Product Description

Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery, a specialist in furniture and antiques at Christies and Honelon, invites her readers to enter the elegantly luxurious interiors of some of France's most exclusive abodes. From the classic taste of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the creativity of the nineteenth century, she traces the path to the finesse of the twentieth century, which combines tradition and modernity.
    The interiors portrayed in these nine exquisitely illustrated chapters pay tribute to the refinement of French taste, a savoir-faire that has been continually renewed. Classic hôtels particuliers in the heart of Paris and romantic châteaux, as well as a surprising isba--a traditional rural log house in the Russian style--are but a few of the examples of the kinds of interiors that will inspire readers as they marvel over the art of French designers, including Madeleine Castaing, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Jacques Grange, François Joseph Graff, and Pierre Bergé.
     Unlike most books on French style on the market, this book is not only a testimony to timeless French elegance, it is an invitation to discover a synthesis of contemporary and classic décor, in some of France's most exclusive residences, firsthand.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120057 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-03
• Released on: 2009-03-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 264 pages

Review
"With 9 stunning chapters you will be enthralled by the exquisitely detailed tome that truly delivers the ground breaking style that only the French can do!" ~LePetiteBlog.com

About the Author
Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery was born in the west of France where she spent her childhood between her family property of Montfort le Rotrou and that of her paternal grandparents at the Château de Lude, one of the jewels of French Renaissance art. As passionate for the "art de vivre" of France's well-heeled families as she is for their history, she has already published several works, including The French Château: Life, Style, Tradition (Thames & Hudson, 2001) and Private Houses of Paris: The "Hôtels Particuliers" Revealed (I.B Tauris & Co.). A specialist in furniture and antiques, de Nicolay-Mazery works at Christie's in Paris.

Photographer Christina Vervitsioti-Missoffe has worked for many Greek, British, and French magazines, including Elle Décoration and Géo.

Customer Reviews

Mission Incompleted
Others apparently do not consider the photo selection in this book to be lacking, but I was disappointed in this regard. I believe that a large, expensive photography book titled FRENCH INTERIORS should consist primarily of photos of interior spaces.

The photos in this book are primarily confined shots of furniture groupings and close-ups of housewares including glassware, stemware, china, tassels, food, flowers, fabrics, vases, etc. Many are extreme close-ups of fragmentary views of these items. More than 50 other pictures are outdoor scenes. There are virtually no full-room photographs and only a relatively few full-wall views. The one double-page spread in the book shows a sofa instead of an interior panorama. Ms. Vervisioti-Missoffe's choice of an easy-to-use medium-format SLR rather than the customary large-format view camera undoubtedly limited her ability to produce the far more difficult and demanding location spreads.

Stylistically, the interiors are relentlessly traditional. If traditional is your cup of tea you will probably enjoy this book as there are some nice photos of individual objects and assorted vignettes.

Exceptional value for money!
Nothing that could be displayed on the Internet could have prepared me for the stunning detail, photography and sheer size of this beautiful book! It will take some time to read it from cover to cover but, if you're looking for a stunning gift for a friend or loved one who has a passion for French interiors, then look no further. Outstanding value and an ideal coffee table book.

French Interiors: The art of Elegance
Too many enlarged pictures and not enough actual decorating of rooms. Would have like more specific decor instead of just enlarged photo shots i.e., pg. 245. Alot of filler shots. Need more bang for the buck.