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You know that feeling you get when you walk in your front door after a long day? That deep sigh you let out as you drop all your bags, kick off your shoes and curl up on the couch. Yeah, that feeling. The feeling of home. That’s exactly the feeling I get when scrolling through Erin’s feed. I can’t wait to share this feeling with you. Let’s give a warm vintage welcome as we curl up with Erin from Francois Et Moi.

Home Tour Series: Curl up with

Fancois Et Moi 

• Can you give a brief introduction of yourself, your home and work? 

I’m Erin Francois, a home DIY & styling blogger at Francois et Moi (francoisetmoi.com). My husband and I are renovating our 1930’s Tudor duplex in Minneapolis, MN. We live in the main part of the home and rent out the upstairs apartment. 

We have a three year old daughter, Sylvia, and a tuxedo cat, Gideon. My personal design style leans modern with moments of Nordic, Mid-century, and Early American. I love the challenge of marrying our personal style with the home’s traditional Tudor charm.

• What year was your home built and do you have any details of the history or building process you would like to share? 

The home was built in 1936 and unfortunately we don’t know alot about the history of the home! We do know that the home was built as a duplex and has as an owner-occupied residence for most of its 84 years, a tradition carried on by our family! I’d love to know more about the original owners and their thought process behind building a solidly-constructed, charming duplex during the heart of the The Great Depression.

While renovating the upstairs apartment, we found a perfectly preserved newspaper in the wall from the year the home was built. With headlines such as ‘Gang Smashes Vault: Carries Away $400!’ and ‘4H Club Displays Prize Vegetables at State Fair’’. The paper gives us a glimpse into life the year the house was built. So much has changed, yet much (like local excitement around the State Fair) have stayed the same. We’ve framed the paper and have it displayed in the dining room as a way to preserve the bit of known history we have.

• How do you define your decor style? What are your favourite types of decor?

We’re chipping away at this old lady slowly. Our end game is to bring the home into the 21st century to fit our modern lifestyle, while preserving the original charm. If I had to describe my style in a word, it would be “collected.”

The bones of our house are Tudor, so I love complementing the more traditional architecture with meaningful pieces from different eras and styles like Nordic, early American, and Mid-century. Because I do intermingle styles so freely, I try to stick to a unified color palette to help connect the dots.

• What is your favourite thing about your home? Do you have a favourite room or furniture piece?

My favorite spot to curl up in, is our living room. It’s THE spot we hang out the most together as a family (we don’t have a family room or den). Most everything is hardworking, but also fits our style. The furniture is stain resistant; we’ve eliminated most sharp corners, and incorporated lots of toy storage, etc. so that we can relax and play as a family in there.

Also, the room is east and south facing so it gets wonderful morning and mid-afternoon light, and it’s home to some of my favorite collected pieces including an antique Persian Rug (which btw is an EXPERT spill camouflage-er!)

• Do you have any big future plans for your home? What is next for you or your home? 

Towards the end of this year we have plans to renovate our bathroom. Among charming original floor tile and an arched shower opening that we’ll make sure to preserve, it also has a cheap, plastic shower surround and no exhaust fan to speak of, that we’re excited address for our family.

• If you had one design or decor tip, what would it be? 

Every home needs a sense of humor. When it comes to design and DIY keep it lighthearted, embracing handmade imperfections, patina, and quirky pairings. I don’t think homes are meant to be picture perfect, rather reflections of ourselves, our memories and our winding journeys. 

DIY Trick: One of my favorite DIY tricks is attaching pre-made furniture legs to a flat top surface for easy and unique stools, tables and benches. I’ve made several pieces quickly and inexpensively this way.

Do you have a business or social media tip you can give to all those who want to start a blog or home decor business?

Engage and connect all you can! When it comes to social media (namely Instagram) the most effective way I’ve found of building an engaged following is by actively connecting with people on the platform. By this, I mean consistently commenting on followers’ posts, posing questions/polls, etc. in stories and then responding to direct messages/answering questions. There’s no question it’s time consuming, but the more we connect with others, the stronger and more effective our brand’s potency becomes.

Do you feel it? Do you feel all warm and cozy, ready to curl up under that duvet? Thank you Erin, for taking us on this charming little tour and giving us all the cozy feels. If you guys loved Erin as much as I do, go give her some love on her Instagram @francios_et_moi, tell her Deb sent you. 

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