Furnish Your Apartment in French

Quick Answer

Il est temps de meubler ton appartement !(It's time to furnish your apartment!) In this article, you'll find all the essential French vocabulary words and phrases you'll need to talk about furnishing an apartment in French, including French words for home, the names of rooms in a home, furniture you might see in each room, and some key home décor items and interior design vocabulary. We'll also cover common French phrases to talk about furnishing your home!

Questions This Article Answers

How do you say home in French?

How do you talk about furnishing a home in French?

What are the names of rooms in a home in French?

What are the essential French vocabulary words for pieces of furniture?

How do you talk about home décor in French?

What are some useful French phrases for talking about interior design?

How Do You Say Home in French?

You may have noticed that there is no direct translation for the word home in French. That said, there are multiple ways to refer to your home. Any of the following might be translated as home in English, depending on the context. Let's look at some examples!

Home in French

French	Example Sentence
l'appartement the apartment	J'ai laissé mes clés à l'appartement. I left my keys at home.
chez soi one's place	Je rentre chez moi. I'm going home.
le foyer the household	Tous les enfants ont besoin d'un foyer aimant. All children need a loving home.
la maison the house	J'ai quitté la maison assez tôt. I left home pretty early.
la résidence the residence	Nous avons une résidence secondaire en Provence. We have a second home in Provence.

The Preposition Chez

The French preposition chez(at the home of) can be used with a person's name or a disjunctive pronoun to indicate someone's home. You can say, for example, chez nous(our home), chez toi(your home), or chez Pierre(Pierre's home).

Learn all about French prepositions and disjunctive pronouns by clicking on the links below!

French Prepositions

French Pronouns

How Do You Talk About Furnishing a Home in French?

In French, un meuble(a piece of furniture) is used in the plural to talk about furniture collectively: les meubles(the furniture). This noun is related to the verb meubler(to furnish), to the adjective meublé(furnished), and to several other words in French. You can use any of these to talk about furnishing your home! As for décor, such as pillows, curtains, rugs, and the like, the English word is derived from its French counterpart la décoration(the décor), which also has several related words in French.

Vocabulary for Talking About Furnishing Your Home in French

French	English
l'ameublement	the furnishings
la décoration	the décor
la décoration d'intérieur	the interior design
décorer	to decorate
le meuble	the piece of furniture
meublé	furnished
meubler	to furnish
le mobilier	the furniture
redécorer	to redecorate

Les Meubles vs. le Mobilier

You may have noticed there are several words for furniture in French! The plural noun les meubles (the furniture) is the general term for multiple pieces of furniture. It's more or less synonymous with the singular noun le mobilier (the furniture), which is used to talk about all of the furniture in a particular space (a room, a house, an office, etc.). For example, you could say either of the following:

French	English
Les meubles du salon sont démodés.	The living room furniture is outdated.
Le mobilier du salon est démodé.	The living room furniture is outdated.

The term ameublement (furnishings) is a little different, as it encompasses both furniture and décor items.

examples
Je vais acheter des meubles pour mon appartement. I'm going to buy some furniture for my apartment.
Serge et Viviane doivent meubler leur nouvelle maison. Serge and Viviane have to furnish their new house.
Nous voulons louer un appartement meublé. We want to rent a furnished apartment.
Il y a un magasin d'ameublement pour la maison au centre commercial. There's a home furnishings store in the mall.
Ce magasin vend des objets de décoration pour la maison. This store sells home décor items.
Claire adore les magazines de décoration d'intérieur. Claire loves interior design magazines.

Wondering why the French plural noun meubles translates as the singular noun furniture in English? Or why ameublement is a singular noun in French, but furnishings is a plural noun in English? Welcome to the wonderful world of nouns! In both languages, there are some words that are always, or almost always, used in the plural and some that are usually only used in the singular. In the majority of cases, French and English nouns match in number—but there are exceptions! Check out this article to learn all about French nouns!

French Nouns

Essential French Vocabulary to Describe Your Home

Need to furnish one room or your whole apartment? Or are you just doing some redecorating to refresh the look of your home? No matter the scope, you'll find all the essential French vocabulary you'll need for your project below!

Rooms in a Home in French

French	English
la buanderie	the laundry room
le bureau	the office
la chambre	the bedroom
la chambre à coucher	the bedroom
la chambre d'amis	the guest room
la chambre parentale	the primary bedroom
le couloir	the hallway
la cuisine	the kitchen
le dressing	the walk-in closet
le hall d'entrée	the front hall
la penderie	the closet
la salle à manger	the dining room
la salle de bain	the bathroom
le salon	the living room
le séjour	the family room
les toilettes	the bathroom
les WC	the bathroom

examples
Nous allons redécorer notre salon au printemps. We're going to redecorate our living room in the spring.
Camille utilise la chambre d'amis comme bureau. Camille uses the guest room as her office.
La famille Bouchard habite un appartement avec un séjour, une cuisine et deux chambres. The Bouchard family lives in an apartment with a family room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms.

All About Bathrooms in France!

In a traditional French home, a toilet is usually located in its own small room, separate from the salle de bain, which typically only has une baignoire(a bathtub) and/or une douche(a shower) and un lavabo(a bathroom sink). This small room is called les toilettes or les WC and is similar to a half bath or powder room in the United States and Canada, where the toilet is typically located in the same room as the sink, shower and/or bathtub. So, if you're visiting someone's home in France or you're in a restaurant, and you need to use the toilet, don't ask where the salle de bain is located! Ask Où sont les toilettes ?(Where's the bathroom?)

Furniture Vocabulary in French

French	English
l’armoire	the armoire
la bibliothèque	the bookcase
le buffet	the sideboard
le bureau	the desk
le canapé	the couch
la chaise	the chair
la commode	the dresser
l’étagère	the shelf or the bookshelf
le fauteuil	the armchair
le lit	the bed
le meuble de rangement	the cabinet
le meuble télé	the TV stand
le repose-pied	the footstool
le sofa	the sofa
la table	the table
la table de la salle à manger	the dining table
la table basse	the coffee table
la table de nuit	the nightstand
le tabouret	the stool

examples
Dans ma chambre, il y a un lit, une table de nuit et une commode. In my bedroom, there's a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser.
Mettons cette table basse devant le canapé. Let's put this coffee table in front of the couch.

Home Décor Vocabulary in French

French	English
l’abat-jour	the lampshade
l’affiche	the poster
la bougie	the candle
le coussin	the (throw) pillow
la couverture	the blanket
le couvre-lit	the bedspread
les draps	the sheets
l’horloge	the clock
la lampe	the lamp
le lustre	the chandelier
le miroir	the mirror
la nappe	the tablecloth
l’oreiller	the pillow
le papier peint	the wallpaper
le plaid	the throw blanket
la plante	the plant
le portemanteau	the coatrack
les rideaux	the curtains
le set de table	the place mat
le tableau	the painting
le tapis	the rug
le vase	the vase

examples
Ces rideaux jaunes ne vont pas avec le tapis rouge dans mon salon. These yellow curtains don't go with the red rug in my living room.
Un nouveau couvre-lit et quelques coussins colorés pourraient égayer votre chambre. A new bedspread and a few colorful pillows could brighten up your bedroom.

Expand your vocabulary for describing home furnishings by learning about adjectives and colors!

Basic French Adjectives

Colors in French

How Do You Talk About Interior Design in French?

If you're a fan of la décoration d'intérieur (interior design) and les émissions de rénovation immobilière(home renovation shows), you might also want to learn some specific vocabulary to talk about decorating your space.

Interior Design Vocabulary in French

French Vocabulary for Interior Design Styles

French	English
bohème	bohemian
campagne	country
contemporain	contemporary
éclectique	eclectic
industriel	industrial
minimaliste	minimalist
moderne	modern
rustique	rustic
scandinave	Scandinavian
shabby chic	shabby chic

French Vocabulary for Interior Design Ambiance

French	English
aéré	airy
chaleureux	warm
cosy	cozy
élégant	elegant
fonctionnel	functional
lumineux	light or bright

examples
Notre chalet à la montagne est très rustique et offre une ambiance chaleureuse. Our cabin in the mountains is very rustic and has a warm ambiance.
Ce salon de style scandinave est tellement aéré et serein ! This Scandinavian-style living room is so airy and serene!
Ta chambre est très cosy ! J'adore le grand fauteuil dans le coin. Your room is very cozy! I love the big armchair in the corner.

Describing the Materials Furnishings Are Made From

The preposition en(in) is used with a noun to describe a material. This preposition is sometimes translated as in or made of, but sometimes it's omitted in the translation, as you'll see in the examples below the table!

Type of Material	English
en argent	(made of) silver
en bois	(made of) wood or wooden
en coton	(made of) cotton
en cuir	(made of) leather
en métal	(made of) metal
en or	(made of) gold
en pierre	(made of) stone
en tissu	(made of) cloth

examples
Nous préférons une table en bois pour la salle à manger. We prefer a wood table for the dining room.
Cette table basse en métal est parfaite pour un salon de style industriel. This metal coffee table is perfect for an industrial-style living room.
J'aime bien ces sets de table en tissu et ce lustre en argent. I like these cloth place mats and that silver chandelier.
Jérôme adore lire le journal dans son fauteuil en cuir. Jérôme loves to read the newspaper in his leather armchair.

Phrases to Talk About Furnishing Your Home in French

French	English
Allons au magasin de meubles.	Let's go to the furniture store.
J'ai besoin de meubles pour ma chambre à coucher.	I need furniture for my bedroom.
J'aimerais redécorer mon salon.	I'd like to redecorate my living room.
Je dois meubler mon appartement.	I have to furnish my apartment.
Je trouve ce style industriel très fonctionnel.	I find this industrial style very functional.
Nous adorons les espaces lumineux et aérés.	We love spaces that are light and airy.
Nous préférons un style moderne et minimaliste.	We prefer a style that is modern and minimalist.