French Provencial Style –timeless design that can be honored and modernized with new windows & doors
French Provencial Style –timeless design that can be honored and modernized with new windows and doors
By Jennifer Gangone
Do you live in a French Provencial style home that looks and feels dated? Are the 1990’s going to call you any minute to ask for their house back? (It's so very "90's" of me to even type that and think it was funny.) I encounter French style homes in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton and Cumming often, and I get excited envisioning the possibilities in replacing those tired wood windows with new state-of-the-art wood clad or fiberglass windows! A French style home should exude the right blend of warmth and formality with soft touches and more masculine details and finishes elsewhere. I find comfort and inspiration when I see a home that gives a nod to centuries of architectural designs. A French Provencal home never disappoints me.
A beautifully designed French Provencial style home is timeless.
What Makes a House French Style?
A French-style home, or a French provincial home, is a brick, stone, or stucco house with a steep rooftop and large windows. A classic "French-style home" is a property that balances grand size with laid-back, rustic features.
Classic French-style homes are usually constructed of durable materials such as stone, brick, or stucco, and they often include steep rooftops and large, arched windows with shutters. These homes traditionally have courtyard entries and exterior gardens. For example, a French-style home may include a large iron gate that opens to a courtyard garden with stone pavers that lead to an oversized arched entry made entirely of stone. These homes are also often surrounded by distinctive greenery, such as rose bushes, hydrangea, lavender, or even topiaries and creeping ivy.
French Style Interiors Compliment the Exterior Design
The appeal in this style is the blend of warmth and rustic elements with old-world formality. French-style homes typically have a formal dining room and living room, breakfast nook, and family room, rather than a large open concept so often found in more modern homes in the Atlanta suburbs.
The details of a French Style home create warmth and originality. French Style homes often have hardwood flooring. One can go with wider, more rustic planks, or with a more refined chevron pattern. I love a good chevron pattern!
French Style Homes Let the Light In
A well-designed French provincial home lets the outdoor light in. Tall ceilings, wood beams, and floor-to-ceiling windows drench the homes in natural light, creating a cheery, bright, and elegant environment. Also, arched wood, iron or fiberglass doorways perfectly provide the entryways that open to the outdoor space.
I especially love the use of a light wood tone for the French doors and picture windows above the doors. So often, we rush to paint our wood windows, however I love the current movement to bring back an interior stained wood window. I’ve written a blog explaining different types of wood clad windows here. Pella Lifestyle and Reserve lines and Marvin Elevate and Ultimate line are both great options to achieve a look such as this.
If you currently own a French style home that feels dated, the Wallaby Windows of North Georgia team wants to help. We’ll work with you to select exterior paint, windows, doors and shutters that will modernize your home while still honoring it’s old-world charm. Contact us today and schedule a complimentary design consultation.
