More than a dozen years ago, I connected with the most engaging design inspiration bloggers including Desiree Ashworth of Beljar Home and formerly Decor de Provence. She and her husband had just built a grand chateau in Utah with French country interiors. They downsized a few years later into this much smaller Gustavian French cottage. While they left the property after building an English country cottage, there’s still too much to admire! Today we’ll revisit their Ethereal European Country Design Style Cottage With Rustic Interiors. Although it looks Old World, this is a newly constructed custom crafted home incorporating reclaimed antique materials and collected treasures from Europe.
Photos/Design: Decor de Provence
European Country Design Style Cottage With Rustic Interiors
I have always loved Desiree’s eye for beauty, the designer’s noteworthy restraint, and the unique way she interprets wabi sabi sensibilities.
In Desiree’s collaborations with her husband and with her father, she arrives at interiors and exteriors that feel plucked from the European countryside.
European Country Cottage: Entry Inspiration
What a cozy feel just inside the arched front door:
I’m noticing how the homeowner played with scale in this vignette and also mixed an ornate framed piece of art with a very rustic yet elegant console.
Reclaimed Lanterns & Light Fixtures from Europe
All of the authentic materials make this new build feel established and collected.
Ethereal Colors & Mood
There’s an atmosphere of calm serenity created with the mix of soft muddy washed out colors.
Faded blue greys, seafoamy pale green, warm golden oak, and natural linen harmonize.
With the visual weight of dark wood rustic ceilings, all of the billowy goodness below them feels even more tranquil.
The reflective qualities of crystal from chandeliers and glass fronted cabinets keeps the look lighter as well since the furniture pieces are sturdily rustic.
Design Simplicity in a Bedroom With Romantic Charm
What a dreamy space to retreat!
The lighting is certainly showstopping in this French cottage, and who could compete with these vintage chandeliers!?!
A sculptural bed feels airy and even modern in its lines and playfulness.
Roman shades on the windows keep the look more simple, and I find them so livable!
Again, the ceilings add such rich character and architecture to the entire home. They essentially function as furniture!
Custom Stain for Woodwork & Trim
While the stain mixed for all of the trim and doors was custom, it seems similar to the grey of…
Farrow & Ball’s Pavilion Gray.
Find a wealth of info about Pavilion Gray in THIS STORY.
Neutrals & Dramatic Wood Ceilings
What happens when the warmth of rugged reclaimed wood plank ceilings joins cool Nordic inspired hues throughout a home?
A unique mix and balance of texture and tone.
There’s just nothing like the glow of warm golds and wood tones with chalky Scandinavian inspired blues and greens.
I recall Desiree being fond of the ocean and beachy things, and you can feel that passion shining through.
The repetition of arched doorways, doors, and objects is also a way to infuse a new home with Old World charm.
Weathered Greens & Greys
Could you achieve a similar look with faux and distressed finishes on new objects and materials?
Perhaps.
But there’s no way to capture the soul and history of authentically aged wood, metal, and paint. Artists are sometimes able to emulate such finishes, but it’s far better to take your time collecting (or saving your pennies!) the real thing and mixing it with contemporary.
Beachy Blue-Green Tile & Open Kitchen Shelving
Desiree must be so tired of discussing her love of pale green, seaglass green, and French green tiles!
It seems to be one of her signatures, and she has always thoughtfully used this color that is packed with so many feels.
While reminiscent of the beach, it also sets a very vintage, nostalgic mood. Our grandmothers loved decorating with this green so it carries all of this heartwarming history too.
Rustic Wood Beams & Wood Ceiling Planks
What a labor of love to cover ceilings with rugged planks of wood!
It must have required so much sweat, strength, and engineering prowess to get them right.
Americans have become so accustomed to white drywalled or textured ceilings covered with swiss cheese recessed lights that it feels otherworldly to see something that diverges from it!
The mood completely changes when you start with such a ceiling with beams and rich texture.
The mood is immediately casual and handsome with little chance that the interiors will ever become too precious or feminine.
Industrial Farmhouse Style Pendants
We also see a fair amount of industrial style elements in this cottage. From vintage metal lights over the island to a commercial style range hood, there are strong nods to materials that feel durable and utilitarian.
And yet the overall effect is anything but cold and business-like!
Breakfast Dining Area
Surely this is everyone’s favorite moment in this Nordic French country cottage, yes?
So much European country style cottage style simplicity in its thoughtful design.
Mixing texture, warm and cool tones, vintage and antique, and natural materials…
the effect is stunning and stunningly livable.
Livable luxe for sure, of course, since buying trips to Europe were inevitably involved!
What a modern take on Old World style to create a great room where the kitchen, dining, and family den areas are connected so conversation and flow can flow.
Collected European Country Antiques
When you’re after a completely custom, bespoke, unimitated look, collecting pieces you love from places you love is the name of the game.
In the mean time, wouldn’t this cupboard above be an excellent model for a newly built one?
Magnificent Architecture
Thanks for revisiting this new/old tour of a new/old home in Utah!
If you love the style of the interiors, you’ll love Desiree’s shop BELJAR HOME.
Visit her online too right here.
This post contains affiliate links which I hope you will use since they won’t cost you a penny extra yet may earn this blog a small commission.
Paint Color Idea Inspired from This Home
Tour a Decidedly Non-Rustic Chateau!
For you Francophiles who fantasize about the ultimate fixer upper in the Loire Valley, come tour designer Timothy Corrigan’s amazing property!
European Country Furniture Finds
Trips to France, Italy, Belgium, Span, and Scandinavia to discover authentic finds would obviously be the ultimate way to furnish your spaces in the spirit of this designer. If reality makes that impossible, maybe one of these reproductions can add Euro cottage flavor to your home.
Find friendly priced French country furnishings and decor finds RIGHT HERE
Explore living room elements with a French inspired look RIGHT HERE.
French Country Console
Modern French Table
French Country Pieces in Our Home
Weathered Finish
If you admire soft colors and French inspired beauty, be sure to see THIS TEXAS HOME which is also new yet packed with traditional Old World goodness. You may enjoy THIS FANTASY of a HOME imagined with ancient stone and European antique materials.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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