Layered European Country Designs & Cozy Old World Interiors Now

Even though you need not be a credentialed interior designer to recognize when a space looks impeccably appointed, such exquisite designs don’t just happen. There are often a great many details undergirding them. Even if the architecture of a space is exceptional, choosing pieces, materials, textures, and colors involves thoughtful consideration which only appears to have come together effortlessly. Let’s look a bit closer at the layering in these Layered European Country Designs & Cozy Old World Style Interiors.

Layered European Country Designs & Cozy Old World Interiors

How Do You Layer Textures & Materials Successfully?

The Belgian apartment above is such a delicious example of how a mix of texture, color, scale, and shape contrast and evoke emotion in layered glory. But which textures? Which colors? And which shapes? Notice the linear layer, the triangles, the curves, the ovals, the diamond shapes…

While it may in part depend on textures and materials you love, in many cases, it helps to have plenty of varied textures and shapes present. A variety of shapes can be expressed in pattern and prints if they are your passion. Patterns can be repeated and layered for a surprisingly unexpected yet serene look.

A mix of textures, patterns, prints and materials adds tactile interest, energy, and life. Unsure what specific layering ingredients you love? Begin to collect images online and organize them on Pinterest boards.

You’ll be able to review your favored designs and look closer at them to notice commonalities.

Hints to Achieve a Calm Look

When your collection of everyday essentials from France and Europe are as fine as this (above), can you even make a mistake layering them? Hahahaha. The placement above has a pleasingly calm look where like things are kept together and are arranged in a flowing, lyrical (yet subtle) manner.

While it isn’t always apparent in photos, in person, subtle textures (such as the masterfully plastered walls above) elevate the layered mix.

Interior designers learn all sorts of visually pleasing tricks on their design journeys. Here are a few hints to create aesthetically pleasingly calm arrangements:

Combine smooth ceramics with rough-textured baskets or wooden items. Incorporate a variety of materials with varying sheens, such as glass, metal, wood, and fabric for a more visually rich display.

And don’t forget about negative space where the eye can rest. Study beautifully layered shelves and begin to notice such negative space.

Will the Layering Process Take Time?

Bear in mind that shelf styling and styling in general requires more time than you may imagine. To arrive at a non-contrived look may require time, trial and error, and multiple attempts turning objects and zhushing them fractions of an inch.

Psst. Think you need a pricey antique sideboard from Europe to score a richly layered look? Look at what a single rich paint color for walls and shelves can do (above)!

Group Similar Items Together

You already know this, but do you know why? Grouping similar items together creates a sense of cohesion and makes it easier for the eye to follow a theme or story.

When you vary the heights and sizes of objects, you add depth, personality and interest factor. It will at times look natural to employ books or boxes to create different levels, but this approach can also appear dreadfully contrived. (Sorry to break it to you, but there’s a good reason hiring a professional interior designer is often the solution for such subtle zhushing!)

How Are Balance and Symmetry Important to Layered European Country Designs?

It can be somewhat easy to recognize when an interior appears balanced in a photo, but to achieve balance up close, in real life? The execution probably demands intention and work to arrive at a balanced arrangement. A large item on one side can be balanced with a similar visual weight on the other side.

Don’t forget you can snap a photo of your own arrangement to analyze balance and any issues.

Symmetry can also create a sense of order and formality, but it isn’t the only possibility. Asymmetry can also be visually interesting and dynamic.

Color Stories, Variation and Layering

Should you intersperse pops of color in the space to add visual interest? Sometimes. But tone on tone can still be the right look and beautiful when texture becomes a “color.”

Neutral color stories often fall from favor in terms of what’s trending any given season (what marketers, brands, and magazines tell us is trending, that is), but “neutrals” are easy to live with over time.

No wonder there are messages in the marketplace that a particular color story is “over.” Keep those customers buying new everything by creating a storyline that explains why they need new and improved!

European designs so beautifully reflect a sophisticated sense of color mixing and even color clashing that many Americans fail to appreciate.

What colors go together? Sometimes that is not as helpful a question as “how can I playfully relate colors in a uniquely pleasing manner?”

Or even: “what color combination will reflect an evolved over time look that didn’t come together in a single month or year?”

Do you have to be a designer in Europe in order to understand interesting color stories that feel authentic and evolved?

It helps…but no, madame!

Layering With Authenticity & a Personal Touch

Incorporating personal items and mementos to add character and tell a story is a critical part of successful layering.

Art, decorative items, and treasured objects can be conversation starters and make a space feel grounded and personalized.

Your favored colors, patterns, books, and art can be gathered playfully and dramatically. Depending on your lifestyle and personality, maybe the layered mix will whisper or maybe it will be an expression of fantasy. Fantasy?

I don’t enjoy home tours like the one above in order to copy ideas but to learn more about the processes beneath designing…the spirit that guided it, the intentions, and the sensibilities. These are personal matters. While the cozy library below may not suit you personally, that’s kind of the whole point! You can sense the personalized comfort it brings to its owner.

There’s a rich story the mix expresses when layers feel natural, collected, established and authentic rather than quickly or cleverly assembled.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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