Customer Reviews

The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you love French history, art, decoration and life style; if you have ever dreamed of living in a beautiful French chateau, you must get this book. Each time I open this book I am enchanted. What makes this book especially interesting is that people still live in these chateaus, these dreamscapes of tall Mansart roofs, formal French gardens and rooms filled with 18th century furniture. Forget about the text, it's the ravishingly photographed gardens and interiors that inspire one to dream. Beyond the sheer fantasy of it, this book showed me how I could create a little of the "French Chateau Style" in my own humble living space.

Christiane De Nicolay-Mazery is a fabulous author with fabulous connections. I'm an interior designer & I find Christiane De Nicolay-Mazery's books to be the most inspirational decorating books that I own. One of her other books, 'Private Houses of Paris', is my favorite book on the topic of decorating and I own almost every significant book published on this topic. I do wish that this book was available in hardback, as I prefer hardback books, but this fact should not dissuade you in purchasing it because inspirational design is absolutely on every page of this book!

An unusual and beautifully published book that profiles privately-owned chateaux, inside and out. It gives you an intimate view of life within the rooms, formal and informal, utility and casual, garden and forest. Family and friends are included from a respectable distance, showing weekend sporting activities and day to day life. Snobbish? Unapproachable? Not really. Think of it as a personable Architectural Digest a la Francaise, with much more panache.

The title of this book is very truthful, it has many more pages about how these extremely wealthy men and women live and not as many good photographs of the actual properties. Overall though, it is still a very nice book and would be a nice gift for any Francophile.

See how the other side lives in this fascinating book on private French chateaux. Their residences as well as their lifestyles are revealed in this book packed with gorgeous photos dripping with color and layers of texture. What's also interesting about this book is the history behind each property as well as its past owners. One can only dream...

ok book,not one of my best picks,several out there that are better as far as decorating goes!