Provençal decor is the spirit of a farmhouse in the sun: limewashed walls in ochre, terracotta floor tiles, printed fabrics, weathered furniture, bunches of lavender and blue shutters. To bring it home, start with warm colours and natural materials, then add a few traditional pieces and images of the South of France. ☀️
Here is what makes a Provençal home, its colours, and 10 ideas to bring Provence into your home, wherever you live.
What is Provençal decor?
Provençal decor draws on the farmhouses (mas) and village houses of the South of France, with thick walls and shutters kept closed in summer to hold in the cool. It is simple, rustic and full of light: everything recalls the sun, the fields and the markets.
- Local materials: terracotta, stone, lime, olive and walnut wood, wrought iron, straw.
- A sun-soaked palette: ochre, terracotta, yellow, lavender blue, olive green and off-white.
- Recognisable patterns: the small flowers and paisleys of Provençal fabrics, cicadas, olives.
- Objects with a past: weathered furniture, pottery, market baskets, painted earthenware.
- Scents: lavender, Marseille soap, herbes de Provence drying in the kitchen.
What colours go with Provençal decor?
| Colour | Where it comes from | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow or red ochre | The cliffs of Roussillon and the Luberon | Limewashed walls, a façade, a feature wall |
| Terracotta | Floor tiles and Roman roof tiles | Floors, pots, tableware |
| Lavender blue | The fields of the Valensole plateau | Shutters, cushions, bed linen |
| Olive green | The olive trees of the Alpilles | Painted furniture, doors, curtains |
| Off-white | Lime and limestone | Walls and ceilings, as a base |
| Sunshine yellow | Printed fabrics and sunflowers | A touch: a tablecloth, a bunch of flowers, a poster |
10 ideas for Provençal decor at home
Limewashed walls in ochre
The base of a Provençal home is limewashed walls in warm shades, never perfectly even. A lime plaster or lime paint in yellow ochre, sand or pale pink gives that living texture that changes with the light. The village of Roussillon is the best example: its houses are the colour of the ochre quarries around it. The Ochre Trail, right next door, is like an open-air painting where red, yellow and orange blend with the green of the pines. We did the 50-minute loop, easily doable with young children, as we tell in our walk along the Ochre Trail on Rolling Trippers.
The ochres of Provence
Blue shutters and olive green
Shutters, the front door, a repainted sideboard or garden chairs: lavender blue, faded sky blue or olive green answer the ochre walls. Choose slightly washed-out shades, as if the sun had been weathering them for years. One strong colour per room is enough.
Printed Provençal fabrics
Provençal fabrics with their small flowers descend from indiennes, printed cottons that came from India. The first indienne printing workshop opened in Marseille in 1648, and the Tarascon manufacture, founded in 1806, became Souleiado in 1939, “l’ensoleillade” in Provençal, the moment when the sun breaks through the clouds after the rain. A tablecloth, a few cushions or a quilted boutis are enough to set the tone.
Terracotta tiles and earthenware
Tomettes, small terracotta floor tiles that are often hexagonal, cover the floors of old houses in Provence. If you cannot change your floor, terracotta can come in other ways: large jars, plant pots, baking dishes, tiles as a splashback behind the sink. Its warm colour brightens up a white room in an instant.
Weathered furniture and straw-seated chairs
Provençal furniture is made of fruitwood or walnut, often carved: a low sideboard, a wedding wardrobe and a panetière, the small slatted cabinet hung on the wall where bread was kept. Add chairs with straw seats and a little wrought iron, a console or a headboard. A single piece found at a flea market is enough to give a modern room a Provençal soul.
Lavender, in bunches and sachets
A bunch of dried lavender in a jug, sachets in the wardrobes, a bundle hanging in the hallway: lavender scents and colours the house all year round. Buy it at a market or from a grower, and check where it comes from. In Les Baux-de-Provence, we learnt that not every shop sells local products, and that it would be a shame to bring back lavender that is not from Provence, as we tell in our weekend in Les Baux-de-Provence on Rolling Trippers. 🌿
Marseille soap, in the kitchen and the bathroom
A big green cube of olive oil Marseille soap on a terracotta dish by the sink: it is useful, pretty and smells of holiday homes. The Marius Fabre soap works, founded in 1900 in Salon-de-Provence, has seen generations of soap makers work at its cauldrons. Tuck a bar of soap into each wardrobe to scent the linen.
Earthenware, pottery and santons
Faience from Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, green and yellow glazed pottery, earthenware dishes from Vallauris: Provençal tableware is meant to be hunted down and mixed. And as Christmas approaches, the Provençal nativity scene takes its place on the mantelpiece with its santons, small painted clay figurines. In Arles, a UNESCO World Heritage city, you will find many santonniers, the makers of these figurines, in its stone streets.
Posters of places in the South of France
A hilltop village, a cove in Marseille, the gardians of the Camargue or a beach on Porquerolles: a poster brings back the light of the South every day. Choose the place of your yearly holidays or your family home, and group two or three posters of the same region in a hallway or above a sideboard.
Marseille, the Camargue and Porquerolles
A summer table under the olive tree
Provençal life happens outdoors: a wooden table under a pergola, mismatched chairs, a printed tablecloth, a carafe of cool water and an olive tree in a pot. Even on a balcony, an olive tree and a small table are enough for an early evening pastis. Find more ideas in our article on creating a home bar.
Which poster should you choose for Provençal decor?
Choose the landscape that ties you to Provence, then the size for the room. All our posters come in A5 (€15), A4 (€19) and A3 (€24).
| Room | The landscape | Recommended size |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | The lavender fields or the Colorado provençal | A3 above a sofa or a sideboard |
| Hallway | A trio of Roussillon, Les Baux-de-Provence and Marseille | 3 x A4 |
| Bedroom | Porquerolles or the salt marshes of Aigues-Mortes | A3 above the bed |
| Kitchen | Pastis time or the Old Port of Marseille | A5 or A4 |
| Bathroom | A beach on Porquerolles | A5, behind glass |
To hang them at the right height, follow our guide on hanging a picture frame. And if your heart also lies on the other side of the Alps, our Italian decor ideas share the same sun.
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of Provençal decor?
The colours of Provençal decor are those of the landscape: yellow and red ochre, terracotta, lavender blue, olive green and off-white. They sit on a base of limewashed walls, with a touch of sunshine yellow in the fabrics.
How do you create a modern Provençal look?
Keep the walls light and the furniture simple, then add a few Provençal pieces: a printed tablecloth, a terracotta jar, a bunch of lavender, a straw-seated chair and a poster of a southern landscape. A single antique piece is enough.
What furniture suits a Provençal home?
Fruitwood or walnut furniture, often weathered or painted: a low sideboard, a wedding wardrobe, a panetière bread cabinet, a farmhouse table, straw-seated chairs and a few wrought iron pieces.
Which poster suits Provençal decor?
A poster of lavender fields, the ochres of Roussillon, a hilltop village like Les Baux-de-Provence, Marseille, the Camargue or Porquerolles. In A3 (€24) for a living room, in A4 (€19) or A5 (€15) for a hallway or a kitchen.
A little sunshine, all year round
A Provençal home does not need to be in the Luberon: an ochre wall, a bunch of lavender and a table where you take your time are all it takes. For another region close to your heart, see our Breton decor ideas too. And browse our France posters to find your corner of Provence.
