one Instead of a full kitchen — a spacious seating area
If you are at the stage of planning an apartment, sensibly assess your needs, lifestyle. For example, in France, people rarely cook and eat at home (they prefer going out!), so French kitchens are sort of “babies”, designed more for storing basic products and brewing tea. Maybe you also rarely devote yourself to cooking? Or do you cook, but with great pleasure would you give square meters for a spacious living room? Very French — to focus not on the functional space, but on the relaxation area.
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Kitchen
6 Benefits of a Small Kitchen You Didn’t Think About
2 Use the balcony with pleasure, not with benefit
For small apartments with limited storage capacity, this French trend will not work — objectively speaking, sometimes functionality is still more important. But if you have a large closet, dressing room or space under the bed, then take the balcony under the lounge area. This is an option for those who are not ready to give up a full-fledged kitchen in favor of a large living room — make an additional place to relax on the loggia. In summer, you can reproduce a typical Parisian balcony here: flowering plants in long flower pots, a neat table, garden chairs. And in winter, if the loggia is glazed and insulated, use textiles to give this area comfort.
3 Flea markets as an alternative to the mass market
The French style in the interior is inseparable from vintage furniture, both really antique and just old. But what if you look at the old decor too? Flea markets and second-hand shops offer a lot of cute curiosities: unusual figurines, massive frames, baskets, caskets… Also use your own treasures: maybe your mother or grandmother has left things from the past. Think black and white family portraits. They, combined with old frames, will make an excellent composition on the wall above the sofa, bed or dining table. By the way, it is also worth using yellowed pages of books or old letters in such wall combinations — they will look even more romantic in glass.
Bonus: think even more broadly and do not be embarrassed by roughness and scuffs in general: on furniture, decor, in decoration. Treat this as a natural part of interior design.
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Accessories
Fashion for retro and vintage: 5 things you can and even need to find at the flea market
four Furniture with legs
Furniture on graceful legs is the visiting card of apartments in France. How can this be applied to your interior? It is not necessary to purchase a set in the Rococo style! Choose ordinary furniture, but with legs. This is especially true for massive items: triple sofas or tall bookcases. Being lifted from the floor, they will not be so heavy and will not ruin your attempts to be inspired by the French aesthetic. And if you screw the legs to furniture that you have had for a long time, you will get the effect of novelty.
5 Bold colors and fabrics
In France, it is not customary to be afraid of bright colors and pretentious textures. The combination of shades in the interior, although it should be competent, but sometimes try to break the rules — all of a sudden it will give an unusual result. Textured materials will help to make up for the lack of colors (and maybe supplement their abundance!) Textured materials: leather, fur, velvet, velveteen. For an accent design, focus color and texture in one large piece of furniture, such as a sofa, but leave the background calm.
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Colors in the interior
The most complete guide to color combinations in the interior with tables and examples
6 The devil is in the details, and so is France
French interiors are full of little things that you want to consider, while they fit perfectly into the big picture. A small bouquet of fresh flowers, gold details and accessories in the form of animals, unusual tiebacks with tassels, a wall lamp to match the picture on the poster, a beautiful open book on the bed — with the help of details, you can add French chic to the design and make it individual. Choose with soul each accessory — and you will see the result.
