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French style might feel elusive—like you need a pied-à-terre in Paris and a lifetime of brocante shopping to pull it off—but Zoé de Las Cases is here to prove otherwise. In La Maison: Decorating with French Vintage Style, she breaks down the building blocks of that enviably collected look: think whitewashed wood floors, IKEA hacks that actually look très chic, metal fireplaces that double as sculpture, and those airy interior windows straight out of a Marais loft. The result? Ideas that are equal parts renovation inspo and DIY magic—and very much attainable, even if you don’t live in the 6th Arrondissement.
The excerpt below is packed with the kind of French-girl decorating intel that’ll make you reimagine your space. Think of it as a starter pack for adding a little je ne sais quoi to your own four walls.
A Metal Fireplace
To dress a flue and bring a touch of modernity to a room, design a fireplace in zinc or steel and have it made by a good metalworker. Having it made to measure ensures that it will look perfect for its setting, but as well as elegance, it will also bring a feeling of warmth to the space, even when it’s not lit.
A White Wood Floor
Many people wonder how to paint, and live with, a white wood floor. But dark-coloured floors often show the dirt more than light-coloured ones and, with good-quality paint and varnish, white wood flooring is both very easy to clean and very agreeable to live with. Moreover, it’s often a good choice because it brings so much light and warmth into an interior.
There’s no point in choosing high-quality wood flooring; budget-priced pine will do the job perfectly well. Whether the boards are wide or narrow, or an assortment of the two, the secret lies in not pressing them too close together, so that the paint, once applied, allows the planks to stand out. Therein lies the whole charm of wooden flooring and avoids it looking like laminate.
White wood flooring is suitable for all rooms in the house, from the basement to the attic. However, it’s best avoided in the entrance hall of a house in the country, or where there is a door to the garden, if people are wont to come in with their boots still on. There are limits!
I advise using proper floorpaint, which is hardwearing and easy to clean. The white paint shown here is Modern Eggshell in Snow White by Farrow & Ball, which is also very good. It took two of us 48 hours to paint this 45-square-metre (485-square-foot) room.
Internal Windows
Using interior glass panels may be fashionable but I love them too. You can use them to create partitions without obstructing natural light, and to frame interesting perspectives within your home.
You can, of course, have an interior window made to measure, in either wood or metal, but buying and using original old windows is cheaper as well as being more original and charming.
You can source old windows from bric-a-brac shops, antiques markets, reclamation yards and garage sales—or you can salvage your own. They can range from cheap to expensive, depending on their condition and the material they’re made from.
I found mine in the Lozère, the department in southern France I grew up in, and I really like knowing they come from there. You can sand them down or leave them just as they are.
A Unique IKEA Kitchen
IKEA kitchens are well thought out. To give them a more personal touch, though, paint the fronts of the units and don’t be afraid of using color—almond green, sky blue, mustard yellow and rose pink are all possibilities—just as long as that color is pale, matte and powdery. And as a finishing touch, add some nice leather handles.
We’ve often opted for IKEA’s METOD kitchen system, which has the advantage of being highly modular, practical and affordable.
Concrete in the Raw
To soften the rawness, you need only add some pretty bunches of flowers, little plants in wicker pots, bathroom towels and soft fabrics. You’ll feel as if you are in a hotel but at home.
I adore texture in interiors. Dare to use raw concrete!
Some contractors will tell you that raw is not a finish, but be brave. Much cheaper than polished concrete, raw concrete, with a coat of varnish – used as a flooring or work surface, or in a bathroom—brings an industrial look as well as real charm.
You can even use it to make a bathroom sink, set on a metal pedestal. And if your tradesperson asks you: ‘What kind of finish?’, just say, ‘Thanks but no thanks!’ Leave it raw and exposed with all its glorious flaws. Unpolished, unpainted. Truth to materials—that’s the idea.
Glazed Partitions
Whether made up of small or large panes, with wood or metal frames, painted black or coloured, glass partitions are always a good idea. I think of using them when planning almost every one of my projects; they always bring charm and character.
Here, we chose a T- and L-shaped metal frame and used mastic instead of cover strips to create the ‘panes.’ Once the mastic was dry, we painted it with black paint. Use glycero paint for metal structures, as water-based paint will rust.
White Fiberboard Shelves
To personalize your decor without overloading it too much visually, shelves made out of white-painted fiberboard (MDF) are ideal. For the most stylish look, use boards that are nice and thick, and in the length and width you want—a great solution for accommodating attractive books and small objects.
MDF shelving is also super in the home office and is perfect for creating a neat- and classy-looking corner.
We used planks of white MDF, 5cm (2in) thick. For longer plank lengths, lower density fiberboard is also available.
Excerpted with permission from La Maison: Decorating with French Vintage Style by Zoé de Las Cases © 2025. Published by Mitchell Beazley.