The New French Look by Lauren Li

Lauren Li is the founding director of Melbourne interior design studio Sisällä – her new book, The New French Look, takes us through a range of new French interior styles. From the city to the beach, the country and the mountains, Lauren explores the work of leading French architects and designers.

Words: Lauren Li | Photography: Heju Studio, Stephan Julliard & Christophe Coënon

A room of grand proportions that feels relaxed and not stuffy at all, thanks to the edgy artwork and soft lines of the curved sofa. Photo: Stephan Julliard. Main photo: Heju Studio

LA VILLE – THE CITY

You dream of spending your day browsing bookshops in the Latin quarter, strolling the Champs-Elysées, and people-watching from the terrace of a sidewalk café on the boulevard Saint-Germain.

French City Style Cues

- Invest in a few key style elements.

- Use classic, luxury items.

- Add something old to show patina.

- Pattern on draperies or floors will add vibrancy.

- Accent colours in blue and yellow.

- Artwork in unexpected places – the kitchen and bathroom.

City of light. City of love. Paris is as elegant and sophisticated, historic and artistic as the most extravagant Hollywood movies would have you believe. It’s no surprise that visitors are inspired to recreate some of that magic when they return home.

The New French city look is not about building a themed shrine to Paris. It’s about creating anauthentic space – that looks and feels French – without employing kitsch design cues. Nor are French city interiors just about Paris. There’s the picture-book charm of Lyon, its business district located amid Renaissance-era architecture, and a cluster of museums reflecting its industrial heritage. Or the chaotic energy of gritty port city, Marseille, with its abundant cultural influences, smart urban spaces and walls laden with graffiti.

For apartment dwellers or those living in a small house, the French city style is a rich source of inspiration. A residence on the smaller side doesn’t constrain French flair or their ability to express themselves through their homes.

Floors & Walls

Start with the floor. A classic French apartment has oak herringbone or chevron parquet flooring. The surface is quite raw allowing the natural texture of the wood to be seen and felt. Oak flooring like this isn’t readily available everywhere but if you have wood floors, try treating them the same way. Don’t apply a high gloss coating, use a matt finish instead. Keep the wood colour creamy and slightly muted, avoiding orange and yellow tones.

To help prevent the sun turning wooden floors orange, investigate applying a UV stabiliser on the wood. Consider continuing the wood floor into the bedrooms and layer with oversized floor rugs.

Looking at 19th-century French apartments may inspire us to create a beautiful panelled wall in our homes too. If you have a heritage space of similar age and proportions, panelled walls can look impressive. However, if you live in a modern apartment with ceilings lower than 2.4 metres, French-look wall panelling can appear out of place. Remember, we are not trying to replicate something historical, it’s more about the attitude.

Instead of copying the panelling seen in an 1850s interior, think about using contemporary wall panelling that suits the architecture of your home. Consider wainscoting, which is made up of wall panels and mouldings, for the lower part of the wall. Or you might choose to use it in a limited way in formal areas of a home, like the foyer or dining room.

The New French Look is about authenticity: real antiques, real wood floors, real stone, real walls. French-style wall panelling in a 20th-century home, without the grand proportions, just doesn’t look real. But the right furnishing and styling can create the look – it’s about pulling it off with flair.

A Parisian kitchen elegantly integrated into open space. Appliances and equipment are cleverly incorporated into the cabinetry. Photo: Heju Studio

The Gubi pendant light and character chair paired with a sweet artwork give this entrance real presence. Photo: Stephan Julliard

The New French Look is out now, available online and in good bookstores.

In French interiors we don’t often see books arranged by colour, or spines facing inwards. These books are for reading and are arranged on the shelf in the practical French way. Photo: Christophe Coënon

Kitchen & Dining

The French enjoy living in every room of the house and their functional spaces are also beautiful. Their focus isn’t solely on spaces on show to guests. Kitchens (and bathrooms for that matter) should feel good to spend time in, so they are considered and decorated too. In your space, choose a bold wall colour, patterned floors, and style these rooms with artwork and chic accessories, as you would the living areas.

In French apartments, we often see kitchens and dining rooms incorporated, creating a functional and convivial space in which families gather. Thus, the kitchen is treated more discreetly in the space. It is less common to see extravagant freestanding ovens and large rangehoods over cooktops. Instead, the appliances are integrated behind cupboard doors with a neat electric or induction cooktop that can function as precious bench space when not in use.

The kitchen-dining room in a French apartment may be compact; however, it functions perfectly and more than makes up for its petite proportions in the style and elegance stakes. A smartly designed kitchen and adjoining dining area with banquette seating maximises space and is always comfortable. The French know a beautiful environment elevates the everyday experience and encourages a good time – a place where baguettes are broken, the wine flows and, most importantly, there is just enough space for the cheese course!

However, they don’t value good looks at the expense of function, and everything should be useful: beautiful vases, a fine crockery set or vintage glassware. And not just for special occasions – everyday meals can be special too.

You might enjoy creating a stylish arrangement by limiting the colour palette so that kitchen pieces sit together harmoniously on shelves. A single marble ledge over the kitchen sink is a clever way to elevate practical items. Using objects that have their own stories and memories adds meaning to everyday life.

Styling

The French look is easy yet elevated, so the styling needs to have a looseness about it. Think of that nonchalant French girl in the classic blazer, slim jeans and white shirt (the furniture), with her hair slightly undone yet perfect (the styling). She looks chic, yet it appears she hasn’t really tried (spoiler alert, she has; that haircut cost a small fortune).

The overall look is elegant and natural, using classic pieces of furniture with finishing touches that stop the space from feeling stuffy.

Styling a room is the final touch, layering special items over finishes, furniture and soft furnishings. It’s objects and artworks that give a space soul and make it feel lived in; they can really tell the story about who lives in the home and how they live there.

The look should be authentic, not showroom-perfect, so include something old or even slightly off-key in the room. It could be an unexpected family heirloom such as a gilt Empire mantel clock in an otherwise contemporary room, or a rustic milking stool in a luxurious setting. The French assertively mix historical styles as well as price points. Perhaps a ceramic vase found at the flea market placed beside an expensive contemporary artwork – the unusual mix makes it feel daring. Though not all the pieces are valuable, they sit among each other and this creates a lively scene.

Colour

The New French look shows a confident use of colour, with one stand-out hue: yellow. The mention of yellow can make some people shudder. And, admittedly, yellow is seen as a difficult colour to pull off in a room, but not for the French.

While an acid-yellow is used in the New French look, consider a plush mustard velvet, a gold light fixture, the soft yellow of a raffia lampshade or warm yellow oak flooring. Yellow need not be so scary after all.

We see true yellow used as an accent alongside blue and green. Used in floor rugs and lamps, it brings vibrancy and life to a room. Remember to apply yellow in several ways within a space, not just one. This helps integrate it into a room, and not look out of place. Be careful if you use yellow with other primary colours, like red and blue, as it can look immature. Instead, break it up with natural brown tones of timber and add stone.

The floorplan of French apartments typically means rooms are discrete – one room leads into another; for instance, the kitchen is separate to the living area. Unlike open plan, this layout lends itself to painting each room a different colour or applying wallpaper. This way you can vary the feel, depending on how the room is used. Committing to painting a room in dark blue may seem daunting to some, but the French have the confidence to pull it off. They know that once it’s layered with furniture and artwork, the room will feel wonderful.

The New French look uses pattern to full effect, without overpowering a room. Pattern creates an energetic, lively feeling to a room in a way that colour and texture alone can’t do.

The key is scale. We see a small dense pattern used effectively over a large application, such as wall-to-wall carpet, floor tiles or curtain fabric. The small scale of the pattern works against solid colours such as a sofa.

When combining patterns, make sure that a small-scale pattern is paired with a large- scale pattern, so that there is variety. Create a visual hierarchy, so that two patterns of the same scale are not fighting for attention in the room.

Geometric patterns should be combined with an organic pattern. For instance, with a check-patterned floor tile, use an organic marble with characterful veining for balance. In choosing a pattern for a room, it’s important to consider the colours: a pattern with many colours and a high contrast will look busier than a monochromatic pattern.

This in an edited extract from ‘The New French Look’ by Lauren Li, published by Thames & Hudson. Purchase the book online now here.