cécile-t's Profile

I don’t like the house at all. I think it’s tacky and bling bling. I would feel oppressed and depressed living here. There are too many different styles that clash with each other and with the bland contemporary architecture. Trying to add architectural interest to that kind of home (all those accent walls and bright and busy wallpapers, for example) only accentuates the fact that there is none to begin with. I see nothing bohemian, sexy or glamorous here, only a bunch of mismatched elements put there at random to try and create “a look” and failing miserably.

I’m not qualified to argue over the squaw discussion since I’m not a specialist of the topic or a Native American but I want to answer GlamourSquaw about her love of “places that evoke “native” such as Africa, Peru, Cambodia”: if I understand correctly, you use “native” to describe people and culture that were in place long before colonizers or migrants arrived. For you the word probably means some kind of authenticity that the modern world has lost but that can still be found in some preserved foreign land. But those places aren’t any more “native” than, say, Italy, England, Sweden, France, Greece or Russia. You’re trying to show people that you’re not racist but you have indeed a very American-centric and even colonialist vision of things that looks racist to me.
You may not understand this since you’re American and your country has a fairly recent history, but most countries in Europe for example were already populated several thousand years B.C. Think Etruscan civilization, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Saxons, Goths, Gauls, Celts etc. and there are still many traces of the past there. In all fairness most of Europe should also be considered “native”. But of course England and Germany aren’t as exotic as the savannah or the Cambodian jungle.
Not to mention that people in Africa or Peru might not consider their countries as “native” at all and might take offence, especially since “native” might be considered as insulting as “primitive”. Americans and Europeans don’t have the monopoly of education, culture and civilization, you know.
Of course if for you “native” has a whole different meaning, feel free to explain it to us.

I'd be shocked if people took their shoes off in my house. Even I don't always do it when I come home. It’s silly, when you host a party, even if it’s not very formal, you expect people to wear rather formal clothing (no tennis shoes, no sweatpants, etc), so why would you want to turn the thing into a casual day at the beach?

There’s a lot a disadvantages to the thing. First, floors are *never* as clean as you’d like, so your feet end up all black. Then tiled floors are cold and in winter that can be really bad for some people. Third, there can be something wrong with your socks, tights or even your feet: smelly, bad-looking, with medical condition that makes walking barefoot painful, etc. And the list goes on.

As for the question of the respect, it goes both ways: you shouldn’t force your guests to remove their shoes and wear slippers that have already been worn a thousand times or make them feel guilty if they refuse to. They’re your *guests*: you’re supposed to entertain them, not make them miserable for a whole evening.

And finally, if you don’t want your floors to be ruined by the high heels of your guests, then don’t invite anyone anymore. My guess is, people who are so uptight don’t make very good hosts anyway…

Wow, I didn’t think this was a serious issue. In France nobody asks their guests to take their shoes off. That would be strange and even rude.
As vain as it may sound, shoes are indeed a part of your outfit and an important part at that. Do you ask your guests to take off their pants, jewellery or make-up? I don’t think so.
Plus, you never know if the floor is going to be as clean as the hosts are making it.
If it’s tiles or concrete, it’s cold and it hurts; if it’s hard wood there may be splinters, etc.
People do have feet problems and it’s disrespectful to ask them to comply to the host’s wish that his super beautiful house remain pristine. Even when it’s just a small party with friends, asking them to remove their shoes means that you care about your house more than you care about them.
As for the germs, well, all the doctors in the world will tell you that you need to accumulate germs to develop a resistance to them and have strong antibodies and stuff.
And if your floor is a little bit dirty after the party, then so be it! Stop being so obsessed with cleanness, there’s nothing wrong with a few stains or some dirt that will take about 5 minutes to vacuum or wipe off…

In France furnished apartments are mostly for tourists or people on business trips because the rent is usually higher than unfurnished apartments. But except for some luxury apartments in Paris rented to rich tourists, the apartments aren’t “fully” furnished, there’s no real décor, just the basics.

In unfurnished apartments, you usually have to bring your own oven, stove, fridge, washing machine and appliances. You take them with you when you leave. The cupboards stay, unless you've redone the kitchen (with the owner's agreement) and brought them with you in the first place. Even then, you can usually make a deal with the owner so he keeps them in exchange for a reduction of the rent or some cash.

The rent is more expensive when the kitchen is completely furnished, but even then, it usually means no washing machine and certainly no dryer (there’s no “dryer culture” in Europe).

As for the eggs, in France, you can find them in the baking aisle, or near the water bottles section, or near the fruit and vegetables as they don’t need to be refrigerated. It all depends on the store.

I don't see why people react so negatively. For my part, I think this condo has no architectural interest at all, it's not an old building full of charm or anything. And the decor isn't my style, I think it's pretty much everything I hate, from generic to already seen a million times before, etc. But I've seen things on AT that are worse than this and nobody was ever that mean.

Is it because these people hired an interior designer? Do you think it's "cheating"? If they have the money to, why not? After all they're the people living there, not us. That they should or shouldn't be featured on AT is another issue that is not the point of this post. Maybe the editors could offer the readers a chance to discuss this subject (are DIYed flats and houses the only ones allowed here?).

And frankly, I don't see what's wrong in wanting to have a nice home, where you feel comfortable, even if for just a short time (which apparently for them won't be so short). Just because it won't last doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.

@ motheroffive : There is no need to be so rude. People are entitled to their opinions, whether positive or negative. And they didn't just say the rooms were ugly, at least most of them tried to give a valid explanation to why they didn't like the design. Anyway, what's the use of commenting if you're only saying you love everything? We're not sheep.

Personally I agree with the floor tile and wall corkboard comments, they look cheap.
As for the rest, I don't know how much they charge their clients (apparently they're very expensive) but frankly I'm sure at least half the readers at AT could put together the same kind of thing for a ridiculously small portion of that budget (and many do, just look at the house tours...).

I agree, it looked way better before. It was a beautiful mid-century modern piece of furniture and now it looks like every other IKEA dresser. Glueing wallpaper to furniture has become so common now, people really should think twice before doing it.
Plus, I think parents should give their kids some credit. I bet most kids can appreciate the real value of a beautiful, valuable piece of furniture without it being painted or wallpapered to excess. They're no idiots.

I usually hate all kinds of wood panelling, it makes me claustrophobic but this house is amazing! So simple and cozy, warm and inviting. The little attic bedroom must be a great place to enjoy a good book and a cup of coffee. You really feel at home.

Like I posted before in a post about w/d in the kitchen, I don't own a dryer and I'm fine. We own a drying rack that uses like 1.5 square centimeter when it's folded and stored in the bathroom and we also use hangers. And we don't mind having the laundry drying in the living room for a night or so. The clothes are not at all scratchy or anything and I can assure you, even without the dryer, we get the "vital shrinkage" for jeans.

I did use a dryer when I was at uni in England a few years ago, because in my 9 sq. meter room I didn't have any space. But I didn't really like it, the clothes didn't smell nice like they do when they air-dry.

We don't do it primarily to save the planet but it's true that we don't like to waste energy when it's not necessary. It's a personal choice but it does save energy and money (the price of the dryer and the price of its use).