French Renaissance

During the French Renaissance period, the French started moving away from the Gothic style and started incorporating elements from the Italian Renaissance movement. Interior design really flourished during this period and being an interior decorator became a real profession to ensure that interiors were as highly styled as possible.

One of the most important interiors of this time is Chateau de Chambord, which was supposed to serve as a hunting lodge for Francois I. The exterior of the chateau reflects the Medieval period.

Chateau Chambord

Because the Chateau was meant to be a hunting lodge and was only occupied for small periods of time, it was left unfurnished. Francois I hardly spent any of his time at the chateau and after his reign, it was left untouched for years and left to rot, essentially. Louis XIII finally gave it to his brother, who carried out a lot of the restoration work. Then when Louis XIV became king, he took it on as his hunting lodge and had it furnished with elements that are seen throughout the French Renaissance- heavy red fabrics, high amounts of intricate gold ornamentation, and a lot of large mirrors. But even Louis the XIV eventually quit using the chateau. 

Louis XIV's ceremonial bedroom.

Modern take on French Renaissance style

Other Blogs- For this section, I looked at Dana's blog. She focused mostly on the short period style of French Regency. She explains how the furniture style of this time lost all of its symmetry and became very curvy and was a big influence on the Rococo period. 

I also viewed Melanie's blog and really loved all of her photos from Versailles. It's always nice when someone has had a personal experience with one of the historical sights we discuss. Her photos are gorgeous and really reinforce the fact that the French looooved their intricate detail and gold.