When it comes to style, there’s something about French women that is just so effortlessly chic. The same applies to their living spaces as well. Picture a quaint sun-soaked apartment in the heart of the French countryside. It just has a certain je ne sais quoi. Yes, we are fully aware that the entire internet is obsessed with “French Girl X,” but rightfully so.
Read on for tips on how you can attain that enviable French girl aesthetic.
1. Lived In, Never Perfect.
The number-one key to French girl style is don’t try too hard. Disheveled and lived-in is how they choose to dwell. It’s never too curated or overly perfect. No hospital corners around here. Throw on some soft linen sheets and you’re ready to go.
2. Honor the tradition.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a French girl living in a cookie-cutter “Weeds”-esque home. They hunt for the history and the story in their homes and often choose a space with charm and character over something new. These types of spaces often come with romantic details like elaborate ceiling moldings or herringbone floors. Instead of covering them up or trying to modernize, French women celebrate this architecture and design around the space instead of over it.
3. Add some glamour.
Whether it be an opulent gold mirror or a crystal chandelier, French women always have a bit of sparkle in their home. You’ll rarely see an overly flashy French home (unless they’re going full Rococo, but that’s another story). Glitz is reserved for carefully curated accents.
4. Shop vintage.
Parisians don’t succumb to trends. Look at fashion brands like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Hermès. Trends may ebb and flow, but the foundations remain the same. This is why French women value vintage finds. As much as we may love it here in America, a classic French home would never have a piece of IKEA furniture in it. Mainly because French women don’t believe in following trends for the sake of “being in fashion.” When they buy a piece of furniture, they expect to own it until it is no longer usable. Vintage finds tend to have better bones and more character, which is why Parisians are so drawn to them.
5. When in doubt, paint it white.
But not just any white. It has to be that perfect, slightly warm shade of white. I know, how can a shade of white make a difference? But it totally can. Think back to that sun-soaked Parisian apartment in the countryside. Would a white with blue undertones look right? No, it needs to be a shade of white that glistens in the sun and casts a warm glow on the space.
Shop some of our favorite French-inspired home décor:
This article was adapted from this post originally published in 2018.
