Open the windows every morning
Sacha opens the windows every morning, even in winter. The French health ministry recommends airing your home at least ten minutes a day, and it is the cheapest thing on this list. More on why in how to make your house smell French.
Lamps, not the ceiling light
In our house the overhead light stays off in the evening. Two or three small lamps at different heights, warm bulbs, dimmed. The room gets corners and shadows, and everyone lowers their voice a little.
Music in the background, always
There is always music on, low. Nobody is really listening to it, and everyone notices when it stops.
Try it at home
Make Your Home Feel French
Four taps: your room, what it smells like now, how much you want to change. Six small things, the French way.
Get my ritualFruit on the counter
A bowl of fresh fruit sits on our counter every day. It is decoration that changes with the season, it smells good, and everyone helps themselves.
Soften every room: rugs, curtains, pillows
Rugs underfoot, real curtains at the windows, pillows on the couch. They quiet the room, they hold the warmth, and they make a house feel lived in rather than staged.
Frame what you love, and light it
We have paintings in frames with small picture lights above them. With the ceiling light off, those little lights become some of the room’s lamps, and a painting you walk past every day suddenly gets looked at.
Make a reading nook
We have small reading nooks around the house: a chair, a lamp, a book within reach. It takes an afternoon to set one up, and it becomes the best seat in the room.
And flowers, the French way
Flowers are a French household habit on a large scale: nearly 21 million households in France buy them each year, spending about €115 a year on average. One kind of flower, in one vase, does more than a mixed bouquet.
If you want your own version, room by room, take the two-minute home ritual.
Questions, answered
How do I make my house feel more French?
Start with habits rather than objects: air the house every morning, use lamps instead of the ceiling light, keep music on low, put fruit on the counter, and soften rooms with rugs, curtains and pillows.
Should you use the ceiling light in the evening?
For a softer, more French feel, no. In our house the ceiling light stays off in the evening and two or three small dimmed lamps do the work.
How long should you air your house?
The French health ministry recommends at least ten minutes a day, windows wide open.
Do French people buy flowers often?
Nearly 21 million French households buy flowers each year, spending about €115 a year on average.
Sources
- SeLoger: the French health ministry recommends airing your home at least ten minutes a day. SeLoger
- Businesscoot, the flower market in France: nearly 21 million French households buy flowers each year, about €115 a year on average. Businesscoot
Still wondering?
Ask my French husband.
A short ruling in a few seconds. Written by AI from our Journal, in his voice.
He judges America weekly on Instagram, and Le Bulletin collects the best of it.
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