15 Nov 2022, Read Time : 4 Min

How to Achieve French Style in your Homes with Tiles?

The French are known for quite a few things worldwide: their dreamy buttery croissants, the Eiffel Tower and their impeccable taste in fashion. But there is one more underrated yet magnificent aspect about the French that is enticing and aspirational- it is the way they design their homes.

French-style homes embody a casual elegance and are a beautiful mix of vintage and contemporary. These homes look effortless, although they are carefully curated and designed, and they have a bespoke aesthetic; it looks like the home is designed on a deep, personal level.

It is not that difficult for someone who sees these 18th Century Parisian designs through hotels or Airbnbs and may find it impossible to emulate the same look if recreated for their own homes.

With the help of just the right tiles, these few tips and tricks will help create the looks and feel of the French home of your dreams.

1) Mix Old and New

French-style interiors are different from the others. They are very distinctive and all-embracing. They love their heritage, and their homes love that display of vintage heirlooms, their cutlery or old paintings from the 19th Century.

They love to juxtapose their flea market finds with their contemporary heirloom pieces or antiques. Regarding flooring, you can use the same theory and use tiles in hues of grey and white that could bring in the ‘old meets new’ feel. You can also incorporate quaintly designed tiles on your walls in pastel colours to adorn the French interior design look.

2) It’s all in the Architectural details

French homes pay a lot of attention to detail. They love their intricate ceiling mouldings and the Herringbone floors. Not to mention their love for a rustic-looking fireplace mantel. Wooden flooring is their absolute favourite, especially for those who want their homes to exude the warmth of French countryside homes.

Wood-look tiles are now available in plenty of colour variants for you to pick from. You can also choose to have Herringbone tiles in your homes. The choice is yours whether you want them for your flooring or your walls. Thanks to modern-day innovation today, we do not need to burn holes in our pockets to install the very expensive wooden flooring in our homes that also comes with the hassles of cleaning and maintenance.

3) Decorate with Subdued colours

A huge reason behind the simplicity of French-style interiors is their precise selection of colour palettes. Crisp white walls are dominant in most french households, and small hints of colour are added here and there.

Another favourite when it comes to the colour palette is muted colours with grey undertones such as sage green, steel blue or dusty rose. These colours add to the depth of a rather neutral palette which helps to dominate a sophisticated and elegant effect. You can also add fine designs in the same subdued palette or create accent walls to beautify the spaces.

4) Add Hints of Glamour

French-style homes are incomplete without their adequate hints of glamour. The spaces are crafted with simplicity, but one classy, delicate crystal chandelier or a mounted gilded antique mirror instantly ups the glam quotient of the house and makes it look rather expensive and luxurious.

If you plan to redesign your spaces and you do not aim to install such accents, then you can up your glam quotient by adding tiles that exude the right luxury and opulence in your homes so that you do not need the bling of those chandeliers. Your tiles will do the talking!

5) Embrace the beauty of ageing

When it comes to French interiors, beautiful doesn’t necessarily mean perfect. The French appreciate the chipped and bruised paint, aged wood, and even burnished metal. For them, this ageing shows a sense of heritage being carried down for years in its original form without any rehabilitation.

If you want to incorporate this character through tiles, then you do not have to break or chip your tiles. You can go for terracotta tiles that give that rustic look to your homes or go for terrazzo tiles or even natural stone look tiles to bring in this element of scuffs.

6) Decorate, don’t over-decorate

Another very important feature of French homes is that there is a proportionate amount of decoration in their homes. French homes are known for their simplicity and minimalistic design aesthetic. Remember this mantra if you wish to recreate a French-style home.

When choosing your furniture, narrow down to having those items that serve a purpose and reflect your personality. Don’t overdo any aspect of decor in your homes, whether it is with decor accents or colour schemes. Keep it minimal and clean.

One of the USPs of French homes is that they never try too hard to make their homes look perfect and put together. The style of having throws on our futons and sofas have been derived from the French after all. If you want to imitate the same approach , do not make your homes look too perfect and don’t worry about spending too much time and money on decorating.