Nothing says Cottage French more than pattern play on white. Mixing and matching fabrics takes some trial and error with each project—you won’t get it exactly perfect the first time you put fabrics together. Be patient and try some different combos. Walk away and look at them again the following day. Does it feel right? Often, your gut will tell you what looks best. You also have to consider the rest of the room when starting with your chairs as the color in the room.

So, just how do you achieve this look? Read on to find out how I did this for a client who ordered a custom set of chairs.

This project began with selecting a floral that had all the colors my client wanted in a room: orange, red, melon, pink, green, and black. And to be honest, it took some time to find this floral. I combed through floral after floral at the vendor until I found this one. It had a fantastic peacock along with a urn full of flowers, so it gave us many “scenes” to focus on with the main chairs. This became my “hero” fabric for the collection. I talked about this in a previous post.

Since there is a set of 10, five of them would be floral. I paired each one with a different colored buffalo check seat.

Next, look at other fabrics. Selecting a variety of patterns in the colors we wanted were key to making the pattern play come alive. We needed stripes, dots, checks, and geometrics in orange, green, melon, black, red, and pink.

To achieve the Cottage French look without overwhelming your space, you first need to simplify the space. From the walls to the rug and most accessories, go neutral with black and white along with natural fiber rugs. If you want table decor, keep it simple with greenery like small ferns and light colored simple plates. You don’t want anything to compete with the fabrics on the chairs. The chairs will add the needed color to your space.

And finally, sit back, relax, and enjoy a great meal with your friends and family! You’ve achieved the Cottage French look!