What Is The French Café Interior Style?

The decor of many cafés and or coffee shops is always a mix between modern and old. We like the fact that there are wooden tables and chairs, but we also like the fact that we have modern, creative pendant lighting. We like that there are bar stools we can sit on, but also, homely cushioned seating. Many times, this is because they want to attract all kinds of customers. They don’t just want to rely on millennials as their only customers, who might prefer glass tables, barstools and modern LED lighting. They want older customers to enjoy their café as well. You see this a lot in countries like France. So we’re going to explore what makes the French café interior style so alluring and why your home could benefit from implementing it.

Start with the patio

Before we welcome the French cafe style into your home, let’s start with the outside. The patio is a great place to begin because it’s naturally the thing that we come into contact with first when you walk into a French cafe. The alfresco dining in Paris is a prime example. Consider French patio seats, which are inspirations from the pre-20th century. They are going to be made out of wood or metal, they can be in almost any color. Red chairs, black chairs and white are the main kinds you see in Paris. 

Not to mention, you could place candles on the table. Many French cafes have the classical red and white chequered table cloth, this is something you can have too. It can also be blue and white, but it should have some other kind of addition to it. You can have slogans, quotes and other memorable sayings about food, gatherings and culture.

Stepping into light

French cafés have unique shutters. So if you want to create a French café style kitchen or living room, you need French shutters like those on Shuttercraft. It’s hard to find the right style, but the French door shutters are shown here. They are full height shutters that cover the entire window, but they also have handles in the middle. This allows you to open your shutters and allow the light in without hindrance. But you can also flip the shutters, so you have just enough light coming in and with a horizontal pattern. This is something you can enjoy in your kitchen but also your bedroom. If you have a small table in your bedroom where you like to enjoy breakfast with a view, these kinds of shutters will make you feel like you are in Paris as you eat and sip your meal and drink.

Flowers everywhere

Paris is a very urban city. You can walk for miles and not see any greenery. This is why Parisian cafes have flowers all around their shops. You could put a simple flower and glass tube vase on your kitchen table or on your window sills. But you should also consider placing flowers on the walls inside your home. When you walk into a 90s style French cafe, there are flower pots and vases that are on bookshelves but also fit into the walls. They allow the flower to protrude out of the walls, be more noticeable and more connected to us as we move around the cafe. 

Bouquets of flowers are great for every room. They can give every room it’s own unique character. Maybe your living room is blue, so you have blue tulips on the coffee table. Maybe your kitchen is neutral so your island has a vase of white flowers. Mix it up a bit with a mix of flowers too, if you want to go for a more boho look. 

Go with bright colors

The French cafe style is very bright. As you can tell, this is something that can be done with flowers, table cloths, lighting but also, with the kind of seating you have. You will find that in French cafés, they have bright red, burgundy, deep orange and bright greens. Their tables, chairs and counters are in these kinds of colors. As you can see in Paris, it’s quite grey and a bit dull due to the stone that the buildings are made out of, so cafés make an effort to be vibrant and welcoming. So what kind of color palette should it be? 

Try to go with a color palette that fits your walls. If it’s neutral then you should go all out with as much bright color as you can. Get a blue coffee table, a red chair, maybe a yellow countertop of your kitchen. If you want, you could have a bright green ottoman and some red cushions for your sofa. 

Have quiet lighting

What do you think of when you consider French cafes in Paris? You think of dining with friends just as the sun is going down after work, and the waiter comes around to place candles on the tables. The table lamps or lights in your home should be subtle. Avoid something like a large central ceiling light. If you have a chandelier, that is just going to ruin the entire look. French cafes do not have chandeliers. They don’t have many ceiling lights at all because they want each table to have its own personal lighting. This creates a more personal environment and gives every guest of the group their own space.

Everywhere someone could possibly sit in your home, should have it’s own little lighting. It could be an LED lamp, a candle perhaps some pendant lighting. Pendant lighting is great for corner seating areas. 

The French cafe interior is one of the best of all time. It’s homely, modern but also antiquated. It feels cozy and you can really feel like you are in an urban setting with a pleasant vibrant interior. Start off with the flowers and the different colors. They can be bright for every room, but try to modulate this so it’s not so loud.