If you want to add a touch of old-world charm to your home, there’s no better place to search for inspiration than Parisian apartments. The French have mastered the ability to fill their homes with an unbelievable amount of character, all while curating spaces that feel warm, lived-in, and chic. And even though each Parisian home is so personal to the owner’s tastes, there are a few patterns that are easy to spot time and time again. These are the 10 French furniture essentials that you’ll need to infuse your own space with that enviable Parisian look!
1. Marble Table
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Round White Marble and Black Bistro Side Table
A marble table is a common sight in Paris, whether you’re visiting a French bistro or a local’s apartment! Marble dining tables, bistro tables, and accent tables are a popular choice in French interior design style, and they add a bit of sleek luxury to the space. You’ll often find them with a matching marble base, or even an iron or metal one that’s a bit more intricate.
Marble tables are both timeless and versatile. They give off a bright, sleek look while also incorporating a sense of luxury style into a space. They’re the perfect accompaniments for a number of different decor styles, which means that they can grow with you as you tweak your design tastes.
2. Velvet Sofa
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Velvet Square Arm Sofa Bed
French apartments often have neutral flooring and white walls, which means they like to use their furniture and decor to add pops of color. Parisians love a colorful velvet sofa because it acts as the focal point in their space, and is the perfect anchor piece for the rest of their decorating. Although white sofas are a popular choice as well, colorful pieces can often be more practical as they hide any little spots of dirt or stains. Velvet is often seen as a luxurious fabric, which makes it the perfect choice for a soft sofa situated in the middle of a room.
3. Rattan and Cane Chairs
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All-Weather Stacking Chairs
Rattan chairs are a staple in French bistro culture, and now they’ve taken up residence inside French homes as well. Rattan is quick to grow compared to other woods, and handles both indoor and outdoor environments well, making it an easy choice when Parisians are looking for sustainability and versatility for their pieces. They can easily move these chairs from inside their dining room to outside on their balconies or terraces if they’d like to, and not have to worry.
The woven pattern of rattan chairs can also add a layer of organic texture to your home’s interior. If you own a lot of other modern, inorganic pieces, rattan chairs can add a sense of balance and harmony to your space here in the United States, or wherever you’re located.
4. Gold Mirror
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Gold Ornate Mirror
The gold mirror might just be one of the most iconic pieces in a French home. This isn’t just an afterthought of an accent piece, but rather, a statement-making focal point in many Parisian apartments. While TVs might serve as the focal point in many living rooms here in the United States, in the French home, it’s the ornate mirror! You’ll often find them situated on top of, or near, a beautiful fireplace.
French homes are often symbols of luxury and chic style, and the gold mirror is often an essential component to get that look in your own home. These beautiful pieces don’t have to be new, either! Check out your local vintage shops, and you might just score a great deal on a gorgeous mirror that’s new to you.
5. Patterned Area Rug
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Magnolia Home x Loloi Gold Area Rug
An area rug might just be a Parisian’s favorite way to warm up a space. It’s a rather inexpensive strategy to create a natural gathering area within an open layout, and it also helps to protect the wooden flooring beneath. French apartments often have fabulous parquet wooden floors, and so a rug can help to soften noise and protect the flooring from heavy wear and tear, or from heavy furniture being placed upon it.
Area rugs are another great way to infuse a neutral space with color as well, without overwhelming it. If you have a lot of neutral furniture, use a colorful rug to add personality and interest to your room. They’re easy enough to switch out, so if you ever want to try something new, they’re simple and rather inexpensive to replace compared to many other furniture choices.
6. Accent Chairs
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Slipcovered Swivel Armchair Set of 2
Accent chairs can make any space feel more inviting. The French love to entertain, and so accent chairs are essential in their space to provide extra seating for their guests! And from a design standpoint, accent chairs can add balance to larger furniture pieces, like a sofa. The French avoid matching sets – instead, they like to choose pieces that complement each other, or provide a balance on the scale or their aesthetic. If they opt for a colorful sofa, they might go for more neutral accent chairs. They’ll also often experiment with different textures and materials to add personality to their space.
7. Antique Style Side Table
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Vintage-Style Side Table
A big part of a French home’s charm is the fact that Parisians love to layer and infuse their spaces with a sense of history. They already have a leg up on this due to the historical nature and architecture of many classic apartments in Paris, but what they fill their spaces with makes just as much of an impact.
Even if you live in a new build, it’s possible to fill your own space with a sense of charm and history, too! Choose furniture with historical details, or check out vintage stores before you hit the big box stores to shop.
8. Glass Accents
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Set of 3 Glass Vases
Glass accents can lighten up any darker furniture elements in a French apartment. Glass reflects light and allows light to pass through it, which means that incorporating glass pieces into your own can make it feel more open and bright. These glass details can also add texture and elegance to your room, especially if you choose more ornately designed pieces.
Parisians love filling their homes with fresh flowers to add an organic element to their rooms, and you can get the same effect by keeping a glass vase (or multiple) filled. It will also make your home smell great in a natural way, and what’s not to love about that?
9. Crystal Chandelier
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Crystal Chandelier
Besides a gold mirror, a crystal chandelier might just be one of the most iconic sights you’ll spot in a French apartment or home. They give Parisian spaces that sense of history and elegance that defines recognizable French design. They’re functional art, with an old-world twist that the French love.
Even if you have a relatively small room, a crystal chandelier can be a great source of soft light to warm up your space. The crystals refract the sun’s beams and other light sources, which means that even with a larger lighting fixture, it won’t make your space feel cluttered or smaller. It might be just the perfect amount of opulence that your room needs.
10. Upholstered Seating
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Andranik Upholstered Armchair
Until the time of King Louis XIV’s reign in mid to late 17th-century France, armchairs were slightly uncomfortable, to put it lightly. They typically had carved wooden backs with flat wooden seats, rarely adorned with loose, flat cushions for comfort. But during King Louis XIV’s time as the reigning monarch of France, he established a guild system of craftsmen that began to redefine the design of popular furniture, like the armchair, to be more comfortable. They kept the thronelike appearance, but added upholstered backs and seats to the wooden silhouettes. Chairs became so much more comfortable after this!
The French still love this classic Louis XIV era design in their homes today. Once again, this is another piece that adds a sense of history to a space, whether the furniture is actually vintage or new. It’s the perfect blend of structure and softness if you’re looking for additional seating in your Parisian-inspired home.
French Style Furniture Finds
Although many of us probably dream about owning real estate in Paris, you don’t have to shell out for a French apartment to get the charming, historic feeling home of your dreams. With these 10 essentials, you can give your space a proper French-themed makeover, no matter what your zip code happens to be!
Ready to give your bedroom a Parisian makeover, too? We’re here to help! Up Next: 11 Must-See Tips for a French Parisian Style Bedroom
