Une Maison Raffinee

• The quality, originality and beauty found in French homes can most often be found in the details. And, attention to the small things which make a residence a comfortable home need not entail vast sums of money.

• CAREFUL EDITING OF PIECES - The most beautiful rooms can often be the emptiest of furniture. A wonderful antique Persian rug - even if a little threadbare - and a well-patinated commode or side table filled with a bouquet of fresh peonies can make a room. It seems that French people have an ability to let a few really superb pieces stand alone and are placed within a room to maximum advantage.
We once saw an article in a French magazine about a group of people living in corrugated metal shacks in the South of the country. Each house was beyond humble, but the beauty of cascading tropical flowers from every conceivable place on each little shack made the homes an inviting feast for the eyes.

• FRESH FLOWERS, ALWAYS - A handful of wildflowers tossed in an old coffee can will have much greater appeal to most French flower lovers than a stodgy arrangement of dyed carnations from Flowers-R-Us. There are flower stores in even the smallest French village, along with an antique store or two, a pastry/candy store and boulangerie. Bouquets are put together by the purchaser who selects his favorite combinations of flowers and then beautifully wrapped by the employee. A single marigold in a bottle green vase in a powder room, freshly cut lilacs perfuming a bedroom table, glorious stems of blooming cherry in a brass Japanese vase for the living room - these are the possibilities which might occur to a French homemaker.

• METICULOUS SELECTION OF ANTIQUES & FINE ART- Unlike many Americans who want to rush through the decorating process to have the room or house "finished," Europeans generally take their time in selecting just the right piece. Nowhere is this careful selection more evident that in the purchase of antiques, which are often - though certainly not always - more costly than new pieces. The quest for beautiful fine art is also time-consuming, but the process itself is highly pleasurable and rewarding when that perfect piece is found..

• BEAUTIFUL SCRAPS - Frequently in European antique stores or flea markets one will find parts of columns, pieces of 18th century woodwork, old giltwood frames, antique statues with missing parts, slightly torn canvases featuring a colorful painting, old plates with interesting patterns, advertising novelty items, papier mache boxes, mother-of-pearl compacts, etc. These items, which may not make an immediate impression, can be artfully displayed in a kitchen, bedroom or salon - adding immeasurably to the warmth and interest of the space while revealing something about the owner.

• INTERESTING LAMPS, SHADES AND SCONCES - Unhappily for Americans searching for great lamps, chandeliers and sconces - they are simply not easy to find. The standard lighting available at the large department stores and big box hardware stores may be satisfactory for general task lighting, however, it does not usually make a fashion or style statement. There is much banal lighting in French stores, as well, but it is easier to find interesting contemporary lighting, beautiful lamps constructed from wood carvings or metal architectural scraps, and fabulous antique chandeliers and sconces at prices comparable to new, shiny and less-the-thrilling pieces.

• SENSUALITY - As one would expect from the perfume capital of the world, the French take care to ensure their homes also smell wonderful. Every department store and entire boutiques have candles and room sprays in a mad array of glorious fragrances to "sensualize" the home environment. Candles are used not only for their fragrence but for the warm glow they emit into the room.
Touch is another sense given priority in European homes, where finely milled soap, finely woven bed linens, soft woolen and cashmere throws, all contribute to the softness and sensuality of the home.
However, carefully constructing a beautiful and functional nest is only part of the story. French people then take the time for themselves and with their guests to luxuriate in the beauty they have created. And, that is the truest part of creating a sensual experience at home.

Jane Pierce Losson
Interior Design Consulting