A Look at Some Real French Bedrooms

Having been a Francophile for as long as I can remember (at least the third grade) and having grown up with a real Frenchwoman living next door, I knew a bit about French style before I had ever been to France.  I loved French style before it was really popular.  I loved it in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, and yes, I still love it today.  What I suppose bugs me a bit is what is popularly being called French style today - burlap bags, rough pillows with stenciling on them, every room completely white.   The French generally use colour in their homes, and quite a bit of it.  The images you see here were taken from French magazines on decorating and real French homes.

  Above, the French like peach and pink. They do use grey and have for many years (grey paneling is especially beautiful). Touches of gold are common, even in rustic looking rooms.The bedroom room above is about as simply as it gets, yet you can see that the bed is comfortable and the room is pleasant.

Below is a girl's room done in a pink.  The wonderful corona is very French as is the use of toile, of course.

 Above,  what! An all-white room (almost).  I chuckled when I read this because the magazine mentioned that this bedroom had been decorated "in the English manner" - note the florals on the armoire and pillow.  Below, these magnificent curtains made from a fairly heavy formal damask are quite French. You see rustic and some whimsical touches, but no burlap. There is a sense of faded grandeur that is typical of many French rooms and houses.
 
Oooo, the kind of bedroom that made me originally fall in love with all things French when I was just a little girl. As romantic as can be, and yes, I would be happy with this room today!  
Simplicity in the bedroom. But comfort is oh so important.  Look at the whimisical antique lamps (I believe that they used to be oil or kerosene).   Underneath the pillows, you can just see the bolster that is often on French beds.
  Toile reigns in the deep, deep pink bedroom below.

Below, while there are some rustic touches, such as the chair we see to the right here, there are almost always formal elements.  Note the pretty headboard, that amazing parquet floor, the elegant curtain holdbacks, and the crystal and ormulu candlelabras.