Cabinets in the style of "Provence"

The wardrobe is a fairly solid part of the interior of the room. He is able to set the tone for the whole design. Many people mistakenly believe that such furniture, as a rule, is quite cumbersome and heavy, so it is always difficult to find something suitable.

But this is not the case if we are talking about the correct choice of style. For example, cabinets in the “Provence” style will delight you with a pleasant grace and visual ease that will leave much more space and light in your room.

Among all the advantages and features of the “Provence” style, which today is once again beginning to gain popularity, the general design of antiquity should be highlighted first. This is especially important, because in this case such furniture as a wardrobe for clothes or books gives a huge space for the realization of all the subtleties of the classic French style.

Furniture made in a similar design, is also famous for detail to the little things. These are always pleasant and smooth bends of legs, intricate and graceful handles, decoration with carvings and patterns. Having furnished a bedroom or a lounge in this style, you can forever say goodbye to the dull, smooth surfaces that heaped up the free space.

Outwardly it may seem that such furniture is easiest to find somewhere in the grandmother's barn, but in fact such a cabinet is always properly restored.

He has a number of features that are characteristic of the sustained French style:

• It is made exclusively from natural wood. In this case, as a rule, a solid array is used, rather than extruded composite structures;
• The cabinet is never covered with shiny smooth lacquer. If you are offered this kind of furniture under the guise of Provence style, then this choice will be completely wrong. The cabinet should be matte, patinated, slightly worn;
• Colors are usually presented in various pastel colors. For example, a soft and light shade like ivory is quite popular;
• As a decoupage, preference is given to light hand carving or painting;
• If we are talking about a bookcase with glass doors, then it is customary to curtain them with hand-sewn or weave curtains;
• A characteristic feature of such a cabinet is also the presence of a small “cornice” in its upper part and a carved frill at the bottom.

Despite the fairly large number of features of the style, cabinets "Provence" have a wide variety of types, which makes it easy to choose the furniture in the right place. To date, there are three main options for installing such a cabinet:

• Separately or one-piece box cabinet made of solid wood. This is a classic version for the French style. Typically, these closets for clothes or books are placed on the legs, which can have an elegant shape and give the furniture a special grace. Best of all, this option is suitable for a larger bedroom or hall, where it is possible to allocate a little more space for furniture;

• Fully built in wardrobe It represents something between a separate furniture and a full-fledged part of the architecture of the room.Its top, bottom and side surfaces can be limited to a niche, ceiling or floor. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of the style in this case are still preserved due to the decorative design of the "facade" of the cabinet. Also a good solution can be a display cabinet for books, decorated with handmade curtains, which gives a special comfort;

• Partially built in cabinet In many ways similar to the previous version. A distinctive feature is that it may lack only one structural element, for example, the upper part or the bottom. In general, this type is the most optimal solution for those who want to arrange in the Provence style a small room.

It is also important to take into account other dimensions of cabinets, which can play a crucial role in the choice of a particular model. For example, types are distinguished depending on the number of doors, namely single-leaf, double-leaf or three-leaf. Also separately worth noting is the difference in the mechanism itself:

• Swinging doors. Since “Provence” is, in fact, a classic style, such a mechanism of the casements on the simplest door hinges is canonical for cabinets made in a similar manner;
• Lifting doors. To open or close the cabinet, special lifting hardware is used.It may be a good option if additional savings are required around the furniture;

• Door curtain. It is also very often compared to an accordion due to its specific design. The individual elements of the door, fastened with furniture, are made of solid wood, as well as the main frame of the cabinet;
• Cabinet without doors. Especially relevant option in the living room or bedroom as a bookshelf.

There are also two standard parameters of depth - 60 or 40 cm. A cabinet with a depth of 60 cm is, as a rule, a complete wardrobe for storing clothes with additional shelves and delimiting the internal space. The option with a depth of 40 cm is more suitable in the hallway, since, as a rule, there is only an internal strip for hangers with hangers, which is best used for storing only outerwear.

The materials used to create the cabinets can also be very different.Classic cabinets are made of pre-prepared chipboard and MDF structures. Sometimes there are models of plastic, steel, glass. However, for the “Provence” style, only a solid solid wood is considered canonical, and glass can also be used to create a model of a showcase type.

Color solutions can be quite varied. If you want to follow the standards of design, it is best to try to pick pastel colors and shades. This approach is most characteristic of this style. It should immediately abandon too bright, dark or, conversely, acid colors.

Choosing the closet is not so difficult. Of course, it is worth paying attention not only to the external qualities, but also to the mass of other features of the model you like, as it should fit harmoniously into the overall design and at the same time preserve all its practicality. So, the main nuances that should be considered when choosing:

• First of all, correctly select the type of installation of the cabinet. It is easy to understand that the overall furniture on graceful legs will look great in a more spacious bedroom.But for a hallway or a small corridor, it is best to look after a partially or fully recessed version;
• You should immediately determine the size of the furniture. Consider not only the width and height, but also the depth, since it largely determines the optimization of the internal space of the cabinet. For clothes, it is better to take models with a standard depth of 60 cm. A showcase in the Provence style with glass doors and a depth of 40 cm is suitable for a hallway and storage of books;
• It is also important to consider the mechanism of opening the valves.because they can take up additional space in the process of use and thus cause inconvenience. In smaller rooms, you can install a closet with an accordion door or lifting hardware;

• Carefully study the interior of the cabinet and its distribution. Choose a model that allows you to store the maximum number of things and at the same time practical to have them;
• Frame material. Remember that for the style of "Provence" it is customary to choose furniture made only from solid natural wood;
• Door material. The door must also be made of natural wood,however, glass models are allowed;
• Do not forget about the style. Choose the most suitable color solution for your room. Typically, olive cabinets have pleasant pastel shades, so they easily fit into any classic entourage;
• In most professional stores you can make a closet on order., for which an individual drawing is used, planned out specifically for your room and for your needs.

Modern design options cabinets in the style of "Provence" quite diverse. The main rule is the preservation of signs of antiquity. Do not cover such a closet with glossy fresh paint, as it completely loses its surroundings.

It also looks interesting cabinet with painting. In this case, the standard is considered to be symmetric images of flowers or patterns along the flaps or frills.

How to paint and restore the old cabinet, see the following video.

You can decorate the wardrobe in a classic rustic French style. This will require very little effort and inexpensive supplies.

The very same decoupage can be performed as follows:

• Remove old paint and paint from the entire cabinet. For this, it is best to use fine-grained sandpaper or any similar abrasive;
• In several layers apply acrylic paint. The base layer should always be white, and then select any suitable pastel shade;
• At this stage, you can prepare any favorite motif for decoupage, for example, a pattern or flowers, cutting it out of paper or oilcloths;
• Stick the decor element with a glue stick;
• Blot the image and remove excess glue;
• Give some time to completely dry the cabinet;
• Using sandpaper, gently wipe some places around the element of decor. In this way, you will create an effect of light antiquity;
• Cover the cabinet with a thin layer of acrylic lacquer;
• After the varnish dries, apply patination powder in arbitrary places;
• Apply the final 2-3 layers of acrylic varnish.

Cabinets and cabinets in the style of "Provence" - this is the perfect option for those who love the pleasant atmosphere of light comfort and warmth. The rooms, decorated in a similar design, attract with their elegance and increased comfort.

Pick up furniture to decorate the living room or bedroom is quite simple. In addition, many models can act as a great place for both clothing and storage of books. Also, one of the advantages of this style is that you can arrange the furniture yourself properly.

In order for you to have an accurate idea of ​​what constitutes the classic French style of antiquity, we have prepared interesting design examples that use such cabinets.