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Florence de Dampierre French Chic: The Art of Decorating Houses

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Manufacturer: Rizzoli

List Price: $50.00
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Average Customer Ratings:

The French have a legendary sense of style that is synonymous with a joyous, sophisticated way of life, joie de vivre. Elegant and witty, French chic—a clever mix of classic and contemporary—sums up de Dampierre’s design sensibility. Using Edith Wharton’s The Decoration of Houses as a model, she provides advice on how to achieve this distinctive look. The fascinating French decorative history of such architectural elements as windows, fireplaces, and doors, along with basic design principles, is given to provide the origins of the essence of chic. Stunning photography of her home—from the striking entrance hallway with its leopard-pattern carpeted staircase to the sensual master bedroom enlivened with charming toile wallpaper and the resplendent gardens dotted with topiaries—captures the designer’s personal invocations of the best of French chic and empowers the reader to duplicate the experience at home. French Chic is the perfect guide for creating vibrant living spaces with flair.


PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS:

Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 645
EAN: 9780847830596
ISBN: 0847830594
Label: Rizzoli
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2008-10-21
Publisher: Rizzoli
Release Date: 2008-10-21
Studio: Rizzoli


SIMILAR ITEMS:

• Charles Faudree Interiors
• The French Room
• A Passion for Blue and White
• Michael S. Smith Houses
• Jeffrey Bilhuber: Defining Luxury: The Qualities of Life at Home


CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Utterly engaging and surprisingly practical approach to French style, history and culture -
Florence de Dampierre's French Chic splendidly accomplishes what few decorating books succeed in: combining practical advice and inspiration with a delicious voyage through French history and culture.

Incredibly learned, yet endowed with great common sense, Florencence de Dampierre shows us how each room in the house evolved through time, taking on different functions according to how life was lived. The historical sections seem, at first glance, to be at some distance from the way we live now, but the idea of using a historical approach to taking a renewed look at the way you use the space you live in, turns out to be eminently useful.
De Dampierre points out, for example, that in the 17th century more than one room was used for dining. As recounted in the book's chapter on dining, the varying expedients resorted to throughout history suggest many different possibilities for making your living space into a "moveable feast" [Hemingway's description of life in Paris]. De Dampierre opens up the possibilities of pulling up a small table near the fireplace, or setting up a table in the library for a special tea, among others.

This book, with its spectacularly beautiful pictures by Tim Street-Porter, already has a favored place in the stack of architecture and decorating books I keep on a tea-table in my own living room. It's delicious to dip into when I have a moment to kick back and think about how to finish my own house. But I find that I'm reading it, too, for the wonderfully witty and eclectic references that are sprinkled throughout as well: from Voltaire's observations about how women of his time weren't embarassed to receive visitors when spread out on a day-bed, to Flaubert's remarks on the idiocy of architects, to Thomas Jefferson's inventory of furniture brought back from his years in France. Bravo Florence de Dampierre, and merçi.

French Chic Totally Inspiring -
I found this book TOTALLY INSPIRING. First of all there is so much detail in each photo and in Ms. de Dampierre's home to study and learn from....light fixtures, color, I just go back and look at the photos again and again. I love her tips on French Chic because I can really use them.She is really smart and knows the history of the home...I enjoy reading about that, this is not just another magazine like decorating book. And, I have made a few of the dishes in her recipes and she is right, they are really fast and very "French Chic"! My guests loved them. Also her rooms are all comfortable, that is so important to me. But, most importantly, she has a very special and unique sense of decorating that mixes the knowledge of old, with the new. She has a special sense of color and of homour and I want to add more of that to my home. I am stenciling already, adding more color, more flowers, and have taken out my grandmother's candlesticks and use them now mixed with modern things. It Works ! Thank you Florence !!!!

Charlotte Moss She Aint. -
Like the first reviewer, I'm not sure what to think. I suppose its alright: there are some pretty photos, but her home (unlike the overdressed palace of Charlotte Moss) is not enough to
sustain an expensive coffee table gewgaw like this book. I guess that's where the potted history of French decoration and *Chic Advice* comes in -- they serve as filler, because there are simply not enough photos. Ms Dampierre also seems to have an excessive interest in gilt mirrors -- there is a chapter on the subject, with multiple shiny views of the glowing goldiness of it all. I am also not certain why there are so many pages on table settings & recipes. Recipes do not interest me, because Maximum Toile does not cook -- she DECORATES! My rating: B-

Liked the photos, not sure I would buy again. -
I have to admit I got bogged down in the beginning of this book. Following the "crash course" in French design history, the rest of the book was just OK, nothing to inspire me. I ended up turning the pages and looking at the photos only. The cover is one of the best parts. I recommend looking through this book in a store before buying from Amazon. You may decide that, for the price, you can live without it. However, if you are addicted to books like I am, you won't be sorry you bought it, but it may not be your favorite "go to" book for inspiration.

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