What is your favorite color in french

Another important point is the golden accents. It can be a gilded frame that hangs over the fireplace, or the legs of an antique chair, take your pick.

In the more Provencal version, the color scheme, consisting of soft flowers, is more diverse - here are lavender and blue, soft pink, dusty pink, light lilac, all shades of metal.

Finishes

Wall finishes offer several options: smooth walls painted in pastel colors or “correct” white, or textured walls. In old houses, stucco molding with the design of bygone eras often remains. Another option to add texture is to use embossed and patterned wallpaper with vinyl inserts.

French floors finished with natural materials - they can be wood or stone. City apartments often have artistic parquet. Carpets can be found in most rooms of French houses.

High, floor-to-ceiling, narrow French windows are of great importance. Such windows make the space more airy, they are the hallmark of a French apartment.

Selection of furniture and accessories

The combination of old and new in the French style is embodied, above all, in furniture. The French are big lovers of antiquity. It could be an antique, scratched, age-tarnished mirror in a gold frame, bought at an auction for a huge sum, or it could be a vintage table bought at a flea market or inherited, with coffee stains on it.

It is important that each room has such an authentic piece of furniture or decor, all other items can be modern, this combination gives an unusual, but in its own way sophisticated look.

French-style lighting

Lighting plays an important role in the interior. For the French, a huge chandelier is required in the middle of the room, kitchen and even the bathroom. The chandelier can be luxurious crystal, antiqued, or more modern with clear lines, as you like.

In addition, you can also find many local light sources in the rooms - candles, candelabra, wall sconces.

Textiles

Textiles are very important for all directions of the French style in the interior. Handmade blankets, tablecloths and curtains, carpets that create comfort in the room. The most famous French fabric, Toile de Jouy, a printed cotton, is often used for bedding, valances, draperies, and also as wall coverings. Such fabric instantly evokes the charm of old France, and often comes in cornflower blue, red, gray and pink. Satin and silk are very popular, ideal for pillows, upholstery and curtains.

Options

Classic French Style

One of the main features of a classic French country house is the warm atmosphere. There are almost no bold colors in such an interior, mainly shades of white and light gray, which blend perfectly with natural light.

Additional decor - expensive decorations, such as paintings and lamps. Despite the fact that the color scheme is quite simple, French design is always very generous with details: majestic chandeliers, large golden mirrors, rococo furniture made of expensive materials.

Modern French style

Parisian chic now contains all the decor elements we discussed above, but allows for bolder color accents and furniture. Such interiors maintain an amazing balance of modern styles with more classic elements. There is a lot of air and little furniture, and large abstract paintings, black and white photographs, children's drawings coexist with the historical heritage of the home and family.

Provence

The goal of modern Provence in the interior is to create a home that combines rustic motifs and French chic. Every detail plays its part. Walls and ceilings are often light pastel colors, and materials are of great importance: rough plaster and untreated wood create a rustic simplicity. The furniture is made of wood, preferably aged, painted in light or bright colors of the meadow, lavender, turquoise. Such a play of light can create a feeling of the warm south of France.

Whatever direction of French style you choose, the main thing is to make sure that you feel comfortable in your home. Be creative, add personality, let the space breathe, but keep it simple, don't try too hard. The best thing you can do is to properly mix items from different currents. At the same time, French design is quite realistic to bring to life with any budget.

Useful French-style cheat sheet is in this article

Author: Ekaterina Pigasova

France: about women, food and fierce bureaucracy

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France:

about women, food and fierce bureaucracy

Olga Raspopova

abroad, or foreigners who know Russian speak about the peculiarities of life and culture of different states. This time we will talk about France - especially close to us.

Anastasia Kochura moved to the "country of cheese and baguette" five years ago. She married a Frenchman, settled down in the suburbs of Paris, works as a business travel manager and now shares her personal experience in an interview with RIA Novosti.

How their women differ from ours

Many French women have a special charm by nature. They stick only to their accessible style of clothing: an invariable beret, a scarf or even a vest. This myth is indestructible, dozens of books and films are devoted to it.

Parisians near the Bataclan theater

In fact, not everyone has this most elusive charm. Women in France do not seem to follow fashion very much, and even the crowd on the street in the capital shows that the favorite colors of Parisians are black and gray.

If they use cosmetics, then at a minimum: mascara, less often eyeliner, when they have to go out - also red lipstick.

A Parisian on the Seine embankment

© Fotolia / Ekaterina Pokrovsky0003

A Parisian on the Seine embankment

© Fotolia / Ekaterina Pokrovsky

Girls try to look a little casual, as if they didn't think about their image.

“Unlike, say, representatives of the CIS countries, where until recently it was customary to wear all the best, even if you go to throw out the trash. So the French in Russia simply run up their eyes from our beauties - with a full marafet, ”says Anastasia.

According to her, French women begin to actively take care of themselves closer to the age of 30, usually already married. Sports, but without fanaticism, a diet that boils down mainly to the number of portions consumed, and, perhaps, trips to a beautician. For Russian women, it’s rather the opposite: before marriage, they take care of themselves, and then relax.

About food, economy and apero

The French are big gourmets. Of course, they don't eat frog legs and foie gras every day, washed down with 1995 Burgundy. Dishes on weekdays are simple, but they are always fresh meat or fish, herbs, vegetables and fruits - often from the local market. “According to my observations, food is something that they don’t save much on here,” Anastasia notes.

Vegetable market in France

© Depositphotos.com / andrea_cf

Fish market in Saint Tropez, France

Vegetable shop in France

© Depositphotos.com / andrea_cf

However, the French are not wasteful. For example, if you were invited to a restaurant or cafe for a birthday, it is enough to bring a book, a scented candle or a bouquet of flowers to the birthday person, which is considered an independent gift, not an addition. In 90 percent of cases, the inviter will treat you only to an aperitif or put one or two bottles of wine on the common table. For the rest - snacks, meals, other drinks - you will have to pay yourself, says Nastya. The exception, perhaps, is weddings and christenings.

Café on Place Saint-Michel in Paris

“During the quarantine, I really miss the apero, or aperitif, the traditional after-work meeting with friends for a drink. And in no case do not get drunk, do not pour out your soul to each other - the essence of such rendezvous is to have an easy and fun time! Anastasia emphasizes.

About “desole” and “bizou”

Désolé… You probably hear this word in France not much less often than bonjour and merci. It can be translated as "sorry", "sorry".

“You come to the post office and your parcel was given to someone else. When you are indignant, instead of trying to figure it out, they throw you a government-issued “desole”.

“How many times have I heard him! It seems to me that even if someone is run over by a tram, the driver will get out and mutter “desole,” says Anastasia Kochura.

Restaurant in Paris

CC BY-SA 3.0 / Philippe Alès / Restaurant le Polidor à Paris (France)

The French get offended if they don't show protocol politeness. To ask for directions without saying hello, or to go into a bakery and not ask the seller how you are doing is bad manners!

Citizens and tourists on Rue du Petit Pont (Small Bridge Street) in Paris

On the Louvre grounds in Paris

Citizens and tourists on Rue du Petit Pont (Small Bridge Street) in Paris

adjustments even in French etiquette. No more "bisou" - light kisses at a meeting.

About medicine and bureaucracy

A visit to a specialist doctor in France can take several months, or even six months. It's easier to find a family doctor. “There is no ambulance in our understanding here, unless you are bleeding, of course. With my little child who fell down the steep steps, we sat in line for five hours,” says Anastasia.

Most of the pharmacies are also closed on Sundays - even those on duty often close around eight in the evening.

“I used to think that Russian bureaucracy had no competitors. But no - there is: a worthy rival in France. Without a piece of paper, you are not a person here. Moreover, for one document, you need to get ten more confirming ones, ”Nastya notes.

Participant of the Yellow Vests motorist protest in the Arc de Triomphe area in Paris

In addition, all these government agencies work according to a standard schedule, so you will have to take time off from work to visit officials.

What we should learn from the French

Of course, sociability and the ability to talk on light topics: to have pleasant conversations for hours about the weather, food and drinks, discounts in stores. At the same time, without tiring the interlocutor. “Of course, more courtesy: I went to any store and be sure to exchange “bonjours” at the entrance and “merci-revoires” at the exit. For a long time I tried to understand why and for what Mercy, but then I gave up and began to play by their rules, ”admits Anastasia Kochura.

A woman in a grocery store in Paris

A street market in France

© Depositphotos.com / beinder

A woman in a grocery store in Paris

Finally, how to give each other little compliments. For example, a stranger passing by suddenly says: “God, what a wonderful dog you have! Simply charming! It seems to be a trifle, but nice.

About souvenirs

What to bring from France besides perfume? It is worth walking through the numerous flea markets and buying beautiful cups, spoons, tablecloths, plates for serving snacks.

La Braderie flea market in Lille

Visitors to the La Braderie flea market in Lille

Cheese in a store in France

CC BY 2.0 / JohnPickenPhoto / French cheeses

Chocolates in a store in France

CC BY-SA 2.0 / ho visto nina volare / balades parisiennes

La Braderie flea market in Lille

There is an incredible abundance of alcohol for every taste: tart flock from the department of Gers, velvety and rich beer from the northern regions (Lille), cider from Brittany or Normandy, pastis, or anise liqueur, from Provence.

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