It would be hard to guess from the name or the style of the stunning pieces of furniture that they had anything to do with Sussex but the French Bedroom company is firmly rooted in the county.
Every curve of a headboard, every pillow ruffle, and the intricate detailing found within the furniture collections all ooze luxury, romance and that je ne sais quoi. Inspired by 17th century French history, and founder Georgia Metcalfe’s love of France, French Bedroom was born.
The brand, now the stuff of dreams for ‘A’-lister celebs and customers on both sides of the Channel, includes an array of French-style furniture and premium quality accessories, infused with modern ikat, laid-back linens, plush and plumed velvet along with modern rattan.
Georgia is based in Haywards Heath and has spent 15 years of her life within the Sussex countryside, immersing herself in nature and being inspired by the extensive rolling hills and open green spaces the county has to offer since leaving the capital for the tranquillity the county offers.
‘The rolling hills of the South Downs are great for letting one’s mind get carried away with an idea,’ she tells Sussex Life. ‘And the wild plains of Knepp Estate are conducive to creating connections with nature and inspiring new floral and biophilic designs.’
But while Sussex inspires her now it’s the country across the water that first captured Georgia’s heart. She was just six months old when she first visited France – a trip to Biarritz. Family holidays through her teenage years cemented her love for the country, its style and romanticism.
‘It’s impossible to avoid the connection between France and romance – it’s huge,’ says Georgia, 48, who is also the creative director of the online designer furniture and accessories store.
Her love affair with the county she regularly visits on ‘short hops across the Channel’ took an unexpected twist when she turned 30 and switched from a tourist who loved indulging in French culture to an award-winning business owner with both her head and heart firmly rooted with our Gallic neighbours.
‘I had my heart set on a French style bed for my 30th birthday because I love the curvaceous style of French beds,’ Georgia explains. ‘They’re gorgeous and the feminine style really suited the interior of my home at the time.
‘French is obviously the most beautiful and romantic style – the curves are relaxing, and more calming than angles. French beds tend to have a female aesthetic - white, cream, pale sage, soft French blue, and ivory are the romantic colour palette you associate with them.
‘I couldn't find a bed I liked and I realised there seemed to be a space to be filled for timeless female romantic beds.’
And so, in a leap of faith that she could be the one to fill that gap in the market, the French Bedroom journey began. Starting out with humble beginnings in the spare room in her London flat and an empty house next door as a warehouse, Georgia set about creating her own bed range, working with manufacturers, designers, - and working closely with her father who was an architect - sourcing and designing furniture with a nod to heritage designs.
The former corporate PR professional then called up an old friend who helped her make the first website in 2005 ‘in the days before e-commerce even existed as a phrase’.
‘Most big retailers didn't have a website back then. People were a bit fearful of online shopping because it wasn't so regulated. But I wanted to target time-poor families who had to work, come home to cook a family meal and bring up children and had no time to traipse around out of town shopping centres at the weekend.
‘The idea they could sit down at home and shop online was more attractive and it worked. It was a revelation to customers that they could kick off their shoes on the sofa with a drink and use that time to shop online.’
To this day, Georgia’s company has remained true to its initial bed style – pale and curvaceous – as she prides herself on creating timeless classics that grow with the owner.
‘We want our beds to last decades or generations and they do transcend trends,’ she explains. ‘We want them to grow old with you from a small flat to a Victorian townhouse to a Georgian country manor.
‘Homes change and furniture changes but we’re producing furniture that transcends trends and house styles. Indeed, some of my customers have described our furniture as “antiques of the future”.’
So stylish and sought after is her range that she now has an impressive list of celebs on her customer database. While she remains tight-lipped about their identities, she did reveal to Sussex Life: ‘Suffice to say we have world-class footballers, royalty, comedians and fabulous actresses.’
French Bedroom began offering bedding in 2012, which Georgia had sourced herself and when the demand for bedding began to rise, Georgia started to design her own bedding ranges in 2015, heavily influenced by her walks in the Sussex countryside and coastal areas.
‘The effervescent culture of Brighton also harnesses my love for character, colour and stripes bringing visual intrigue to my designs,’ she says.
Many of French Bedroom’s beds, which start at £995 rising to £2,000, are upholstered and their extensive range of bedroom furniture and accessories, appropriately colour co-ordinated to complement the centrepiece, are thoughtfully crafted for the target audience.
‘We have a bedside table with a tray for breakfast in bed, for example - we're thinking about thoughtful design elements not just about how it looks but usage that matches needs.’
But, as Georgia said, the idea is that once purchased, complete with its classic Vispring mattress, the bed will be a much-loved item of furniture for a lifetime.
‘We offer a 30-year guarantee on the mattresses so it is a sustainable purchase and it's not putting metal and fabric into landfill after eight years like a typical bed.’
French Bedroom also uses responsibly sourced timber from sustainable forests where the wood is grown specifically for furniture production. Its ranges are designed in mahogany, oak and birch and has launched a sustainable mattress range.
Many are made in the UK with some made abroad but she always hires as many women as possible. ‘I try to employ females behind the tools where we can try to champion women and their skills,’ she says. ‘We make as much [of the furniture] as we possibly can in the UK because the turnaround time is quicker but the carved wooden items are made overseas because of the amazing skills there.
Georgia, who has a warehouse in London and near Burgess Hill, travels a lot but it’s Sussex that she comes home to and which provides ‘a canvas of inspiration.’ Recently she has added rose-coloured hues from flowers near her home and is constantly amazed by the natural palette and shapes she sees along her local walking trails.
‘I’m incredibly lucky to live here and love that it feeds back into my work,’ she says. ‘I still adore France, obviously, but I am also inspired by Sussex and its glorious – and gorgeous – countryside.’
