Having a truly luxurious bedroom is surely one of the nicest things we can do for ourselves. It's time to turn our shopping attention to the bedroom ladies - and for anyone looking to turn their bedroom into a boudoir, in The French Bedroom Company we've found just the place to start.
We spoke to founder Georgia Metcalfe to find out more.
The French Bedroom Company's rather splendid and best-selling Versailles bed. Pic: The French Bedroom Company
Can you tell us a little about your background/how you came to create The French Bedroom Company?
My father is an architect and my mother is an interior designer, so I think I was probably always destined to do something in the interiors world. I trained in media and worked in pr, mainly for interiors companies. After 15 years of pr I decided to take a gamble and start up the company, but only while maintaining my pr work as security, so for a while I was really doing two jobs at once. The push for me came when I was looking to buy something really special for myself for my 30th birthday and wanted a French upholstered bed, but couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere. That's when I decided that there was a gap in the market for great French reproduction furniture.
A dream "getting ready" space, simply and elegantly created. Pic: The French Bedroom Company
It's called The French Bedroom Company, but you sell much more than just beds...
Yes, that's because there's more to a bedroom than it being just a place to sleep. It's also where you sometimes eat breakfast, you get ready to go out – some people are lucky enough to have a dressing table in their bedroom or even a sofa or a chair. So yes, we sell all of those things too, as well as mirrors, screens, rugs and so on.
Do you travel to France to source your products?
We do still go to France occasionally to source designs, but selling French antiques online is tricky as we found that different people have different expectations and ideas on quality when it comes to antique furniture. All of our furniture is made to look 'pre-loved' but it's all new, clean and doesn't squeak when you sit on it.
Could you sum up in three words the look your products create?
Inspirational; timeless; aspirational.
What are the latest additions to The French Bedroom Company collection?
The newest range is called Brigitte – it's all in lime-washed birch and includes a rattan headboard, a beautiful sofa (pictured below) and footstool both upholstered in a natural coloured linen and a great bedside table. On the accessories side we've gone down the Burlesque route lately, which I love.
The Brigitte bedroom sofa. Perfect for pre-bed lounging. Pic: The French Bedroom Company
What are your best-sellers?
The best-seller we have is a gold-framed bed with beige upholstery called the Versailles (pictured above) – people can't seem to get enough of them.
Apart from your own, which are your other favourite homeware shops/sites?
I love Anthropologie, Whole Lotta Lovely (blog) and Pheasant.
To check out the whole range, visit www.frenchbedroomcompany.co.uk