Why Do French Villages Look So…French

If I were to peel away the signs written in French and plug my ears, I would still know I’m in France because of a few common architectural features of the houses.  In particular, Alsatian houses have a strong Germanic influence with exposed beams and trusses on display on the exterior walls of older buildings.  But I wanted to go beyond the form and shape of the buildings and focus more on the construction materials and function of parts of their homes and buildings. 

One of the things that I really like about France is the solid, bunker worthy construction of their houses.  Whether they are new or 400 years old, the houses are built with solid concrete or stone walls, almost castle like.  Not just the exterior walls, but the interior walls too.  It’s not very practical for doing maintenance on electrical wiring or plumbing as they are buried in the concrete walls, but let’s look on the positive side, there will be no mice making nests in the walls either.  Historically, the idea of using stone instead of wood is an obvious one, a defensive one.  Could you imagine the wide smiles of an attacking medieval army if they were to see that their enemy was holed up in a wooden castle?  ‘French toast’ may have taken on a whole different meaning.  I assume that this defensive mentality turned into the gold standard for architecture that was passed down through the generations forming the basis for the French architectural code that exists today.

Besides the solid construction, another interesting feature of French houses is the widespread use of shutters and blinds on the exterior of windows.  It’s like peanut butter and jelly, houses just come with shutters or blinds.  The shutters seem to be more functional than decorative.  They serve multiple functions from providing security, shade, to privacy.  The shutters are opened every morning to let in light and then closed in the evening for privacy and security.  The sound of the shutters clinging and clanging every morning and evening reminds me of the presence of others in the village, which is often as quiet as a monastery.  The traditional material used for shutters is wood but wood requires more maintenance so metal shutters and blinds are more à la mode on newer houses.  I find shutters to be much more stylish, check out the decorative shutter stop, than the louver type blinds although the blinds are more practical.  With shutters, it is necessary to first open the windows prior to closing them.  In the winter, this is a chilly cold, daily ritual.  With the blinds, you simply pull on a cord inside the comfort of your home and the blinds coil up or down.    

Speaking of the exterior of homes, I also like the aesthetic look of all of the orange and brown clay tiled roofs.  The vast majority of the houses in Ingwiller, where I am currently living, and the surrounding region are clay tiled roofs.  It creates a uniform look and adds a little color to the villages.  These orange tiles also last a long time so it’s a good investment if you plan to live in the house for a long time.  I often see old houses and other buildings that have different tones of orange and brown tiles where only part of the roof was replaced.   No need to replace the entire roof, just replace what is needed.  I also assume that the building codes make it mandatory to use clay tiled roofs.  I like the sense of uniformity and order that it creates.   

There are plenty of other architectural features in French homes that are different than in the U.S. but these are just a couple of the differences that give French villages their unique characteristics.