Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home
Written by Danielle Postel-Vinay
Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
French Women Don’t Get Fat meets The Little Book of Hygge in this lively, sophisticated, and practical illustrated lifestyle guide that shows how to enjoy la belle vie—to live like the French every day—transforming your house into a home defined by beauty, family, and accessible elegance.
How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic.
Experiencing first-hand la belle vie—the beautiful life—Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live. Providing more than just interior decorating and design tips, Postel-Vinay teaches you how to foster the warmth, beauty, and rituals inherent in the French home and create an environment better suited to living a rich, full, connected life. At the center of the book is the idea that your house should be a reflection of you, your hobbies, your family history, your rituals, all the things that make your life unique. A happy home is a home that expresses your rituals and your taste, not one that relies on prefab décor from a mass retailer.
Home Sweet Maison encapsulates the very heart of the French way of seeing the world: set the table formally, adhere to all the conventions of ritual and tradition, then take pleasure in indulgence. It’s about using French concepts and routines to change our homes, our relationships, and our lives for the better.
Danielle Postel-Vinay
Danielle Postel-Vinay lives with her children and Parisian husband in the Hudson River Valley of New York.
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Reviews for Home Sweet Maison
82 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gives a very interesting overview of the difference between French homes and American homes. I particularly enjoyed the highlighting of the main positive aspects and a bit of history of the French homes.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An enjoyable examination of the rooms and characteristics of the French home. The author takes you on a fascinating tour that revisits some of the history of the features and rooms of French homes. This was interesting, fun, and dreamy book.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am in love with this book. ? very well narrated and put together. What a lovely home you could make by following the principles of a Frech home. Highly recommended!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Simple and fun read. I also recommend Bringing Up Babe and French Kids Eat Everything.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fabulous book that is making me rethink my home and my life!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed the idea of giving rooms the energy of their function / purpose. I found it inspiring.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Best for:Anyone looking for some fresh ideas for their home.In a nutshell:Author Postel-Vinay has lived in France (and married into a French family), and offers up her thoughts on ways the French home is set up.Worth quoting:“Having food that is fresh is more important than food that is convenient, and the French cuisine reflects this.”Why I chose it:One of my dear friends has themed Christmases, and her gifts match the theme. This year? French Christmas.Review:I love home improvement books (as in, ones that talk about home decor, cooking, and cleaning, not, like, learning how to rewire the house). This is a perfectly fine one, although there isn’t a ton in here that I will be putting into action, mostly because a lot of it relates to the actual construction of the house, which I’m not able to alter.For example, the first chapter talks about creating an actual entrance area to one’s home. In our apartment in London, the entrance is a a square with sides the width of a door frame, enclosed by wall on one site, the front door on another, the stairs on the third side, and the door to the kitchen on the forth. There’s no room to put a bench or shoe storage area. Another chapter talks about having the kitchen and dining areas separate. Granted, she offers suggests for how to create that separation in an open plan, but again, I’m not able to throw a wall up in the middle of my rented flat.Some of the suggestions are great - like immediately cleaning up after using kitchen utensils (which should have a reasonable, dedicated location in the kitchen), or some ideas around improving our bathroom. But a lot of it isn’t necessarily my style, and that’s okay! I’m never going to fill my house with loads of fancy objects found for a bargain at a flea market, because I don’t really like that look. That’s what I love about books like this though - there’s something in there that other people will like, and I can mix what I want with things I’ve picked up from other books.Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:Keep it
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is probably a better book than the rating suggests. It goes through each room of the home and discusses how the French view that room and its function, often with historical details. Each chapter has a checklist of ways you can transform your own room.The weakness is that it assumes that everyone loves French culture and domestic customs as much as the author, which is a bit of a stretch. There is a sub-plot where she has a messy to marvelous makeover, but it isn’t emphasized. She also, where possible, gives sources for the specific products she recommends.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A charming book on how the French consider their home. Being a European what it is really interesting is the comparison between the American way and the French way.
Some good advice on how to improve home.
Very good.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Dey Street Books for an advanced copy.