Not just Ikea: where you can buy furniture in France
Maisons du Monde
French-owned furniture store Maisons du Monde is a decent option, if you're looking for solid, non-flatpack furniture in a range of different designs. It offers vintage, exotic, classic chic, seaside, modern, country, and industrial styles for whatever type of look you're going for. Be aware that not all products on their website are sold by Maisons du Monde itself and different providers offer different quality. Look for the Maisons du Monde brand to ensure the quality.
La Redoute
The one-time mail-order homewear catalogue company has transformed over the decades into one of France's leading and well-respected furniture brands. It promises a range of stylish and well-put-together furniture at a price that's not out of reach for many people. And it does clothing, too.
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AM/PM
Look out, too, for AM/PM furniture stores, which has stores in major cities across the country and is owned by La Redoute. Think stylish and contemporary. But also premium – it's a touch more expensive than its parent business.
Roche Bobois
For high-end furniture, this luxury Paris-based store is for you. It works with well-known designers and cultural icons (it recently collaborated with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar) and has a very distinct and sophisticated style. A go-to for anyone looking for something a bit special, and with the funds to pay for it.
Alinea
Founded in Avignon in 1989, and committed to sustainable and responsible home decoration, Alinea draws its inspiration from the landscapes of its southern birthplace. So, expect things to be a bit more relaxed in style.
Habitat
From 1960s London to 21st-century France, via liquidation and rebirth. In March this year, a boutique reopened in Paris. By the end of 2025, Habitat will offer its products on the shelves of several 'partner' stores as part of a slow relaunch. It has an online presence, now, so you could Conran your crib from anywhere in France, if you so desire.
Conforama
This is probably the French equivalent of Ikea, selling mostly flat-pack furniture but also things like sofas and electrical items for a reasonable price.
It represents 16 percent of the French market (just behind Ikea on 19 percent and ahead of But on 13 percent) and has stores in most French towns. It offers a delivery service and some stores will also hire out their own vans, at a discount price, between the hours of 12 and 2pm (when drivers are taking their lunch break), so you can take larger items home.
But
Very similar to Conforama is But which also has a presence in most French towns, usually on the large trading estates on the outskirts.
It too sells mostly flatpack furniture at reasonable prices.
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Ikea
We know that this article is about alternatives to Ikea, but it does exist as a furniture option in France and offers a good range of affordable furniture and household items.
In larger cities the brand is rolling out city centre stores - these allow you to browse all the items, sit on the sofas, test out the desk chairs etc, but they don't actually have a huge warehouse of beds, sofas etc. Instead you pick what you want and then order it online for delivery. The stores themselves still have smaller items to buy though, such as mirrors, picture frames, kitchen utensils and of course 100-pack bags of small candles.
The bigger Ikea stores on the outskirts of town allow you to buy large items to take home in your car, although they too have a delivery option.
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JYSK
JYSK is similar to Ikea in terms of affordability and Scandinavian roots, so expect lots of natural wood and neutral tones. It has a few dozen stores in France, mostly in the northern half of the country, but it is expanding into the south. You can find clean and unfussy furniture here to fill every room of the house from the bedroom and the dining room to the lounge and even the home office.
Kave Home
Kave Home is a Spanish company with stores in France. The style is generally Mediterranean with a touch of Nordic and mostly solid wood products. They sell everything from sofas and chairs to dining tables, beds, lighting and home decor.
Leroy Merlin
Leroy Merlin is better known for home improvements, selling everything from tools and lighting to wall paint and tiles – but they do sell no-fuss mostly bedroom, office and outdoor furniture. You won't find most of the furniture in store, however so will have to rely on online photos and reviews. Check out, too, other DIY outlets like Mr Bricolage. There will be one on the outskirts of most reasonably sized towns.
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Selection M
An online store that sells everything from dishware to antique furniture. It's not cheap, but if you have the money and a thing for what those in the know term 'slow deco', and what everyone else might call 'timeless', this might be the place for you.
White goods
Furniture stores such as Conforama and But also sell the usual array of household electricals and white goods, like fridges, freezers and cookers. You could also seek out a Boulanger store, or a Darty. Or a fnac, or a CDiscount. All have online stores, and deliver.
Products bought from any one of these will have the advantage, too, of coming with the right plug for your French home.
Local furniture stores
The furniture stores listed above may offer good choices and have websites that you can easily browse for products, but don't underestimate the possibility of finding what you need from local magasins de meubles (furniture stores) – which range from the monstrous BHV Marais in Paris to a family owned store in a small town.
Many cities in France have furniture warehouses on the outskirts, so it's worth seeking them out. For white goods, watch out for discount outlets, sometimes called 'entrepots'.
Second-hand furniture
The pre-loved furniture market is very much a thing in France – just ask the people behind Selection M. But you could find bargains aplenty online, by looking at well-known classifieds website
leboncoin
, for example.
But also consider looking out your nearest
Emmaus
store, where donated goods are sold for charity, or any one of the 'troc' outlets.
Then there's
brocantes
, which sell second-hand/vintage/antique items. There are some brocante stores but also regular market-style events in towns and cities across France that offer a huge range of items from real junk to genuine bargains on old furniture.
Vide grenier
are more like car-boot sales/yard sales are tend to offer smaller items and not much furniture, but you may also see signs locally for a
vide maison
or house clearance, which may have some bargains.
READ ALSO
:
Vide grenier and brocante: The written and unwritten rules of France's second-hand sales✎
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