft Robin's Egg,

Drop Cloth, an uncertain creamy, stony grey.

Inchyra Blue, a deep, dark teal

Peignoir, a delicate, gauzy pink

Today is...

Shadow White

Farrow and Ball Shadow White

Farrow and Ball say: 

Shadow White is the lighter version of Shaded White so the two are linked and work perfectly together. Both names are taken from the soft tone created when whites are covered in a deep shade. With none of the perceived yellow of Slipper Satin or the grey of Ammonite, Shadow White will work perfectly in any style of home. This versatile colour is perfect when paired with both Shaded White and Drop Cloth, and creates beautifully understated rooms when used on ceilings or woodwork. Use in south facing rooms to create the perfect soft ‘shaded’ feeling.

Here's their video ...

Modern Country Style says...

I've use Farrow and Ball Shadow White to paint the floors of the Cromarty and Inchyra Blue rooms of the doll's house.

Farrow and Ball Cromarty and Shaded White floor

You can see how different Shaded White looks in each room. This is a colour that is hugely affected by its surroundings.

Farrow and Ball Inchyra Blue and Shaded White floor

I've been looking for a perfect, warm neutral off-white, and I think I've just found it in Farrow and Ball Shadow White.

Farrow and Ball Shaded White and Cromarty 

Shadow White, Shaded White and Drop Cloth form a perfect little threesome. I can't wait to try them out together, perhaps with touches of Farrow and Ball Inchyra Blue, to create the most relaxing Modern Country room in the while entire world!

Farrow and Ball Shaded White, Drop Cloth, Cromarty and Inchyra Blue

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