French bedroom décor probably seems like the secret behind whimsical, sophisticated design. So what’s the secret behind French bedroom décor? People who are aficionados of period homes can come together on French bedroom décor’s classic combination of ornate design and rustic charm. Just knowing that you want a vintage look, however, can’t help you automatically design one. That’s what this article is for.

In this brief guide, we’ll explain the secret design behind French bedroom décor and give you some classy ideas on how to pull it off. Hopefully, we can turn your distant longing for classy design into a real plan to get some.

French Décor in a Nutshell: Choosing a Bed

What even is French bedroom décor? What makes ornate, vintage furniture, knick-knacks labeled “French” by a designer, and soft upholstery immediately scream out FRENCH? Here are some specific rules to follow in your décor, which are especially useful if you’re designing a bedroom from the ground up and don’t have to contend with the old style.

First thing’s first: the bed is the centerpiece of the room, so it’s the focus of your French design. It’s as simple as that. If you made your dining room look French and plopped down a German dining room table, you’d have a German dining room. So what makes a bed look French?

You want a frame with curvy, vintage wooden or gilded material, something luxurious. Deep-buttoned upholstery gives a bed frame a great vintage French as well. Your fabric and mattress should be soft, with satin sheets. And if you’ve ever thought of adding a soft mattress as a plush touch for your bedroom decor, there’s no place better than this guide here. Softness is one of the key elements to make your bedroom feel French and elegant.

You also can’t go wrong with a decorated headboard. In French design, you need ornamentation to achieve a rustic charm: it’s kind of a backward logic but it looks right when you do it. So even though you’re working in muted colors with lots of woods, you want an ornate needlepoint headboard with gilded wood or other equally decadent designs.

Needlepoint flowers on a gilded headboard sticking out on a plain pastel wall: that’s the essence of French bedroom décor.

Choosing a Color: Think Pastels

French bedroom décor gives off a heavenly glow. Consider whites and soft pastel pinks as frequently as you can to fill the room with light. Cream or white floors and walls give the right effect. They emphasize the furniture, making any vibrant colors you throw in stand out more.

Pale yellows and creamy whites go naturally with gingham patterns and floral walls. Never let the colors go too harsh: mute them so the room “glows.”

Know Your Ornaments

So far, we’ve left it a little ambiguous how ornamented the bedroom should be. This is probably the most confusing part for new designers. In French bedroom décor, the important part is knowing how ornamented certain furnishings should be compared to others.

The bed should focus on the ornate side of things: gilded frames, deep buttons, layered bed coverings over a luxuriously soft mattress, all topped off with an ornate headboard. The walls though should be muted, either a single white or pastel color like green, yellow, or peach, or patterned wallpaper.

For the pattern, muted ornamentation works and so does a vibrant floral pattern to contrast the solid whites in the rest of the room.

Floral print walls go great on fabrics like curtains and sheets, but the floors should be solid white or muted colors. French bedroom décor is about the balance between ornateness and solid colors. This gives it the contrast that produces the heavenly glow associated with French décor, which emphasizes light above all else.

French design even works in all-white as well, from upholstery to walls. Rustic wood furniture and layered fabrics look great in white.

The Takeaway

The secret behind French décor is contrast. The all-white design lends its floors and walls the signature heavenly glow that defines the way light works in classic French décor. Pastel colors like peach and yellow highlight this contrast.

Ornate furniture gives it a splash of classiness that will make your French bedroom look elegant. Beautiful needlepoint headboards, gilded furniture, and floral patterns are a must in French bedroom décor, though nothing should be used too much. If you remember to include some solid and muted colors along with ornate furnishings, you’re well on your way to the perfect French bedroom.