Quiet Elegance: A Modern French Country House Tour

In this post: If you love casual chic style that exudes quiet elegance, you’ll love this modern french country house tour.⇒

Everyone loves a house tour.

Many years ago, I was asked to chair a fundraiser for my kids’ school. I opted to put together a tour of local homes and was astounded by the response and popularity of the event.

While it took quite a bit of effort to arrange the logistics of our guests visiting 5 different homes, complete with a stop at each front door to put on protective shoe coverings, it was the most well attended event at the time.

Of course, in some ways, you can’t beat the impact of an in person tour, as you can get a 360 degree view of the rooms you are touring. Still, there are myriad advantages to a virtual tour, not the least of which includes not having to put those protective coverings on your feet! You also have the opportunity to spend as much time as you like looking at each room and can return to it whenever you like.

Today, I’m sharing an exquisite home that belongs to fellow blogger, Courtney Davey from Tuft & Trim. This talented designer’s home exemplifies the modern French country aesthetic, comprising light and airy uncluttered spaces, yet with stunning, unmistakably French influences.

This is not your grandmother’s French country style with deep dark colors and roosters aplenty. Instead, the look is wonderfully updated and is both inviting and up-lifting. It exudes comfort and tranquility, but also a quiet elegance that celebrates a respect for the decorative arts.

I encourage you to visit Courtney’s blog where you can find detailed before-and-afters, as well as her lovely Instagram page.

I’ll be providing links below so you can click to explore the spaces in more detail and to find all the related shopping information, too.

Enjoy the tour and be inspired!

The Family Room

The lovely Cape Cod style home has a traditional floor plan with mostly separate rooms, yet the family room and dining room offer a more open layout. This mix, as well as its rustic warmth, wood beams, tall windows and other character details are what first attracted the owner.

It has both a formal living room and a somewhat less formal, but equally beautiful family room that opens to the step-up dining room. Despite the elegant appointments in the room, pictured in the above two photos, the overstuffed sofas, conversational layout and warm brick fireplace encourage relaxed family time.

Courtney painted the original dark paneling and ceiling beams, and added vinyl plank flooring to lighten the room. (Be sure to click over to see the before pic. You will not believe the difference!) The light tones give the space its modern air, yet every detail conspires to present a room rife with style and beauty.

From the vintage gilded mirror to the framed intaglios over the chesterfield sofas, the inviting space embodies the modern French country look and sets the tone for the rest of the house.

The Dining Room

Adjacent to the family room, the charming dining room has an open and spacious feel that belies how dark and enclosed the room looked before Courtney put her stamp on it. Graced with plentiful windows on three sides, the well lit space completely opened up with fresh paint and French-inspired decor.

Courtney used her go-to white paint, Alabaster by Sherwin Williams, to lighten the walls. Whitewashed cane back chairs, a light wood trestle table and a Swedish inspired sideboard sit perfectly in the space, which is punctuated by a wonderful French farmhouse chandelier and distressed wall sconces.

A neutral rug with an organic look sits atop a tile floor that has the look of stone floors.

With its location connected to the main living area, the dining and family rooms combine to create a modern style great room, yet their comfortable designs and soft lines are emblematic of a classic French country home.

See the dining room before and after HERE.

Decidedly more elegant than modern farmhouse style, the French country features include touches of gold, decorative molding, painterly surfaces and of course, French inspired furniture, but all presented in a thoroughly updated way.

The Formal Living Room

The second of the living spaces is the formal living room, the bastion of ‘all things pretty’ and Courtney’s refuge, as the mother of young children, as the room that’s free of toys and baby-proofing.

The distinct nature of the room offers the opportunity for more elegant entertaining or to work quietly, leaving family time for the more casual spaces. The decor, as such, reflects this difference, with a lovely mix of patterns and beautiful accessories.

The palette is still pale with soft color, best appreciated in the gorgeous chinoiserie fabric on the vintage sofa. Gold leaf accents play off the lovely palette, seen in the chic coffee table and the fabulous sunburst mirror.

A calming neutral rug grounds the space, as does the Alabaster paint color.

Check out the full details and find the shopping info, along with before and after photos at this link.

The Kitchen

The spacious kitchen was updated on a budget (as Courtney wasn’t yet ready for a complete kitchen makeover with all the changes to her new home under way), in which it was lightened up significantly with painted cabinets.

She added new hardware and a fabulous copper faucet, to work with the existing copper sink.

See the before and after HERE.

The Laundry Room

The dreamy laundry room is pretty as can be, but is even more compelling when you see the before photo. The new white cabinets, mint green walls, and gold hardware are lovely in and of themselves, but the real triumph is the folding counter and shelves that Courtney and her husband built to fit the washer and dryer.

Graceful wall plates, hanging family photos and a triple white orchid add a note of polish to the space. A pretty flush mount fixture is the icing on the cake.

Be sure to check out the full story HERE.

The Garden Bathroom

Beyond the laundry room, there’s a lovely full bath, aptly nicknamed the garden bath, due to an enchanting floral wallpaper in soft green tones. Like the laundry room, this room has been completely transformed into a beautiful space. A pretty white vanity with gold hardware and quartz countertops graces is the space, adding understated elegance. The floor is done in hexagon carrera marble, while the full-sized shower utilizes carrera subway tile. The net result is a posh little space with timeless, quality finishes.

The transformation is so stunning, that I encourage you to click HERE to see the before photo.

Master Bedroom

Perhaps my favorite room in the entire home is the master bedroom, and as it embodies everything I love so much about this house. The quintessence of modern French country style, with a gracious light palette, limited and subtle patterns and tasteful gold accents, the room is at once the picture of casual elegance, and a haven for a relaxing retreat.

The same themes are carried through to the alluring sitting area, seen below, which pulls all the design concepts from around the house into one lovely space. Floral pillows, gilded wall sconces, intaglio wall art, and other French details punctuate the area.

See the details and sources HERE.

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom is another space that utilizes soothing sage green to its fullest potential. Warm brass fixtures and romantic French touches round out the picture. A double vanity has been painted white and enhanced with pretty hardware. A pair of gilded French mirrors preside over the vanity and are flanked by handsome vanity sconces. The sage wall paint ties this space to the rest of the home and helps bring out all the delicate accessories.

See the complete makeover HERE.

The Nursery

The sweetest little boy’s nursery takes advantage of a whisper soft wall mural that functions as a backdrop to the lovely white furniture. Soft blues and whites are the order of the day here. It is gentle and delicious with drapey soft fabrics, a vintage dresser and a lush chair for snuggling.

Boys Bedroom

The bigger boys room maintains the blue color story, yet mixes it in with light wood and neutrals. Ticking stripe wallpaper and nautical motifs add personality.

The photo below offers a glimpse at the designers home office and you can see how her style is cohesive throughout the entire house.

I hope you enjoyed this delightful tour and feel inspired by it. For me it illustrates that French country decor is alive and well and has a whole new audience that it appeals to. This updated version of French decor provides an opportunity to decorate a home with a taste for both the traditional and the modern.

For the resources of the decor seen in this post, please click on the provided links for each room. If you’d like to shop for more French style decor, shop my faves below.