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The French-Bohemian Look
What do you call a style that combines bold floral cottage prints with natural finishes? French Bohemian, of course! After posting some pictures of my new collection of chairs, a fan coined that term for me and I absolutely love it…it’s perfect for this collection, so thank you!
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8434-2-1.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
How the creative process works is very interesting to me. I knew I loved these florals that were painted by artist Carrie Schmitt and planned to use them in my Spring Collection of chairs, but I had no idea exactly how they would end up looking or what finishes I would even choose until I started on them. (I wrote a previous post on our collaboration.)
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8446-2-1.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
And that’s the key…I had to start not even knowing where the path would lead. And I’m so glad I did. I played around mixing and matching some with solid velvets, using linens instead of velvets, and even going with white finishes on some, which I definitely loved and the chairs took on a more cottage feel to them.
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8461-2-1.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
But when I dared to try it with some natural finishes, my heart really sang. You know how you feel when you get something right and it completely surprises you? That’s how I felt.
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I spent a Sunday stripping my 1960s dining room French table with a friend (yes, that’s what I do for fun!) and got it stripped down to it’s natural finish. Then, I spent another day painting my dining room so that it could be the perfect backdrop for these bold chairs. I didn’t want anything else in the room to compete with them because I was going to use all different floral prints together.
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8408-2-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C767)
Paintings were moved to new spots. And boy, do I love the result! Here’s Frida’s new spot!
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8465-1.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
French Bohemian for sure! The room is so joyful and I feel so happy eating in there—we eat dinner in the dining room every evening and always have.
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8409.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
Sometimes life is about taking the little risks, and seeing where the path leads you. Quite often, the end result is a nice surprise!
![](https://chairwhimsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_8415-2.jpg?fit=768%2C1024)
What little risks have you taken and what were the result? What did you learn from the process? I would love to hear in the comments!
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