The French Country House


Book Description

An exceptionally charming look at the art of good living as practiced in the French countryside by families who live in old manor houses, many owned by the same family for centuries. A delightfully anecdotal text and all-color photographs explore not only the fabrics, wallpapers, fine furniture, silver, china and linens that decorate these homes, but also treasures found in the attics, such as family photo albums, cherished love letters, antique toys, and elegant ballgowns carefully packed away.




French Country Cottage


Book Description

Discover design inspiration as a photographer and blogger details the story of her renovation of a 1940s cottage in the California countryside. A little, abandoned vacation house that could, set in the center of rolling fields and trees becomes the cottage home of her dreams. A French country–style cottage filled with original elements and an exquisite mix of rustic and refined. The years of renovation allowed Courtney to create a lifestyle that is fueled by inspiration and beauty, a touch of whimsy, and an abundance of everyday elegance. The journey has been shared on her popular blog French Country Cottage, and now, through the publication of her first book, her readers will experience a reveal of more of her home and property and the inspirations behind her beloved style. Courtney's inspiring photography reveals every nuance of her style and home including a muted color palette, old brassy door knobs, chippy paint, antiques, her greenhouse and garden, and an abundance of entertaining and holiday decorating style. Blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor and embracing well-worn as well loved, French Country Cottage is a style that celebrates simplicity, indulges in romance, cherishes pieces with history and believes a chandelier and fresh flowers belong in every room.




My French Country Home


Book Description

Entertaining at home in gracious French style. Born from her experience of everyday living in France, Sharon Santoni reveals the gracious, easy French way of entertaining guests at her countryside home, year-round. Personal stories evoke the spirit of the French lifestyle, while gorgeous photos make us feel right at home. Santoni creates lush bouquets from her garden and utilizes resources from surrounding nature to lay gorgeous tables both indoors and outdoors. Venues range from a Sunday morning breakfast on the patio, to a ladies lunch in her lush garden, a formal dinner in her dining room, and a picnic by the river. Santoni also shares 15 favorite recipes utilizing seasonal foods. Find inspiration for your tables throughout the seasons, and discover the simple pleasure of entertaining friends and family. Sharon Santoni writes the popular blog My French Country Home. She is the author of My Stylish French Girlfriends (Gibbs Smith). She resides in Normandy, France.




Life in the French Country House


Book Description

A perceptive and witty account of upper-class French society through the centuries, showing how its setting - the chateaux, manoirs and gentilhommeries of the French countryside - evolved in concert with their inhabitants to create a way of life admired and emulated throughout Europe. We learn how different rooms were lived in and how their uses changed, about plumbing, lighting, heating, water supply, kitchens, stables and servant's quarters, about the evolution in taste and decoration to accommodate the waxing and waning fortunes of the aristocracy. Girouard quotes from letters and diaries, inventories and books of etiquette.




French Country Cottage Inspired Gatherings


Book Description

Entertaining starts with setting a fabulous table. In Courtney Allison’s signature French Country Cottage style, she showcases a myriad of romantic table settings for every occasion. Courtney provides the styling expertise to host your own French Country Cottage–inspired gathering, whether in the backyard, at the beach, under an old oak tree, or in a country barn. A simple picnic; coffee by the lake; a cheese board for friends outdoors; a bistro table for two; a long table for a formal meal—each setting exhibiting Allison’s dreamy style for you to emulate. The pièce de résistance in every venue, any setting, is the gorgeous arrangements of seasonal flowers; Courtney’s bouquets will take your breath away from spring to fall, for outdoors and inside.




The French-Inspired Home


Book Description

Carolyn Westbrook brings you her first-hand knowledge, acquired through years of combing French flea markets for unique treasures, of what makes a beautiful French interior. Designer and decorator Carolyn Westbrook’s love affair with all that is French inspired began long before she ever traveled to France. Growing up in the US, her Southern heritage was infused by French influences—from the chic elegance of New Orleans to the romance of southern plantation houses. Subsequent travels to France filled her with a passion that has influenced her designs and interiors ever since and “The French Inspired” has become her own signature style. Immerse yourself in her own beautiful plantation house, a sleek urban apartment, or a classically elegant town house. Each home featured has its own distinctive style, but all are essentially “French” in their inspiration, whether it comes from a distressed, gilded carved mirror, or a faded, frayed rug that exudes age in just the right places and could never be purchased from a department store. Carolyn Westbrook prides herself on these French-inspired interiors that are classic and timeless but never stuffy. These interiors are not about the latest trends, but meant to inspire longevity and a true romance with your own home. The French have mastered the art of this time-worn yet sophisticated style of living, and you too will fall in love with the colors, the textures, and the inspiration that is truly French.




French Country Style at Home


Book Description

This enchanting volume unlocks the door of French homes tucked away in the country, from a farmhouse in the Cévennes to a castle lost in the heart of the Morvan mountains. The writer and photographer Sébastien Siraudeau has already uncovered home inspiration from France’s guesthouses, antique shops, and flea markets in his previous books Vintage French Interiors and French Style at Home. Now he turns his experienced eye to the hidden gems of interior design in the French countryside and unveils the wealth of decorative inspiration they have to offer. The vibrancy of these hidden retreats is demonstrated beautifully and, as the pages unfold, the reader is struck by a wealth of inspiration from the colors, seasons, and stories that have formed these subtly elegant creations. Siradeau has a rare talent for finding homes that combine gently aged vintage pieces in a contemporary and relaxed atmosphere. Siraudeau masterfully shows how true style can be discovered in the most unexpected destinations, his chapters ranging from seemingly humble hamlets or farmyards to the flickering of candlelight in the Château Jacquot. Inviting the reader in over the threshold of these inherently picturesque households is a temptation no design enthusiast could refuse.




French House Chic


Book Description

The ultimate interior design book for anyone who has ever dreamed of living in a French house




New French Country


Book Description

Before Pierre Deux's French Country enchanted the world with the warmth and exuberant spirit of Provencal design, the charms of French Country style had remained hidden behind the closed doors of the farmhouses, chateaux and auberges that dot the countryside of France. This seminal book revealed a unique aesthetic that has evolved over hundreds of years to arrive at a look that is perfectly adapted to its time and place. Now, Linda Dannenberg, co-author of French Country, returns to Provence to capture not only the best of the old traditions but also to present the latest design developments and trends in le style provencal. New French Country takes you on privileged tours that include a lavish apartment in Avignon, a lushly landscaped estate in the Luberon and an antique ochre mill in Rousillon, treating you to a fascinating narrative about local customs and handicrafts. In addition to chapters on the colours, fabrics, furniture, pottery, architectural elements and gardens of Provence, New French Country includes an extensive directory to the best the region has to offer, and an overview of its most charming shops and most accomplished artisans.




Perfect French Country


Book Description

In Perfect French Country Ros Byam Shaw celebrates relaxed rural France at its finest, visiting timeless and beautiful French country homes that feature ancient beams and stone fireplaces, panelled rooms and attics under steeply-pitched pantiles. In a busy modern world that seems increasingly fast-paced, overcrowded, and monopolized by technology, the allure of the “good life” is more potent than ever. As an antidote to texts and tweets, traffic jams and queues, additives and packaging, we seek out the simple and the wholesome, and long for the luxuries of space, a leisurely pace of life and fresh air. France can offer all these things, with its traditional farming methods, its authentic regional cuisine, and its low population density. Add to this the inimitable French sense of style and joie de vivre, and you have all the ingredients for an enviable way of life. Perfect French Country revels in the timeless and authentic beauty of the French country home.