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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
One of the rising stars of interiors photography visits more than two dozen evocative spaces, offering endless interior design inspiration. With a unique eye that recalls themes once explored by Slim Aarons and François Halard, Matthieu Salvaing's lens does more than transport the viewer to a specific interior. With his artful manipulation of light, he describes, with precision, the feeling that a particular room evokes. Fueled by a mania for furniture and architectural details, Salvaing highlights the romantic elements of spaces that are often overlooked--a lush, overgrown corner in the luxurious Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan, a cluttered studio in Balthus's storybook "grand chalet" in the Swiss Alps, and a romantic Wong Kar-Wai film set of a Hong Kong that has long gone--offering endless inspiration for fans of interior design. Voyages Intérieurs explores over two dozen of the most evocative homes of well-known creatives, from painters to filmmakers, alongside some of the most fantastic works of twentieth-century modernism, including works by Aalto, Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, and Barragán. Also included are iconic images of the house in Acapulco that Frank Sinatra shared with Mia Farrow, and new houses by Marcio Kogan, Isay Weinfeld, and Stéphane Ghestem.
"On a tiny French island, a couple of American dreamers redefine their lives by restoring a ruin...The French House moves to a soulful, very funny rhythm all its own."—Meryl Streep Don and Mindy Wallace have always been Francophiles, so when they had the opportunity to buy a home on a small French island off the coast of Brittany, they jumped—sight unseen—into a crumbling mess that challenged their finances and their family. But when the Wallaces arrived on the island they found a building in ruin, and it wasn't long before their lives resembled it. Plagued by emergency repairs, a stock market crash, and very exasperated French neighbors, Don and Mindy could have accepted their fate. Instead, they embraced it. Redolent with the beauty and flavors of French country life, The French House is a lively, inspiring, and irresistibly charming memoir. Fans of Under the Tuscan Sun (Frances Mayes), Paris in Love (Eloisa James), and A Year in Provence (Peter Mayle) will be enchanted by this account of a family that rises from the rubble, wins the hearts of a historic village, and finally finds the home they've been seeking off the wild coast of France. What readers are saying about The French House "The French House is engaging and well-written and will make even non-Francophiles yearn for a trip to France." "With hauntingly beautiful descriptions of a tiny French island and its inhabitants, this book will take you to a different place, and might even inspire you to reconsider your life and finally follow your dreams where you and your family can become whole." "...charming and witty -- full of hope and despair about this crumbling structure they chose to inhabit and make a home." "I was captivated from the outset and felt like I was on their island living it all with them. A great read!" What reviewers are saying about The French House "Don Wallace has crafted a delicious French bonbon of a book...full of humor, hope, and lessons on how to live a life full of meaning."—Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of Devotion and Still Writing "Village life vignettes, the sensual celebration of island pleasures, eccentric neighbors, cuisine, beach life, natural history—readers will find a smattering of all that in these pages, but it's the story below, like the unshakeable foundations of the house itself, that makes this such a satisfying read."—Rain Taxi Review "The French House is a darling book that mixes local history, memoir, quirky characters, architectural challenges (what will the village elders do if they add windows to the second floor?) and humor...It was a lovely adventure and perfect for a summer read."—Under a Gray Sky "The French House is a detailed, delightful memoir of their journey to restore a dilapidated abode into a beckoning sanctuary in an idyllic coast French countryside.. I have thoroughly been devouring it, and I think you will too."—The Simply Luxurious Life "Author Don Wallace shares the heartwarming story about his family's 30-year journey to restore a ruined cottage on the tiny French island of Belle Ile off the coast of Brittany... readers are privy to the charming true story of a family's journey to create the perfect home away from home."--E! News
My Omaha Obsession takes the reader on an idiosyncratic tour through some of Omaha’s neighborhoods, buildings, architecture, and people—celebrating the city’s unusual and overlooked history
