French Country Dining Room Furniture

Posted by Belle Escape

French County style dining rooms are warm and inviting spaces that allow guests to pull up a chair and linger over a dinner with friends and family. French Country design has been around for centuries and remains one of the most popular dining room styles today. To achieve this look there are many pieces you can pull together to create that inviting, French country appeal, but the centerpiece of it all is the dining table. The photo below is a great example of a rustic French Country dining room with a grand fireplace and wood beams. The sunflowers appear to have been picked from right outside in the garden, but the real showstopper is the lovely table with it’s dark finish and carved legs. A table that looks as if it has stood the test of time and has a patina and shine from the numerous meals it has served. The room isn’t fussy or formal, but an ideal spot for everyday use.

A classic French Country dining room has warm-toned colors with notes of nature throughout. Borrowing from the colors of rural France, the harvest is always on your mind with notes of greens, golds and reds. Friends from the barnyard are also incorporated, especially a grand rooster. This dining room beautifully incorporates the colors of the French countryside with a mustard-colored table with lovely cabriole legs and heavily distressed ladder-back chairs that add to the room’s warmth and hospitable feeling.

While traditional French Country decor is quite colorful, a more neutral French country palette has become extremely popular in recent years. Note the grey weathered table with a dark stained top and the linen upholstered chairs. A perfect match. A more romantic feel is evident and a light, clean and refreshing appearance results.

The natural wood French kitchen is also in vogue, like this dining room with a long weathered trestle table made from natural reclaimed wood. Soft burlap upholstered chairs, especially ones with words en francais, are also very popular these days.

This long pedestal farmhouse table is a sturdy foundation for any serving or decorative pieces placed on top. Although this room is a more formal dining room with traditional paneling and carpeted floors, the furnishings and decor give it a relaxed, unpretentious look that is delightfully French country. Weather you are eating with a party of five or twenty-five, French Country dining tables will make all of your guests feel welcome and comfortable.

Dream Dining Rooms

Posted by Belle Escape

Dining rooms are the gathering place of the home. A place where family and friends come together to enjoy a meal and each others’ company. With our busy lives, many families are hard-pressed to do this for even once during their day, which makes it even more special when it happens. Make your dining area a warm, inviting place where you and your family or guests choose to linger and spend time with each other. Choose the right size table for your space. It may be a round table like our Provence Round Dining Table or long and rectangular like our French Farmhouse Dining Table. Either way, choose what feels right for your special gatherings.

Display cabinets can offer much needed extra storage for linens, dishes and serving items, while showing off some of your most treasured objects. Our Striped Hutch and Buffet (above) has all the storage you need with open shelving and lots of drawers. We also have cabinets with decorative glass doors like our Arched Cabinet with Glass Doors (above) or Glass Door French Vitrine (below) in order to keep your items safe and dust free, yet still show off the beauty of what’s inside.

Selecting the right chairs for your dining room needs can be a daunting task. You need to ask yourself a few questions. 1) Who will I be seating at my table? Children will do better with hard surfaces that can be wiped down as in our Livorno Ladder Back Chairs and adults might prefer upholstered seating as in the Regal Distressed Armchairs. 2) What is my style? Do you tend to have formal dinner parties or casual family dinners? 3) Will it match the rest of my decor? If your house is entirely in the shabby chic style, you probably don’t want to select chairs that are drastically different.

With the season of Thanksgiving upon us it is important to evaluate your dining space and make sure you are ready for the big feast day. The table, chairs and cabinets make up the important basic bones of the room, and the linens, dishes and lighting are like the jewelry to go with the perfect outfit. When it all comes together, the effect is fabulous!

Dine in Style

Posted by Belle Escape

Choosing a dining room table is one of the most important interior design decision you’ll make. You’ll want to find something you love. Something that reflects your own personal style and gives your dining room just the right ambiance for those treasured family gatherings. You may want your dining table to fit with existing decor or start with the table as the focal point and design around it. Next, think about the size of the space you have. Will it fit with ample room to walk around it? Would a round table or a rectangular table work better in the space?

People who entertain often or have a large family might want to consider a long rectangular table which makes it easier to reach food, seat many people and still provide the all important elbow room for each guest. It also fits well into a long and narrow space. Round tables are great for smaller families or kitchen spaces, but the larger round dining room tables can be used in the formal dining room and are great for facilitating discussion among all guests.

Square tables are also an option to explore. Take a look at the Carved Cabriole Table below. It is a versatile table to blend nicely with many different finishes and decors. If your dining area is square, the best solution might be to replicate that with your table. Ultimately you need to choose a table you will love and that fits your needs. It is a piece that will last for many years to come. The most important part of a dining table is that it brings family and friends together!

Introducing our New Hillside Collection

Posted by Belle Escape

Inspired by the outdoors, this collection of cottage style furniture brings Mother Nature inside your home. The collection includes lovely buffets, dining tables, display cabinets and more with hand-painted motifs and distressed finishes.

What’s Hot in Home Furnishings in 2011!

Posted by Belle Escape

I just returned from the Atlanta Home Furnishings Market, and I have to say, what a great show! Check out this video for a glimpse into this fabulous market. All the best furniture manufacturers were there and the new product lines were just gorgeous! Plus, I just love going to the South! Great comfort foods, friendly people and such beautiful surroundings.

At this market, Belle Escape was looking for some delectable new items to make available online to homeowners creating their dream homes. We found so many wonderful items and the Belle Escape team is now busily adding them to BelleEscape.com, so be sure to check out What’s New often over the next few weeks.

At the show, I noted a few of the hot home furnishing trends of 2011. While I’ll leave the official trend setting predictions up to the experts, I can share with you some of the common themes I saw that indicate current trends – based upon what manufacturers are selling, and, of course, skewed by Belle Escape’s lens that focuses primarily on Vintage French, French Country and Cottage Style furniture and home decor.

I will say that many of the most popular furniture trends seen at the Atlanta Furniture Market have been emerging for years, like French style furniture with contemporary fabrics and furnishings with a weathered and aged look – these are not new trends, rather they are trends that have gained momentum over the past few years through mass public appeal. The most notable emerging trend appears to be the use of reclaimed and natural, unfinished hard woods in both furniture and decor made in classical French styles. The show was brimming with items reflecting this trend!

So here’s a little of what we saw that is hot this season…

Furniture and Pillows with French Words
Weathered Furniture and Decor
Vintage French Style Furniture with Contemporary Fabrics
Elegant Furnishings in Natural Reclaimed Wood
Peace, Love and Funk in High Style

Moulins Arm Chair

French Script Chair

French Word Pillows

La Maison Pillows

Weathered French Chest

Weathered Glass Top Table and Candles

Rustic Weathered Bench

Emelie (Emelies Decor) & Donna (Belle Escape) at Emelies Showroom - gorgeous, authentic vintage French furniture with real burlap and painted canvas covers

French Laundry Chair

Painted Burlap King Louis Chair

Earthy Natural Wood Bench

Natural Wood French Style Console Tables

Weathered Natural Wood Chest

Natural Wood Lantern Chandelier

Belle Escape’s Best Selling Furnishings in 2010

Posted by Belle Escape

Looking back at 2010, Belle Escape had a wonderful year helping an ever increasing number of homeowners transform their primary residence or vacation home into a dream oasis! We enjoyed learning about our customers’ visions and working with them to find the perfect pieces to get the exact look and feel they desired.

In 2010, our customers loved browsing all style categories, but French Country, Vintage French, Coastal Cottage and Cottage Chic were especially popular. In the furniture category, accent tables, chests, console tables, coffee tables, dining room tables and headboards were in highest demand. In home decor, chandeliers, decorative mirrors and wall art were the best selling items. About 70% of our customers purchased furnishings for their primary residence while 30% were furnishing a vacation home. And while Belle Escape’s customers come from all over the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, our most enthusiastic fan bases can be found in Texas, Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Toronto and Montreal.

Some of Belle Escape’s best selling furniture and home decor items in 2010 are shown below. Here’s looking forward to helping more and more of you create your dream home in 2011!