French design gives home effortlessly chic look

Claudine Sorel and Mark Bloomfield were married in their Washington apartment. Sorel, a French designer, made over Bloomfield’s former bachelor digs while keeping the Old World patina.

The unstudied chic of French style is a hallmark of the country’s fashion and design. Parisian Claudine Sorel brought the beauty of Paris and Provence to her new home in a 1925 co-op in Washington, D.C. Using her own pieces and those of her new husband, Mark Bloomfield, Sorel styled a cozy, warm place for the two of them to call their own.

There are touches of French country: terra cotta and mustard paint colors, rustic tiles and toile fabrics and wallpaper. Elegantly proportioned armchairs and small Old World desks fit nicely into the architecture of the 1925-era co-op, which features arched doorways, glossy wood floors and classic fireplaces. Lamps topped by fabric shades of Sorel’s own design lend a soft glow. Loose bouquets of roses and stacks of books have an unstudied look.

Want to bring a little breath of France into your home this spring? Here are a few tips from Sorel:

• Go beyond all-white lamp shades. Add color with fabric shades in print that add a warm glow.

• Create intimate settings on tabletops using mementos from your family, such as photos or stacks of books. Sorel used a champagne bucket as a beautiful container for an orchid. She also used a family golf trophy as a pot for a blue hyacinth.

• Use warm colors on your walls such as mustard or terracotta.

• Tiled floors warm bathrooms, kitchen and entry halls. She imported hand-painted cement tiles from France.

• The smell of dried lavender evokes the French countryside.

• Put up shelves wherever you have room. Arrange books in a casual way, not lined up.

• Mix prints, especially toiles, in primary colors.