When it comes to the elegant things of life the French have no rivals. Whether we are talking about fashion, interior design or furniture style, they have that “je ne sais quoi” that makes everything they touch desirable and glamorous.

French fashion has always been elegant, forward thinking and lavish, just like French furniture. If women have always wanted to wear the most beautiful clothes from the best French designers, now there is a craze for furnishing our homes with glamorous French furniture. In a way it’s like extending the fashion trends into our homes. If you want to dress yourself with the most elegant ensemble, why not dress your bedroom accordingly?

A smart and eclectic mix of different French styles will turn your house into a stylish and comfortable home. Create the perfect reading corner with a gorgeous Louis XV armchair, or turn your bedroom into a boudoir with a delightful French Armoire and a Rococo style bed – there aren’t any rooms that won’t benefit from a little French styling.

But where does this craze come from? It all definitely started in Paris, in the 17th century under Louis XIV – “le Roi Soleil” – who ruled from 1643 to 1715, the longest reign of any European monarch. The reign of the French king Louis XIV commences what experts would call the start of ‘elegant’ furniture design in France. French furniture became refined in design, with a lot of emphasis on flowing, symmetrical design. Louis XIV saw the birth of Baroque style. The Versailles Palace was decorated in a strong, dramatic and exuberant style echoing the king’s strong leadership in a period of war and colonial empire building. The French classical Baroque style was grand and impressive, a symbol of the king’s power.
The French aristocracy became obsessed with interior design, beauty, decadent living, and French furniture became desirable, and crazed for ever since.

When Louis XIV died in 1715, his five-year-old great-grandson became Louis XV. As he was too young to take the throne, his uncle Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, was appointed Regent until the king attained legal majority in 1723. The transitional period between the opulent baroque period and the less formal rococo era of Louis XV became known as French Regence.

The Regency style is very much a transitory period in which pieces from the Louis XIV period were transformed by the use of bronze fittings rather than reinvented. This period refined Louis XIV designs to be more practical and comfortable for everyday use. The Duke of Orleans introduced an era of lighter, more graceful French furniture. The beginnings of the Louis XV style start here, with the flowing curves, scallop shell and acanthus leaf we associate with the Louis XV Rococo style becoming prominent.

Nowadays, Regency chairs are more fashionable than ever. They look fabulous in living-rooms and bedrooms. They are comfortable, yet elegant.

Regarded by many as the Golden Age of French furniture, Louis XV’s reign was a time of peace and prosperity, and soon became one of the greatest periods in French furniture design: Rococo style.

It was frivolous, frothy and decadent, just like the King Louis XV and his official mistress Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, also known as Madame de Pompadour. The Parisian aristocracy embraced new furniture items, such as the chaise longue and the “bergere chair”. Frames were usually gilded or painted. The rococo style featured love, music and nature-inspired motifs and themes, including shells, waves, birds, foliage, vines, flowers, seaweed, rocks and serpents.

Anybody who is passionate about French furniture will have a Louis XV chair on top of their style list. Moreover, nowadays, there are fantastic Louis XV reproduction chairs. You will be able to find them in different finishes and colours. You could even break the rules and have yours re-upholstered with a vibrant and modern fabric: classic with a twist. Whether you go for a classic look or a contemporary one, a Louis XV chair is the must have piece in the living-room, a statement item with lasting appeal. Bergere chairs and chaises longues are also incredibly popular these days.

For the bedroom, a Rococo style bed is the dream of every girl. It’s beautiful and frivolous, exactly what you want in a bedroom! There is no doubt our homes wouldn’t look the same if Rococo style has never existed!

When Rococo began to be considered too frivolous, a classical revival was inspired by the discovery of Pompeii in 1748 – the resulting style became known as neo-classicism or the classical revival. Designers also looked back to the more architectural French furniture of the Louis XIV period.

Gilded wood became popular again, and was used for ceremonial chairs and mirrors.

In our modern homes, a gilded mirror is the perfect focal point for a living room, above a fireplace or a console table. There are so many manufacturers of Baroque, Rococo and Neo-classical style mirrors that you will be spoiled for choice. They are elegant and gorgeous, and a mirror is always a great way to add depth and light into a room.

So why are we crazy for French furniture? Furnishing our homes with French furniture brings us back to those times of royalty and beauty, decadence and glamour. Our lives are complicated; we have stressful jobs and hardly any time for ourselves. That’s why a beautiful and elegant home, full of stylish French furniture can bring a bit of joy and glamour to our existence!