Home Sweet Maison

The French Art of Making a Home

By: Danielle Postel-Vinay

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

French Women Don't Get Fat meets The Little Book of Hygge in this lively, sophisticated, and practical 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.

©2018 Danielle Postel-Vinay (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Sensational

I loved this book. So inspiring!!
I will listen to this book more than once.

A peek into French life and Laundry perfection

Love it. simple way of living that will have you slow down and enjoy a meal, friends, family and laundry.

Fascinating

I loved it all. So inspiring and attainable advice! Making life beautiful being grateful for relationships and people and building a home around it

Nuggets of wisdom for life

I found the voice of the narrator very soothing. I listened to this book as I did chores, and although there were some parts that were more technical than useful for my purposes. In general, the context provided a great understanding of the French culture and I am excited to visit the country and see how the knowledge I gained resonates with reality. For those who are in a season to re-create or update their homes, this book contains lots of simple and complicated ideas to bring French practices cultural practices into your space. What I most appreciated about the book is how it encouraged me to translate these tips into a lifestyle that embraces beauty and function and history.

I understand my self better now

Living in America but being Czech (very similar culture to French) I finally understand the things that I value and like through this book. Very surprising outcome of an audio book for me. I absolutely loved this book!

Honestly loved it

Read some shitty reviews after I began listening and I wholeheartedly disagree. Magnificent tips and very relaxing to listen to. I’m walking away with much needed advice. I will more than likely listen to and reference this book many times. I would even consider purchasing a hard copy to give as a gift for the holidays. Can’t recommend it enough. Also, I love the narrator!

Magical

This is a very well written story, chalk full of substance, poise, wisdom and magic. Highly recommend.

P.S., if you enjoy Jennifer L Scott’s books, you will not appreciate this book. But if you found Jennifer’s books to be pretentious to the point of embarrassment, you will enjoy this book tremendously.

Interesting

This is an interesting perspective on one person's view of French vs. American culture. Though on the other hand, it felt in my opinion, like the overall message of the book was 'Be more like the French' or 'The French way is better' I don't like books or messages like this. Also the author makes a lot of generalizations about Americans. I feel like that her and her family may have lived this way in the Midwest, be not everybody, everywhere in the country functions like this. For example: File Cabinets my family and I have been using them in our home since I was a kid. Also there are many different cultures in America since it's a melting pot so there in many people that bring elements of their culture into their homes and lifestyles that are completely opposite of what was described in the book. Even without speaking about different cultures, a good example of differences would be east coast vs. west coast. Getting back to the book, I also found it a bit stuffy and I couldn't wait to finish it and be done with it. Not sure if I would recommend to anyone.

Wonderful

This book is entertaining and provides clear guidance. I bought the hardcover after listening to the audio book, and have recommended it to others.

Please Read!

Definitely a book worth reading. I loved it and received many tips and encouraging ideas on making my home a more well organized personal space focusing on the things that matter most.