Decorating With Toile
Decorating with toile de Jouy: 40+ ideas for French country cottage decorating with a touch of luxury.
This page is about French country decorating ideas with toile for your
- bedroom
- living room
- kitchen
- dining room
- bathroom
- office
- windows, and other
- French country accents for your home.
In case you're looking to buy vintage/antique toile de Jouy, you'll find a very good resource at the bottom of this page.
Toile de Jouy has been a much loved French decorating fabric ever since it was first printed in 1760 in the small town of Jouy-en-Josas, 15 miles outside Paris.
For the first century or so, decorating with toile (="cloth") from Jouy was something only the French aristocracy could afford for their castles and country estates.
But today, the famous monochromatic prints (on white or cream-colored cotton) are a staple of French country cottage decorating and 'shabby chic' interiors around the world.
Decorating With Toile:
The Ground Rules
Toile prints attract the eye with their vivid, elaborate, busy pattern designs, no matter how spacious and airy your room. To show off the beauty of these fabrics, use them with zen-like restraint ...
because overdecorating with toile is very easy to do!
You'll create the best results with the following approach:
1. Combine toile with simple geometric patterns, like stripes and checks (plus solids), and
2. Group no more than two color families (plus neutrals) together.
You'll find plenty of examples of this as you read on.
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Decorating With Toile:
a) Bedroom Stories
 Black and white toile bedding looks classy, elegant and grown-up: perfect for a master bedroom. So let's play around with some toile ideas and see what works.
Bedroom #1 puts the black and white toile bedding center stage all other surfaces are decorated in solid colors.
The black 'headboard' (a black rectangle of glossy paint on the wall will do just fine!) is important because it creates a strong contrast that shows off the pattern to greatest effect.
The two toile pillows are important, too, because they add a 'sculptural' element to the bed and stand out against the flat headboard.
This would look good with:- bedside tables - black and glossy, like the headboard.
- a crystal chandelier, and/or
- smart wall lights with elegant, simple shades (black silk on the outside, gold lining on the inside)
- an ornament with pretty lines (or a picture), above the 'headboard'.
 Now, perhaps you'd rather have a big, toile-upholstered headboard instead of the black glossy one?
Bedroom #2 shows what that could look like.
Even if this is not quite the headboard you had in mind, please indulge me for a moment, because this is a beautiful example of ...
... decorating with toile gone haywire.
The black and white toile bedding that looked so crisp against the black background, is now 'melting' into a mess of toile pattern. The same would happen if you chose - toile bed hangings, or
- toile wallpaper behind the bed.
 Now, let's say you definitely want to keep the headboard (or the bed hangings, or the wallpaper). What could you do with the rest of the bed and the room to make it work?
First of all, I think we'd have to lose the black and white toile bedding, because we need to reduce the amount of toile pattern next to the headboard, as in Bedroom #3.
Also, it's important that the pillows contrast strongly enough with the toile-covered headboard (they don't have to be black, just dark enough). Instead of the toile bedspread, we could use a toile-edged coverlet or a bedspread in a solid color.
(I admit I still like Bedroom #1 best!)
These are just three small examples of bedroom decorating with toile, but have a look through the following list for more ideas for decorating with toile in your bedroom:
1. If most of your bedding is in a solid color, combine toile curtains at the window with a chair slipcovered in toile (or with a toile chair pad/cushion), and have toile pillows on the bed.
2. If you have black and white toile bedding and a dark, simple headboard, hang a mirror or a few black and white photos in wide, toile-upholstered frames, and add a few smaller, glossy black frames to the group.
3. For some instant elegance at low cost, keep the bed covers in a solid, neutral color and wrap two sturdy, empty cardboard boxes completely in toile fabric or toile wallpaper for makeshift bedside tables.
4. Decorating with toile gone frugal: line a wooden crate with toile fabric and stand it on its side next to the bed; turn it so the toile-clad interior faces the room. Leave the crate unpainted for a rustic look, or give it a coat of paint to fit with the rest of your decor. Pile some books onto the bottom 'shelf', and top the 'table' with a handsome vintage reading lamp from a flea market.
5. If you're choosing red toile bedding, temper the intensity of the color by adding a few light neutrals (cream, sand, unbleached linen, gray) to the room. Unless, that is, you want to create a striking red-and-white color scheme (in which case just go with the ground rules for decorating with toile, as stated above.)
6. Decorating with toile can be done on a shoestring with bargain toile fabrics. And what better place to find a bargain than eBay? If you're looking for, say, a yard of inexpensive toile to experiment with, chances are you'll do much better buying a duvet cover on eBay and cutting it up, rather than buying a yard of new fabric in a dedicated store.
See what's on offer today!
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Decorating With Toile:
b) Living-Room Comfort & Elegance
 How you go about decorating with toile in your living-room depends very much on your style, your color scheme, the size and materials of your furniture, and the way you generally use the living-room.
You'll always have to wash Toile de Jouy prints (at least the original type that's printed onto white or cream-colored cotton) more frequently than you would darker colors.
So if your living-room sofa sees a lot of wear, it makes more sense to slipcover it than to upholster it in toile.
Even better, slipcover the seating in solid-color fabrics and reserve decorating with toile for throws, cushions, and accessories.
More French country decorating ideas with toile:
1. For 'shabby chic' style French country living rooms, cover the floor with rush matting and slipcover all seating in light neutrals or white, then stir some light-colored toile (baby blue, pink, or pale green) and a lot of white lace into the mix.
2. For a more subdued yet natural look (great for French country cottage decorating), combine wicker seating or straw-seated chairs with comfortable leather furniture in natural browns with blue-patterned toile and other blue-and-white fabrics.
2a. In addition to the toile, use things like simple white porcelain on a mantel or a shelf, against pale pink or grayish-blue walls. It's a great look for French country living rooms.
3. To create an elegant French country living room, combine toile wallpaper on a feature wall with full-length, lined toile drapes at the windows. Collect a few antiques (or French country painted furniture) and show them off on parquet flooring (or tomettes from Provence).
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Decorating With Toile:
c) French Country Kitchen Curtains
And Accessories
 So what does decorating with toile look like in the kitchen?
Let's start with a rustic French kitchen, the kind you are likely to see in an old farmhouse in the South of France.
Here, French country kitchen curtains aren't reserved for the windows alone. They are often used to hide the storage space under the worktop.
So take this example of what a toile curtain could look like in a rustic French kitchen. - Does it work?
I'm not entirely convinced. I think the pattern is too fancy, and a plainer fabric would look more appropriate in this environment. Also, there's too much pattern and texture to compete with the toile print.
Generally, I think ...
... the 'cleaner' a kitchen looks, the better toile will look in it.
Of course, decorating with toile needn't begin and end with French country kitchen curtains. Here are some more French country decorating ideas for using toile de Jouy in the kitchen:- toile tea towels, or toile borders on plain/striped tea towels
- toile placemats, toile napkins and toile chair pads (if it's an eat-in kitchen)
- toile-lined baskets
- toile patches over marmalade glasses
- toile bags for recycled materials
- oven gloves with a toile pattern
- a toile apron for the cook ...
- fill in your own ideas here:
- ...
- ...
- ;-)
And just in case you are wondering if you should use all these ideas in the same kitchen ... well, you already know my answer to that one ;-)
But one or two, even three items in toile, combined with other simple patterns or solids that can work beautifully. Particularly if you stick to a strictly limited color scheme, like the blue-and-white in the picture above.
Just one more thing, on a practical note: If you're going to use vintage toile for French country kitchen curtains (or anything else that will get a lot of wear and tear), give it a new, sturdy backing. Your antique textile will thank you by living and looking good for a lot longer.
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Decorating With Toile:
d) Dining Room Chic
Imagine a dining room with
- a toile tablecloth
- toile napkins
- toile placemats
- dining chairs slipcovered in toile
-
and with toile chair pads
- toile curtains at the windows, and
- toile wallpaper (or wallpaper borders).
I know. But I'm sure someone's done that! (And who knows - someone else may be at it right now!)
Now, imagine
- a creamy white, heavy linen tablecloth (and toile napkins)
- dining chairs with slipcovered backs in antique white or unbleached linen (and toile chair pads)
- crisp, milk white curtains with a straight, simple toile (or unbleached linen) valance, and
- no toile wallpaper whatsoever. Anywhere. Instead, the wall has a faint peachy, or pale blue, or grayed pink colorwash.
You're right, only one of these two lists qualifies for French country cottage decorating with toile.
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Decorating With Toile:
e) Bathroom Color & Pattern Ideas
If your bathroom is an all-white affair, that's good news. You're free to play around with toile to your heart's content, as long as you use mostly new toile prints on a white ground it will look better against the crisp whiteness of the tiles.
If you already have some color in your bathroom, or you're stuck with the proverbial avocado bathroom suite, be extra careful and stick to one, exactly one, colorway when you're decorating with toile.
If you have two or more colors in your bathroom, try to find a toile print that matches one of them, and use only that and co-ordinated solids.
For best results, if at all possible, always mix toile with stripes, checks or solids. Here are a few French country decorating ideas for modern bathrooms:
1. Shower Curtains.
You could, of course, just buy one. But where's the fun in that? Design and make your own toile shower curtain instead.
Start with a bought, thin white shower curtain that fits perfectly where you want it. Make a fabric copy of it, with the eyelets in exactly the same places. Hang both curtains together from the same set of loops.
If your shower curtain is above a bathtub, make sure the fabric part hangs outside the tub and stays dry while you shower. Here are a few ideas for toile shower curtain designs:
2. Towels & Bath Mats.
Towels are a great starting point for decorating with toile. Just open up the seams at the top and bottom, and add a wide, double-sided band of toile to each end. It looks best when the printed toile motifs are the same color as the towel. Bath mats can be done in much the same way, or you could give them a complete border of toile.
3. Furniture & Accessories
 - If you have an open cabinet or wall shelf, you could line its interior back wall with toile wallpaper.
- A wooden stool or storage box that doubles as seating can be partially covered with toile fabric, or topped with a toile cushion.
- You could try sewing a wall organizer from toile fabric, or
- create a peg rail with a strip of MDF that you cover in toile before attaching the pegs. Or you could
- line containers with toile, or
- dress the window with simple French country drapes in toile.
Two or three ideas from this list will be plenty - then add a straw-seated chair, a wicker basket or two, and you'll have created plenty of French country atmosphere for your bathroom.
If you're looking for inspiration or accessories for decorating with toile, check out this list from eBay (click on the "View all ... items" link in the lower left corner to see more!). This is also an excellent source of cheap toile fabrics that you can cut up and use for all kinds of experiments in decorating with toile.
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Decorating With Toile:
f) Home Office Decor
French country decorating ideas for your home office:
1. Turn any old desktop into a "country French" writing desk:
Cut a piece of toile to the exact measurements of your desktop, and have a rectangle of (beveled) glass cut to the same measurements. Then sandwich the toile between the desktop and the glass.
2. Stack wooden vintage crates as bookshelves along a wall, and line or paper them inside with toile.
3. Cover containers for mail, pens, brushes etc. with toile. (They could be empty tin cans, wooden boxes, even small or large sturdy cartons.)
4. Cover a rectangle of styrofoam with toile to create a message board or pinboard.
5. Color-photocopy a strip of your favorite toile de Jouy design as a 'letterhead' onto your private stationery.
6. If all else fails, you could always add a toile chair pad to your office chair.
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Decorating With Toile:
g) French Country Drapes & Shades
Toile usually comes as a fairly dense, medium weight cotton fabric. Covering a window with it will block out a lot of light, but there are other options you can use for French country drapes.
Here are some ideas for window decorating with toile:
1. Blinds/Shades
Roman blinds or roller blinds are perfect for toile fabrics. With a light source behind the drawn blind, the printed imagery is illuminated and turns the blind into a picture on the wall.
You could also check with shade suppliers in your part of the world to see if they can laminate your favorite toile fabric to a vinyl blind of your choice.
2. Toile "Shutters"
I've come across two interesting ways of hanging fabric flat across a window perfect for decorating with toile.
The first version (#1) consists of a curtain track/rod above the window, extending to one side, so that the toile panel can slide away from the window during the day and hang on the wall as a 'picture'. To keep the fabric flat and taut, make a tunnel at the top and bottom of the panel and pull a thin rod through each.
The second version uses an L-shaped metal rod that is hinged to the wall and swings away from the window when not in use (this can be a good option when you're dealing with an awkward window).
The L-shaped rod can carry a flat (#2) or a gathered (#3) fabric panel either one looks nice when you're decorating with toile, but the flat panel shows more of the actual print design.
3. Valances and Cornices
Toile is perfect 'crowning' material for the window. You can use it for
- fabric-covered wooden cornices
- upholstered cornices
- fabric valances, like
- plain valances (a rectangle of fabric above the window, with a straight/arched/scalloped edge)
- swag valances (fabric draped around a pole above the window)
- roll-up valances (essentially a short roller blind with decorative ribbon to hold it up)
- box pleat valances
- gathered valances (a rectangle of fabric gathered upwards in one or two places with fabric strips)
- short, shirred 'balloon' style valances
and so on. The variety I have seen most in French country cottage decorating is a no-frills, straight valance just the fabric in all its glory is usually more than enough.
4. French country drapes
Window decorating with toile often involves two layers: a white, see-through window curtain and heavier, lined drapes that are drawn in the evening.
French country drapes don't need to consist entirely of toile, though.- A broad strip of toile along the bottom (1' or more) for full-length curtains, and
- a narrower strip along the vertical edge (about 5") will look beautiful without dominating a room.
- For a short, stylish set of French country drapes, try attaching a toile valance to the top of a heavy, unbleached linen drape.
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Decorating With Toile:
h) French Country Decorating
Ideas & Accessories
This section of Decorating With Toile is about the small things that can make a big difference.
So if you've just created a pair of slipcovers from toile de Jouy, make sure you keep the cutoffs and the snippets!
There's so much you can do with even the smallest bits of fabric. Here are a few French country decorating ideas for leftover toile:- Line a wooden or metal tray with a piece of toile (cover with glass and seal the glass tightly, to avoid heartbreak induced by spilled coffee).
- Cover some buttons with leftover snippets of toile, and use them for slipcovers, tiebacks, napkin rings.
- Make "brooches" for more elaborate napkin rings (or to wear!) Start with a toile-covered button, add lace, stitches & beads.
- Piece a cushion together with some toile and other pretty fabrics
- If you have only a small piece of toile, make a pincushion for someone who loves needlework.
- Line a jewelry box for your daughter.
- Frame a pretty piece of toile. Consider exhibiting a collection of small toile pieces in dainty gilded frames.
- Cover a tiny notebook in toile & give it to a friend.
- Make a toile tea cosy / coffee cuff.
- And whilst you're at it, how about toile egg warmers? They make nice pressies for people who are into French country cottage decorating.
There. Who said decorating with toile wasn't interesting? Oh, and by the way, here are some toile cushion designs for you. Mix them with your own French country decorating ideas. You won't need more than a yard of toile to make all three!
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Decorating With Toile:
i) Buy Vintage/Antique Toile de Jouy
Thankfully, there's a steady flow of wonderful original toile fabrics available from online vendors around the world. Decorating with toile de Jouy is not cheap if you're using 18th-century originals, but you can keep the costs down by sticking to smaller items (like the cushions above). Have a look at what's on offer today!
TIP:
To see the full range, go to the bottom of this list and click on "View all ... items on eBay". (That's where you'll find all the less expensive items that may not appear in this list right now!)
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