Romantic Provençal: how to choose the right photographs

Decorating your home in Provençal style means embracing a romantic, welcoming look and creating a feminine, refined atmosphere. If your taste is understated but you are also looking for décor with a subtle elegance and discretion, you will wholeheartedly embrace the warm, luminous atmospheres that evoke Provence and its colours.

In this short guide you will find some valuable tips on creating the right harmony in your rooms and putting together the perfect Provençal-style home, with particular attention to wall decoration.

Alongside the text, we will show you a range of designer wall art to inspire you, which you can buy directly online from our print Gallery to create the perfect Provençal atmosphere in your home straight away!

1. Provençal style

The interior style known as “Provençal” originated in south-eastern France and is considered a variation on the more classic country style, with which it shares a fondness for rustic motifs. In past centuries, life in this region was shaped by the desire to escape the big cities and take refuge in the peace and quiet of the countryside. In this sense, its features bring it very close to Country Chic interior design.

The romantic atmosphere and sense of harmony with nature live on in furnishings with rustic and floral motifs, in colours that echo the natural hues of the French countryside. The end result is a style that is harmonious and elegant, homely and welcoming.

2. The colours of Provençal style

The colours that define Provençal interiors are inspired by the countryside of south-eastern France and fall into two groups. On the one hand, the soft colours of grass, sky and flowers, such as ochre, pastel blue and green, ecru, ivory and, finally, lilac, the star of Provence's lavender fields. On the other, the warm colours of the sun, wood and earth, such as red, yellow, orange and brown.

Generally, the former are used for walls and furniture, while the latter are used for floors, which are often laid with terracotta tiles.

If your rooms feel too cold and you would like to add a strong note of warmth, have you thought about painting the walls of your home orange? For a bold yet gentle touch that links back to nature, you could certainly paint your walls green.

3. Provençal furnishings

Furniture is usually made of walnut, either left natural or painted in soft, greyish tones. In the name of simplicity, wrought iron plays an important decorative role, left in its natural colour or also painted in pastel shades. The decorations on these pieces are always inspired by nature, flowers or musical instruments.

The fabrics of the time were an interweaving of natural themes and oriental styles, thanks to the influence of textiles from Persia and India brought home by the Crusaders. Today, curtains and cushions reflect the same trends, with soft colours and simple embroidery.

Accessories can be any vintage object that harmonises with the shades and motifs of everything else; objects with French lettering, hearts and nods to romantic themes are especially popular.

All the furnishings follow the principles of simplicity, harmony and elegance; what's more, for a more direct link to the past, a distressed look is often used.

4. Decorating walls with Provençal photos

The finishing touch in any room is undoubtedly the wall decoration, the element that gives the home the right sense of completeness. To create the perfect atmosphere, it's important to follow some precise rules when arranging pictures on your walls so that your rooms are elegantly furnished.

To decorate walls in Provençal style, it's important to arrange your images according to the principle of simplicity, both in how many you hang and in how you handle empty space. To build a sense of overall harmony, we can choose subjects that pick up the colours used in the rest of the décor, or draw on the natural motifs typical of the style. In general, it's worth remembering that each type of subject meets different decorative needs.

4.1 Nature-inspired photographs

A classic choice for Provençal-style walls is nature prints: countryside subjects and scenes, landscape prints, old villages or flower prints.

Images like these answer a basic human need: contact with nature. That is why they evoke feelings of peace and calm and are ideal for rooms where we rest or unwind, such as the bedroom or the living room.

4.2 Romantic subjects

One of the main features of Provençal style is its celebration of love, evoked through romantic prints, decorative pieces with floral motifs, hearts, embroidery and warm colours.

You can create this atmosphere with images depicting objects associated with romantic moments, or that recall the France of days gone by. In general, anything that suggests femininity, delicacy and elegance is perfectly suited to our purpose.

Images and close-up prints are excellent for decorating small spaces, where the viewer has to look at the shot from up close: for example, they can be hung in a hallway or an entrance, or in corners of the home where we want to create a more intimate space. This style is particularly suitable when decorating a romantic girl's bedroom.

Choosing black and white helps to evoke a bygone, “weathered” era; it is a further nod to simplicity and works well in rooms already furnished with lots of colourful pieces.

4.3 Provençal colours and images

To give a bold note to the décor of a particular room, we can use images with strong pops of colour, while of course keeping them in harmony with the rest of the furnishings. This choice is especially suitable when the other pieces are in neutral colours, such as ivory or wrought iron, and the home needs brightening up.

We can therefore turn to the warm colours of wood, earth and sun, the greens and yellows of the grass of the French countryside, or the cool colours of blue that recall the sky.

Alternatively, we can choose subjects such as old houses or furniture that instantly transport us to the classic Provençal atmosphere.

In some cases, you can also use images with unusual colours that add a touch of originality and make the final look of your home deeply personal.

4.4 Artistic sea photographs

Although the sea is not one of the typical subjects of Provençal décor, using it as a decorative element can be the right choice in several cases, for example in seaside homes that we want to adapt to a Provençal style. Seascape pictures work very well here, especially if they use colours that respect the style's palette and harmonise with the other furnishings.

As for where to hang them, they generally suit rooms dominated by neutral colours or where cool colours already prevail, so they can be placed while maintaining colour harmony. What's more, water is traditionally associated with movement and can be used to add energy to rooms that feel too static. These points are especially useful when arranging pictures to decorate staircases or hallways, which by their nature should convey a sense of movement.

If you found this article interesting, share it now with your friends. You can explore our collection to find modern wall art for your home featuring the images we have shown you in this article and many more, available to buy directly online in lots of different sizes!

And if you have any questions, get in touch and we will be happy to reply!