7 little changes that'll make a big difference with your French style furniture

Once you've invested in French style furniture, it's essential to make the absolute most out of it! At Nicky Cornell, we really care about taking your furniture experiences that extra step forward, even after you've bought it. Half the battle of owning furniture is simply enjoying it after you've bought it. It is not uncommon to find furniture from many different eras in France. This is because the culture values longevity and versatility instead of short-term disposable trends, and furniture is kept for many years. This is made possible both through the high-quality craftsmanship and beautiful design in French furniture as well as because of the clever homemaking strategies used there to keep the furniture feeling fresh and stylish. We have seven of these small changes for you here to help renew and enhance your French style furniture. 

Little lighting touches 

Firstly, one small change you can make that will make a massive difference to the look and feel of your French style furniture is the lighting used in your home. Lighting has the power to completely transform the mood of any room, signifying the occasion, time of day and even energy levels. When lighting is considered correctly, it can change your experience of the furniture altogether. For example, French style furniture looks stunning naturally, but with soft evening lights like a low placed lamp, any embroidery can be highlighted, creating a glowing golden feeling for the room. On the other hand, our French Style Reclaimed Long Hall Table with Drawers would be beautifully set off by a contrastingly glamorous crystal such as our Droplets Modern Chandelier. The lighting here would not only create a charming country chic feeling, but it would also illuminate the contents of the table and everyone around it in a welcoming broad light. Contrastingly, for a soft evening feeling in your bedroom, a candle can look modest and calming beside a king-sized French-style bed. A little lighting change can completely reshape your French style furniture experience. 

Mixing styles 

As mentioned earlier, mixing styles is an inherently French interior style. Owning French style furniture is a great place to begin, but its design must be personal to truly unlock the Parisian nature of your home. Pairing reworked wooden tones with a modern art print can create a nuanced, layered look that presents a distinctly French self-confidence. This change is more of a small shift in attitude than anything else- opening yourself up to the idea of mixing and combining pieces to create your own personal story told through your furniture. A practical way you could commit to this attitude is by not being afraid to exhibit from a range of times instead of just black and white ones or very recent ones. Our favourite wall art right now is the Gold Feathers Wall Art in Perspex

Embrace the mess

This is a small lifestyle that some may happily welcome, and some may hate. French-style furniture is so well constructed and styled in such beautiful taste that it never looks messy. Furniture of such high quality looks naturally put together. While a tidy home always looks nice, allowing some items to lie around idly can create a casual, composed feeling in your home. French style furniture can be relied upon to provide a clean look, so it can look more confident to leave things not perfectly put away. It's still important that everything in your home has a place to be stored, but so long as you know where that is, leaving a book on the side or a sweater on the sofa can look really relaxed. 

Move around

French-style furniture is eternally stylish. But this doesn't need to mean that it never changes. These pieces might look perfect in the first place around the house, but this doesn't mean they wouldn't look just as good elsewhere. Life moves around us, so it makes sense for our environments to move with us. Moving things around might seem like a small thing to do every once in a while, but it can have a significant impact on your pieces, giving them more value in different contexts. Your home should support your lifestyle, not deplete it— moving things around forces you to consider how each part of your home serves your life. Switching the position of your bed every season or at the start of each new chapter in your life not only creates a visual starting point but also allows your French style bed to shine in a new position. 

Deep clean

One small practical thing you can do to enhance your French style furniture is to give it a good clean once in a while. Obviously, different pieces will need different methods for cleaning, but once you understand how to properly care for each piece, it will maintain each investment for years to come. Waxing reclaimed wood every so often can illuminate the shine of a chair or table. Likewise, putting some money aside to have fabric upholstery like sofas and armchairs professionally cleaned the recommended 6-12 months is a straightforward but sure way to take care of your pieces. 

Understand the story  

French-style furniture takes inspiration from effortlessly stylish French decor. Each piece tells a story of centuries worth of history and context in French life. Understanding the origins of a piece of furniture adds an entirely new dimension of meaning for you and your home. When you buy a piece of French style furniture, you are also buying into a story. You may have an ornate piece taking cues from the asymmetrical, comfortable and light work of French Style White Louis XV Chest of Drawers. Understanding the origins of this piece could make you and your home feel royal. 

Use it!

Finally, whilst this may seem like an obvious way to make the most, never forget to use your furniture! The French look is gorgeously lived in and both effortlessly functional and stylish. Don't be intimidated by the beauty of a chaise lounge or an ornate mirror, and make the most of them, using them every day. Genuinely enjoying your French style furniture is the littlest way to make the biggest difference to your French style furniture.