Why Your Home Decor Should Have a French Accent

french home decor and organizing

Photos: Jennifer Morrissette

I recently traveled to France, so when I came across an article about home decor titled, “How to Renovate Your House Like a French Girl,” it definitely caught my attention!

One of the key pieces of advice in the article was to keep things functional. “That’s the reason French houses are so effortlessly stylish,” the article points out. “They’re built to accommodate the way their owners go about their day. It’s actually effortless to live in them.”

This approach to decor is something wonderful that I experienced firsthand from staying in a gite (think “French Airbnb”). They really did value functionality and design. They used beautiful pieces of furniture to store the everyday items — actual china cabinets to store dishes and an armoire to store brooms/vacuums and cleaning supplies (see my photos above).

The flow of the house made it easy to use. Everything is really old there and they maintained the character of the houses as much as possible. The decor was lively and bright with a mix of humor. They live with joy in mind…who wouldn’t want that?

If you need help bringing more of this into your home, contact me! I work with some phenomenal home decorators and organizers and would be happy to connect you.

The linked article is well worth a read, but if you’re short on time, here’s a recap of the other advice from the article:

  • Respect your home’s architecture – “Mixing architectural styles turns your house into a hard-to-sell Frankenstein. It’s the home renovation equivalent of bad plastic surgery: ill-advised, expensive, and tough to undo.”
  • Skip home renovation trends – “Before renovating your house, ask yourself: Were homeowners making this choice 20 years ago? Will they still 20 years from now?”
  • Allow nature to be itself – “When you landscape, honor your surroundings and pick plants that go with your climate, making your yard easier to care for, more affordable, and looking like it belongs there.”
  • Make room for your things – “The French know that one’s possessions give a house personality. They design their homes with space for their stuff to live out in the open.”
  • Don’t overdo renovations – “If the French swung sledgehammers half as often as Americans do, their centuries-old homes would look, well, not centuries old. Do what your home needs and stop there.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.