Betty Lou Phillips - French Way with Design

When it comes to producing a book, the credits are endless. Many people play a role in its success.

Madge Baird has been my editor par excellence for all but the first of my thirteen design books. My gratefulness continues to grow for her expertise and encouragement, which I treasure along with her friendship. In addition, I appreciate the efforts of Rita Sowins, book designer; Melissa Dymock, production editor; Debbie Uribe, editorial assistant; and Marty Lee, production manager. And, of course, I hardly take for granted the endeavors of the Gibbs Smith marketing team, in particular Kim Eddy for assistance with events and signings.

Nor do I take for granted the effort the following designers, architects and contractors put into creating the alluring, satisfying rooms that make up this book: Larry Boerder, Andy Bringardner, Ron Davidson, Ruth Gay, Ken Harbert, Laura Kutcher, Kelly Phillips, Pamela Pierce, John Remington, John Sebastian, Aline Steinbach, Michael Werchek, Meghan Whitworth and Nicole Zarr.

I appreciate, too, the help of those whose educated eyes assisted on photo shoots, especially Rachel Berry, Sharman Keister, Kelly Phillips, Alex Rico, Amy Werntz, Meghan Whitworth and Anah Witter.

As always, I would like to extend a special thank-you to photographer Dan Piassick. His wife, artist Amy Werntz, also helped make our shoots abroad successful.

One of the nicest aspects of writing a book is the opportunity to meet and get to know so many interesting people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Special thanks, therefore, goes to those both in the U.S. and abroad who opened the doors to their impressive bastides and maisons, permitting us to share the architectural splendor that serves as a backdrop for their personal style and creativity.

Also, meriting a warm thank-you: John Adams, Paul Barrett, John Boggess, Ana Bohilla, Donna Burley, Joan Cecil, Jim Dahlgren, Jeffrey Dashley, Joe Demoruelle, Kathy Dimmitt, Allan Duck, Esther Gandal, Christy Gatchell, Carla Huddleston, Will Kolb, Thomas Love, Annick McNally, Patrick McNally, Michael Naoum, Jerry Nogalski, Martin Norkowski, Allan Rodewald, Danny Salazar, Penny Sanders, Janice Stuerzl, Michael Schmidt, Linda Swain, Michelle Toleos, Tom Trovato, Julie Willenbrock and Pete Wilton. Special thanks goes also to Thomas Johnson and Joe Carino, who responded to both late-night and extraordinarily early-morning computer-related calls.

Deserving of thanks is friend extraordinaire Letitia Jett-Guichard, along with her reason-for-living-in-France, Alexander Guichard, and their daughter Andrea Fletcher.

Also, I am indebted to my valued co-workers, designers whose myriad skills I cherish: Laura Kutcher, Kelly Phillips and Meghan Whitworth.

Add to the above list a love and appreciation for my husband and family, whose patience during the process of writing this book has been admirable.

Finally, I express admiration for the French, who excel not only in the art of making decorating look effortless, but also in fusing the past with the presentas their flair was the inspiration for this book.

Carved chairs with cabriole legs and rush seats surround a pedestal table, at which conversation readily flows. After Louis XVI ascended the throne in 1774, he gave the Petit Trianon, formal gardens and all, to Marie Antoinette with the words, To you who love flowers so, I present this bouquet. With unbending determination, the queen refashioned the gardens, installing a more natural look tailored to her taste.

An eighteenth-century armoire, glazed dove gray, holds a collection of faence , the French name for Faenzaan Italian pottery center that produced painted majolica ware on opaque, pure white earthenware for export as early as the fifteenth century. Readily accessible to enhance the dining experience are pitchers and platters from Neal & Co. and from The Gray Door, both in Houston.

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to replicate the weathered patina of ancient terra-cotta, which literally means baked earth. Applying a lime wash doesnt generally produce the coveted warmth and character.

The French have been a force within the decorating world ever since Louis XIV swung open the gilded gates leading to his fathers once-modest hunting lodgerefashioned into the sumptuous Chteau de Versaillesin the late seventeenth century. Dazzled by the splendor of the sprawling palace, aristocrats fixated on the periods class divide, quite naturally clamored for imposing, heroic-proportioned baroque furnishings worthy of the monarchy. Enviable, richly carved throne-like chairs, tables with scrolled legs, opulent textiles and marquetry chests with ornate mounts typified the unabashedly luxe look of chteaux , manor houses, villas and mansions, where excessive proof of ones status ruled.

Befitting living areas more unassumingly scaled than the vast, lofty spaces of Versailles, to say nothing of a less pompous way of life, the expertly crafted eighteenth-century furnishings of Louis XV, Louis XIVs great-grandson, exhibited more restraint. Gracious curves, romantic motifs and asymmetrical silhouettes defined the less pretentious rococo movement. As salons social gatherings of prominent, intellectually minded Parisiansbecame de rigueur , the privileged class sought comfortable, easily movable furnishings conducive to the art of conversation. This gave rise to the perennially popular Louis XV bergre , an upholstered armchair with closed sides outlined in an exposed, carved-wood frame. Reading stands, small writing desks and tables with flowing lines also became talking points.

A more formal aesthetic once again followed the excavation of Pompeii (1748), sparking fervor throughout Europe for antiquities that offered a glimpse of former royal splendor. Neoclassicism came to define Louis XVI style with legs on tables and chairs carved to resemble fluted classical columns. Gifted cabinetmakers enticed to France from Italy and Germany hastened the decline of gilding by favoring mahogany imported from the New World, which most elected not to embellish. (In contrast, attention-grabbing ebony was the timber of choice of seventeenth-century benistes magnifiques a distinction with more than a dash of exclusivity conferred on skilled artisans.)