decor | A French Collection

How to Make a Wreath

Hanging a wreath on your front door is a traditional way of decorating your home at any time, but particularly at Christmas. In this post I share how to make a wreath from foraged greenery and easy-to-find garden flowers. I regularly hang a wreath on my front doors, both at my homes in France and Australia. (Photo above is the front door of my country home in France.) The wreaths differ a little at each of my homes and tell their own seasonal story, but all add a little charm and especially at Easter, they add a pop of colour.

In France I hand-make my wreaths with greenery I forage. This is a simple and fresh way to create a wreath instead of buying a pre-made wreath. Creating your own door décor is a wonderful way to impart your unique style and make the most of seasonal bounties. I love using hydrangeas at the peak of their summer brightness, and also as they turn colour during autumn. Bright yellows and the rich tones of oranges in ferns, heather and deciduous trees during autumn, also make colourful wreaths. Mistletoe and holly are traditional Christmas choices.

Dried Orange Wheel Christmas Decorations

Ever wanted to make dried orange wheel Christmas decorations? I've wanted to create these little Christmas DIY decorations for a couple of years now and finally I've done it. It's been one of the pre-Christmas activities that I've enjoyed the most this year, so I wanted to share the process with you all. They look amazing, add a fresh citrus fragrance to your home and satisfy the creative urge that often hits around this time of the year. All in all, a perfect family activity and Christmas decor idea.

I'll explain how to make dried orange wheel decorations, what you can do with them and my own photos of the process including hanging them on our Christmas tree this year.

Essential Elements of French Country Cottage Style Decorating

French country cottage decorating style

Decorating your home in a French country cottage style is very popular and while there are essential elements to achieving this style there is also plenty of scope to customise and personalise your home in the look of a French country cottage style.

French Country Cottage Style Decorating is Easy

Before we look at the essential elements of this style, let’s consider what the mountain chalets of Alsace, country homes of Normandy, coastal apartments of Cote d’Azur and family chateaux throughout France all have in common?

Well, they’re all someone’s home where they live, love, entertain and maybe work from, just the same as your home and mine. We fill our homes with the necessary, the precious and the sentimental to create our very own living space. Creating a home, even if following a particular style, should always be about what feels you with joy and works for your family’s needs. (Read more about my home in France)

Annette Charlton

Annette lives with her family between their homes in France and Australia. She’s been featured in International magazines including French Property News, on numerous blogs and travel websites and appeared on ABC National Radio. You can connect on Instagram or Facebook.

www.afrenchcollection.com

Daumier the Artist: In My Home

Daumier the artist

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

“You only reproduce what struck you, that is to say the necessary.” – Edgar Degas

Daumier the Artist: In My Home

Do you know much about Daumier? Here is some essential information about this Parisian artist that has been given the honour of ‘providing a critical pathway to the next generation of artists’ which include Degas and Lautrec. More details on the life and works of Degas can be found at Artsy

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

8 Tips On How To Look Parisian and Not A Tourist

How to look Parisian

8 Tips on How to Look Parisian and Not a Tourist

Ever wondered how to emulate the style French women seem to effortlessly portray and feel like a local when you are in Paris? Well, after visiting Paris a number of times and watching both locals and tourists go about their daily wanderings we have picked up a thing or two on how to appear more like a local and less like a tourist.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Paris Style Guide by Elodie Rambaud

Paris Style Guide book cover

Winter is here!

Let me curl up under my rug,

read my book and dream.

I am inspired by the sheer colour, stylish photos and pertinent details in

PARIS STYLE GUIDE by Elodie Rambaud.

Textiles, Nature, Art, Vintage, Accessories, Children, Maps.

Elodie, a media and advertising prop stylist, takes me through the Paris she knows and loves.

I plan. I dream. I enjoy PARIS STYLE GUIDE

A great book for any Francophile, personal style addict or budding interior designer.

You might also enjoy these articles French Style Guide and French Country Cottage Style and to have beautiful French products delivered directly to your home our subscription box My Beautiful French Collection Box will be just perfect for you. Filled to the brim with French artisan homewares, beauty products, stationery and personal items you’ll love opening your box to see what surprises are inside.

Each box is themed differently, packaged beautifully and sealed with love. We source products from French artisans and include a special flea market find found by Annette on her trips to Paris flea and antique markets.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

French Style Guide – Paris Stores and Markets

The French have a certain style and savoir faire that is admired, and emulated around the world, with individuality and elegance displayed in all areas of their lifestyle.

To the visitor of France no other destination oozes more style and elegance than Paris with its grand architecture, sculptured gardens and elegant stores. Wandering through the streets and gardens of Paris is always inspirational and gets the creative mind thinking.

Annette Charlton