How to Furnish Your Home in France

Top Ten Stores to Furnish Your Home in France

Welcome to France!

So, you’ve decided to move to France. Whether you are here for work, school, or just because, get ready for a very rewarding (and challenging) experience. If you are someone like me and are more used to the Mediterranean way of life in Europe, well, things work a little differently here. And while I will talk a lot about the French culture and what acclimation can look like here, this article is focused on helping you furnish your new home.

First things first, are all apartments empty in France? No, not at all. There are plenty of furnished homes available. That being said, don’t be surprised to see a lot of empty apartments – and I mean it when I say empty. I’m talking no appliances. In every place I’ve lived before, the rentals at least came with a fridge (or a stove), but not this time. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into when picking your future home.

Need help finding a place? Check out this article on how to find an apartment in France.

So, you’ve looked around and for some reason or another, you’ve settled on a lovely French home that you need to furnish, or partially furnish. This is where I recommend going to make that house a home.

1. Emmaüs

If you’re from the US, you’ve probably been to or have heard of Goodwill. Emmaüs is very similar to this. People donate everything from clothes, to furniture, to appliances and the items are then sold to benefit the non-profit. This means you can find goods super, super cheap. Might they need some love? Maybe. Will you need to dig to find your hidden treasure? Possibly. That being said, this is a very sustainable, cheap, and fun way to find special pieces for your home. They even have an online website you can order from.

I recently purchased two unique bedside tables for ten euros each, and I’ll definitely go back for more finds.

2. Selency

So maybe you are looking for second-hand goods, but want a more structured or curated way to go about it. Selency is the place for you. This fun online shop has tons of special second-hand pieces, plus they do pop-ups in Paris from time to time. You won’t find the same prices as at Emmaüs, but there are still great deals on nearly any decorative or functional piece you might be looking for.

3. Leboncoin

Another favorite of mine is Leboncoin. This is very similar to a Craigslist, where people can post pretty much anything they want to sell. I keep the radius set to my town and search for anything under the “House” category. I’ve find a few pieces this way and tend to check it every few days (there is still A LOT I need for my apartment).

Speaking French here will be important, as you’ll need to message and possibly interact with the seller. Also, please be safe whenever you need to go in person to pick anything up. I’ve only had good experiences so far, but you never know.

4. Maison du Monde

If you live in Europe, you might have heard of Maison du Monde. You can shop in-person or online, and there is a range of price points available.

5. La Redoute

La Redoute is a multichannel store that sells clothes and home goods. I personally find it a bit overpriced, but I am giving you all of your best options here! Sometimes, you can find a good deal. So far though, I’ve only bought an inflatable mattress from this shop, but it was the best price that I could find it at!

6. Made

So if you are not looking for the best bargain and just want cute things for your home, check out made.com. There is tons of cute furniture that is very on-trend. In-store shopping is an option, too.

7. H&M Home

I totally forgot that H&M had a home section, and it’s actually really, really cute. Their stores near Opéra in Paris are very well done. Something to keep in mind!

8. Zara Home

Well, what else can I say here? Zara is Zara. You’ll always find on-trend items from them. I love my glass mugs from here, and I will definitely check them out for fun hardware to liven up any dull or thrifted pieces.

9. Boulanger

I was super impressed with my first purchase from Boulanger. I ordered my fridge and in less than fifteen minutes, I got a call to schedule my next-day delivery. It happened so quickly, that I didn’t even realize what they were calling about at first. This purchase went so well, I decided to order my stove and oven and washing machine from them, too.

They also have a refurbished goods section. My stove came from this and was totally new, works well, and was significantly cheaper than a new one.

If you have any questions, their Whatsapp messaging service actually works, which makes it easy to get any questions answered.

If you need an appliance for your under-furnished French home, I would check here first. Quality and price are hard to achieve together, but they did it.

10. Ikea

I know Ikea is not a hidden secret by any means, but it is incredibly useful. Some of their products are just too good to beat. I recommend joining their Ikea Family program. It’s free, and you save a little extra on some items. Plus, you get 365 days to return anything and the receipt will be on the app. That makes changing your mind (or learning by error) so much easier. Plus, there are so many cool Ikea hacks floating around now that it makes it easy to transform any standard Ikea piece into something that is more “you”.

And that’s that! You should have plenty to get yourself started now. Remember to be patient (with the world and with yourself), to ask for help when you need it, and to have some fun building your new space.