Most French homes are interspersed with antiques – acquired either through the family trove or from flea markets, brocantes, or marchés. The French aesthetic combines a lived-in feel with formality that can be re-created by combining a mix of rustic and refined pieces in the same room and from different time periods – from antiquity all the way through to the present. Plants are never far away from the French home, and many are kept within. Topiary – clipping herbaceous plants like rosemary or hardy plants such as boxwood into geometric shapes (spheres, for example) is common in French homes and gardens. It’s also very French to display bouquets of flowers throughout the interior spaces and on garden tables.