French Chic Living: Simple Ways to Make Your Home Beautiful

Wonderfully accessible ideas for maintaining a stylish home, drawing on the ways French mothers and grandmothers manage their households. French houses ooze with charm—and their inhabitants, despite busy schedules, regularly entertain at home. What are the secrets for leading such a chic lifestyle? In this insightful tome, lavishly illustrated with images of a country residence in a romantic French town, de Dampierre shares her knowledge of ways to achieve a warm and inviting home. Her continental traditions make beautifying your house a joy. Household chores—from stocking the pantry to washing and storing delicate linens to cleaning wooden and stone surfaces—are discussed. Tips for adorning your home range from lining dresser drawers with pretty papers and enhancing them with homemade scents to creating delicate floral arrangements of fresh-cut blooms for pleasant accents throughout your rooms. Basic instructions are also provided for designing a simple and attractive aromatic kitchen garden full of herbs, fruit, and vegetables, whether on a plot of land or in attractive containers; its produce then becomes the basis for preparing fresh, seasonal recipes to share with family and friends.

An esteemed interior designer and antiques expert, Florence de Dampierre is the author of several books including French Chic. Her work has been featured in publications such as Elle Decor. She has produced a home-furnishings line for John Richard; home and garden accessories and furniture for A&B Home; and rugs, pillows, and throws for Surya. Award-winning architectural and interiors photographer Tim Street-Porter is the author and photographer of many books, including the Rooms to Inspire series. He is a contributor to The World of Interiors, among other publications.