Refined French linens by Charvet

Charvet, 155 years weaving linen

In Northern France, Armentières is named the City of Canvas. This is where high-end French bed linens were produced since the Middle Age. 

Charvet is one of the last linen mills in Armentieres, existing since 1866. 155 years of a genuine know-how. Charvet linen experts pursue this long history, and they are nowadays considered as the leading French manufacturer of industrial fabrics in natural materials. 

Charvet designs and produces French linens, high-quality linens, for home and decoration: kitchen-towels, aprons, table linens, bed linens and accessories (bags, pillows). The common trait: traditional yet elegant designs on thick and soft fabrics.

The best fabric for kitchen linens

France is the world’s largest grower of flax fiber for the textile industry. The flax fiber grows in immense fields in Normandy and Northern France where the climate is perfect: cool and wet. 

This fiber is now renowned for several qualities:

• A sustainable growth as very little water and little to no pesticides are required to grow flax 
• It has hypoallergenic and antibacterial qualities (perfect for textile in contact with the skin, like napkins for example)
• It is very resistant, so the products made in linen have a longer lifespan and when disposed of, linen is biodegradable
• 100% of the fiber can be transformed: part of the plant is used for textile, other parts are used to produce food (oil for example) 
• Linen fabrics can absorb up to 20% of dampness without feeling wet: this is the perfect fabric for kitchen towels 

French kitchen linens: a French country house must have 

French kitchens are a central room in the house: as French love food, they spend quite a lot of time in the kitchen cooking delicious meals. An extension of the kitchen is the dining room, where French gatherings happen around the table with family or friends (meals can last several hours!). And to showcase the delicious meals, French attach much importance to the tableware and table linen. The traditional French country kitchens & tables could seem effortless, but they're not. That's the French je ne sais quoi: elegance in all simplicity.

Good news is that you just need a few pieces to achieve this beautiful French country house style in your kitchen. Linens are one of them. French linens will be essential everyday accessories for your kitchen and your table and add this French country house touch. 

Choose linens made in noble materials, linen and cotton, with French traditional designs and patterns. As for the colors, French linens are generally in neutral color (white, beige, taupe, and gray) but can also combine with 2 French emblematic colors: blue and red (as on the French flag).

Look at my selection of French kitchen linens. From embroidered napkins to tea towels in pure linen to patterned tea towels, I selected typical and charming French linens for a French country kitchen.