Tag Archives: France

The French look: kitchens and bathrooms

Continuing our investigation into the charm of French interior design, this time looking at kitchens and bathrooms. Kitchens The French kitchen is traditionally a workplace and middle-class families eat strictly in the dining room. Working-class and country families, however, do tend eat in the kitchen and many country families don’t have a living room at all, spending all their time… Read more »

Putting on the Ritz: French chateau style

The epitome of French house style must be the chateau, and living in a grand building of this kind takes a certain approach to interior design. Many Britons are enchanted by the idea of buying a chateau, and they can still be picked up in France for the cost of many a UK townhouse. Although the most famous chateaux are… Read more »

The wabi-sabi garden

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Low-cost, low-maintenance, environmentally friendly and supporting biodiversity – that’s what we were aiming for in creating a garden out of a field. As busy downshifters, we always knew that creating a garden from a 1 hectare (2 acre) orchard was going to be a challenge. There would be two essential requirements – it couldn’t take up lots of our time… Read more »

Informally dressed: French cottage style

The casual, liveable cottage and farmhouse style never loses its appeal. Cottages and farmhouses are the kind of period French property most commonly bought by British buyers and they are buildings designed to be lived in, not for show. Such buildings are generally in the vernacular style – using local materials for both roof and walls, and fitting well into… Read more »

Born in a barn – French style

Living in a converted barn is the dream of many a Brit buying in France, and the blank canvas that a barn offers is very enticing. But converting accommodation that formerly housed animals or hay raises some unfamiliar issues. If you are now the proud owner of a barn in France, with permission to develop, you now have to think… Read more »