Finding the balance of beauty and convenience while living here nor there

Welcome to Maison Collected, where a mix of cultures, identities, and passions collide. I’m Mackenzie, the founder of Maison Collected, an American in France trying to fit in and stand out all at once. My husband and I live in the beautiful Pays Basque region in the South West of France, where the Pyrenees Mountains rise in the distance and the waves of the sea crash nearby.

The pace here is slow, traditions are deeply rooted, and things are done a certain way. If you’re like me and aren’t fluent in French, finding the right home decor products, homeware stores, or asking simple DIY questions at the local hardware store can be exhausting and confusing. Simple tasks that would take minutes in the US end up causing stress and hours of trial and error.

I created this site to help other expats, not only in France but also in other European countries, find and source products or alternatives to what we are used to. Whether you’re searching for DIY home decor tips, reliable homeware stores, or just trying to navigate life as an expat, I’m here to help. Let me know what you are trying to find, and together, we can make your European home feel like home.