Nothing’s easy about moving to France.
A new Barefoot Blogger friend is moving to Uzès and wants some expat tips for beds. Like me, she’s tossing away most of her worldly possessions in the US and starting in France.
There are a few things I learned during my first year here that seem to be helpful to my friend. Things that were real challenges.
Like bedding.
Bedding is something I just couldn’t seem to understand. When I went shopping in France, I first chose a mattress. There are more configurations and iterations that you want to know. Just when I got that figured out, there were the sheets, pillows, and other confusions.
Picky-picky.
Yes, I know I’m picky. Finding the right-sized linen for a bed seemed to be necessary. I should have considered that when I purchased the two 80x200cm beds instead of 90×190 for the guest room. Who knew there were no linens to fit. The guy who sold them to me did not think I’d have these problems. Or maybe he did. I couldn’t understand everything he was telling me in French.
Fitted sheet: Housse
The Conforama store in Nimes, where I shopped, had a bedding section that answered my prayers. Good thing because the Castorama store was a bust. (“Rama” is a popular store name, apparently) Conforama had fitted sheets for 80x200cm beds! See for yourself. The package says: 2 x 80×200.
There was even an illustration of two beds. Voila! I was beginning to figure it out. Since the beds are meant to be pulled together to make a queen-sized bed, they must sell the sheets together.
I could hardly wait to get home to make up the beds. Not so fast. The fitted sheets were sewn together in a section down the middle to fit the queen bed! Now, what did I do? I cut the housse in half! So what if there are raw edges. My guests would never know!
Duvet: Couette Never learned French and never owned a duvet. Two pitfalls for living in France.
Duvets have never been my thing. To me, there’s something untidy about a bed that’s not tightly made. (Re
member, my mother was a nurse.) Therefore, the joy of stuffing a duvet into its cover is an art I never mastered –like learning to speak French. Here, duvets are the norm. Top sheets are not. So, I had to convert to make up a bed properly in France.
Duvet cover: Housse de couette. Like other bed linens, the couette and the housse de couette come in a gazillion sizes and permutations. Amazingly, I chose the correct size for the two guest room beds. Slipping the couette into the housse de couette was a breeze. Mainly because there’s a tiny slit on each side of the housee de couette. Right at the top. It allows you to stick your hand in to grab the end of the couette. Perhaps the American version of Duvets has a similar design. If not, the French have something on us.
Oreiller vs. Traversin. OK. Another head-scratcher. An “oreiller” is an ordinary pillow. Easy enough, even though they are all shapes and sizes. It’s an odd-shape
d “pillow” named “traversin” that’s a puzzlement.
I’ve seen similar in the States, but they’re everywhere here. The most common size is the big one shown in this picture. I bought the smaller ones from the man who sold me the beds. Maybe when he told me I wouldn’t find sheets for the 80cm beds, he also mentioned that I wouldn’t find pillowcases for a small-sized traversin.
You can decorate the large one nicely with ribbons and bows on the ends.
You hide the smaller ones under a stack of pillows so the edges don’t show. Yes, I cut an extensive traversin pillow cover in half to make two small-sized pillow covers.
If you’re considering moving to France, I hope these photos and descriptions of bedding you might encounter are helpful. If you want to know a few obscure but essential words in French, I hope you’re pleased. For others who just like to hear about the trials of an American expat in France who speaks no French, you see why nothing’s easy!
Expat tips: It’s so worth it!
