Book Review: Home Sweet Maison

Home Sweet Maison by Danielle Postel-Vinay

One sentence summary: In a French home, each room has its own particular “reason for being”. Sticking to the function of each room will create better rituals in your home and will help you live a more satisfying (and French!) life. Spoiler: open floor plans are not conducive to this.

Favorite Quote: “Set the table formally, adhere to all the conventions of ritual and tradition, then take pleasure in going a little wild”. 

What I liked: The use of scent and storytelling in a French home, the use of spaces in the home to bring family and friends together and to promote the sharing of ideas, also the attention to bookshelves :) 

What I didn't like: I am a personal fan of open floor plans and “entertaining kitchens”. Neither of these things are encouraged in a French home. Also, it was odd to me that the French idea of the kitchen is not the heart of the home, but rather its brain: “First and foremost, the French kitchen is a work space, a purely technical room. It isn’t a place where you hang out or relax and have a drink. It is not meant to be comfortable, or an expression of the cook’s personality….it’s a clean, unencumbered space, a tabula rasa for the cook, whose purpose is to bring science and technique together to create something ephemeral and poetic: a delicious meal”. 

Drink I would pair with this book: Sparkling water. Apparently it's very French and the one drink you can’t go wrong with. Or a French 75 because that happens to be a drink I enjoy, and it must be French, right?

Sort of person I would recommend this book to: Someone who wants to “Frenchify” their life beyond Eiffel tower posters and “I love Paris” curtains. Also those who would like to move from the sadly typical “isolation” of American homes and learn to use their home to bring not only outside friends, but even their own family closer together. 

What I learned from reading this book: I received an interesting glimpse into the French way of living, and the importance of respect for eating rituals, as well as many ideas for how to live intentionally in my own home. 

How I felt about this book: It is thoroughly enjoyable and fun to read, regardless of whether or not one agrees completely with the French ideal of the home. 

Further reading it inspired: While this book didn’t necessarily inspire further reading, it did inspire further watching of many videos on how to fold fitted sheets the French way.