French 40-somethings a rustic lot

PARIS, Jan 8 (AFP) – It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that traditional country-style furniture remains far more popular with France’s 40-somethings than stylish designer pieces.

A large 45 percent of French 35-to-49 year-olds own pieces of “rustic-country” furniture while only 13 percent have designer furniture in their homes, according to a survey released at a major Paris furniture fair opening Thursday.

The most popular style at 55 percent is what is known as “contemporary”, but these modern pieces are largely made up of sofas, while cupboards, sideboards, tables and other large furniture tend most often to be country-style rustic.

Design furniture was often too expensive and difficult to accommodate with other styles, said those interviewed in the survey carried out by the SOFRES polling institute for a major furniture group.

D-I-Y too was not that popular, with eight out of 10 people happy to buy small items of furniture for self-assembly but six out of 10 opposed to assembling larger pieces.

© AFP

                                Subject: France news