French Art of Home Comfort

For the French, a home is not just a place where they sleep and eat. It serves as a reflection of their views on life. Every object has meaning and tells a story about who they are, where they have been, and what their owners have experienced. In a French home, each room serves a special function. If the purpose of the hallway is to present to the outside world the story of your life and the personality of your home, then the purpose of the living room is to bring people together for communication. And so it is throughout: every corner in a French home carries its own significance.

Of course, there are homes in France that deviate from standard norms, but these are just amusing exceptions to the rules. Any French living space is an expression of culture, and it consciously or unconsciously follows certain rituals and rules.

The book provides detailed recommendations on how to arrange a hallway or create your own living room (salon) in the French spirit, what to fill the space with, how to arrange furniture, and what rituals to adhere to when inviting guests into your home. 

It will help you:
- get acquainted with the rules by which the French inhabit their personal space
- critically assess your own dwelling
- make some systematic changes
- create the perfect home for yourself with French influences

The French value and respect luxury, but they value thrift even more, and the French home serves as proof of that. They make use of absolutely everything. Leftover food in the fridge? It will be used for a casserole. Only an inch of shampoo left? They squeeze it out to the last drop. The French are very economical with electricity, water, and heating. And it’s not about the money; it’s about respecting everything that is in the house.

A good life in a home is least associated with the value of material items, the utility of technical devices, the beauty of decor, or the amount of accumulated treasures.

About the Author.
Daniella Postel-Vinay is an American writer who studied French daily life and home organization traditions for many years. She currently lives in New York with her French husband and children. Her first mentor in mastering these traditions was Jacqueline Manon, a Frenchwoman and owner of an antique shop in New York. The two women were friends for many years, and Jacqueline revealed all the secrets of the French home to Daniella. Later, Daniella met her husband, Hadrièn, a film director who grew up in Paris and Brittany. It was through her husband’s family that Daniella became familiar with the culture of French private life and all its wonderful rituals.