A Cariad Life

You may or may not know that one of my most favorite things to do is decorate my house, and I love to decorate most when I have the opportunity to be creative, using what I have and what I can find. Our house here in France has given me that opportunity, and as I have shared before, we have used absolutely everything we can find to create a warm, welcoming space for us and our guests. They have told me it is very cozy and welcoming…and English (?!)–apparently I decorate more like the English than the French. (Oh well–they like it).

It reminds me a bit of when Darrell and I got married 25 years ago, as young, naive (and very broke) 23 year olds. We both had big student loan payments and very little income just starting out. After our honeymoon, I moved into the house Darrell had been living in (see the previous post about our first house in Greenville–25 years later), which was also the parsonage for the church where he was working as associate pastor. I fully jumped into making the space into a home. It was a space, by the way, with a lawn chair in the living room and a collection of all the things Darrell had brought with him from his parents home, including his childhood bed which was in our guest room. I brought with me an old antique bed and dresser my mom bought me while we were engaged (it was a “full” size and we slept in that tiny bed for the next five years). Darrell’s dad thankfully bought us a dining room table, and we found a sofa and coffee table at Goodwill–that was it–that was pretty much all of our furniture.

I took it as a challenge though–I wallpapered the bathroom a pretty rose color and added another section of blue wallpaper to the area below the chair rail in the dining room (this was the 90’s). I would clip azalea blooms from the huge bush outside our door and arrange them in vases, and I painted the lantern out front black instead of the old peeling grey color. I remember our well-meaning senior pastor’s wife came to visit and said, “it looks good, but you really need some art–the walls are so blank.” The problem is we didn’t have any money to buy art, so I ended up hanging a wreath I found above the mantle. I remember feeling shame that my walls were bare–somehow lacking what people expected. Later, throughout our marriage we began to collect furniture and art as we could afford it and that we found meaningful. I’ve been fortunate that in our previous homes my mom’s art was showcased–which is stunning and so very meaningful to me. I have, at times, added so much art to our walls that Darrell has joked several times in our marriage how he wouldn’t mind a bare wall every so often–seems my husband has a minimalist streak.

So…what does any of this have to do with shopping in France? Well, this post is going to focus on what it is like to shop for home furnishings in France. One might think, “you are in France, there must be TONS of places to get amazing furnishings!” or “French style is so iconic–it must be hard to choose among all of the gorgeous stylish choices!” Hmm…well, this my friends, might be the biggest surprise about France that I have had yet….

Once we rearranged the items here at the B&B, we began to get a clear idea of what exactly we would need to buy. In the dining room, we needed a set of chairs for near the fire and a light fixture for above the dining table. Our bedrooms were fairly set except for some soft furnishings (linens, blankets, new towels, etc.) although they could do with some more art (the previous owners did leave us what we needed to run the B&B, but they did take quite a few of their personal items that had been in the rooms.)

The biggest area needing furniture was our 3rd floor owner’s suite. We had a desk/chair, a few rugs, and an antique “maie” we had bought from the previous owners as a TV stand, but that was it–we didn’t even have a bed. We were yet again as we were 25 years ago starting from scratch in our new private quarters (complete with blank walls.) Because our house is so old and is considered a French bourgeois townhouse–we wanted to choose well, but we also needed to be frugal. We could buy antiques and/or buy new. I’ll start with how it went buying new.

Shopping for new furniture in France
Here’s the thing–among frugal (or just generally affordable) furniture options in France, IKEA is considered the best. You all I come from NC, where High Point is the furniture capital of the US, if not the world; I love IKEA, but it is not what I would consider the best as far as quality of furniture. I looked everywhere online and Darrell and I visited several stores. It would appear based on the options we saw that the French current taste is very modern–think shiny lacquer, no handles, bright colors, rounded edges, and sofas that have so many “reclining” pieces I wasn’t sure how to sit in them. They also did not seem to be incredibly well made. We went to one store that was just like a Best Buy, but they also had furniture. The furniture looked and felt like what you would expect to see at a store like a Best Buy–it just wasn’t me. I was dumbfounded–I thought for sure I would find all of these beautiful, classic pieces. I know they exist, just not in my price range and probably in Paris or Bordeaux. Finally, we found a store, “Maisons du Monde,” that we could afford and was the style we were looking for (though still a bit modern). We bought a bed, which we have had for a while now. We also have ordered a sofa, chair, and coffee table. Very slowly…we are finding key furniture pieces that we like, but it hasn’t been easy. I’ve added pictures below of the pieces we’ve bought so far–as well the maie for our TV which is getting delivered on Monday. This piece is an antique proving drawer that boulangeries would use for bread.

Shopping for Antique Furnishings
So why not just buy everything at brocantes, antiquity shops, and flea markets? They are here, and there are many of them, but there is a lot of hunting involved and what you are looking for you may not find (though you find plenty that you never knew existed.) Also, the furniture is very expensive and not always comfortable or meant to be used on a daily basis. We have, however, found a few things. Instead of traipsing out in the cold to a Brocante or flea market, I prefer to scroll through Selency. It is an online flea market serving four European countries, including France. Once you find an item, you can negotiate the price and even pay to have it delivered (or pick it up free if it is close by.) I found the two chairs for our dining room here and plan to buy the dresser for our bedroom on the site. The only downside is how long the delivery takes–4-6 weeks! Anyway, it has been a lot of fun to search. Darrell and I will often stop at vintage shops or brocante tables at markets just to look, but so far we haven’t found what we needed. There is a store here in Riberac though where I found a beautiful old tapestry I have hung above our fireplace. They also have stacks and stacks of the most beautiful linens–they are stunning!

Shopping for other household items
As for all the other non-furniture things, IKEA really is the best option. It is only 90 minutes away; Darrell and I will leave about 10:30 am, after we have turned the rooms, and eat lunch in the cafeteria, shop for what we need and be back before we need to check in guests again. I’ve stocked up on candles, plants to place around the house, large and small frames, lamps, pillows, and throws. And of course there is Amazon France–yes, we have Amazon and it delivers right to our front door just like the US. We even have Prime–we have realized that many of the items are a bit more expensive and the selection is not as broad, but it has been a life-saver (and reminds us of home.) We bought our light fixture for the dining room from Amazon. We also like to go to the local French stores when we can–though in general, household items are bit more expensive here, especially lamps! It is also hard to find really good throw pillows here–though truth be told, throw pillows are not really a French thing (they are an English thing though:)

So…it’s coming together. I still don’t have a lot of art yet, and some of my walls are bare. But just like when I was a newly wed, I know I will come across something I love. In the meantime, I am no longer ashamed of bare walls–it now speaks to opportunity for me instead of lack. There is no rush–just the joy of curating pieces for the home we want (and not going into debt to do it!)