Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Cottage: A Decorative Fairy Tale Inspired by Provence (Country Living)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a lovely and gorgeous decorating book. The colors and the ideas are so inspirational. The author's ideas for her home are very unique - not the everyday fare you would find in decorating magazines. The murals she had painted are spectacular but I also liked the way fabrics and baskets and decorative items were put together. The text is also lovely and made me want to visit Provence. Highly recommend this enchanting book.

As stated in the book's introduction, the decoration of this
house does indeed capture the mood, spirit and colors of
Provence. Anyone looking for ideas or studies of trompe l'oeil
will totally enjoy the art on every page. I remember the
first time I saw the art of Fisher and Chappell in an old issue
of Country Living magazine. They artfully painted a garden
shed and it made the cover of the magazine. A story unfolds
as you go room to room in this house, the walls are the illustrations. French tiles, a mouse on garden tools, rabbits
in a hutch, windows to lavender fields, murals of glorious
Provencal landscapes, a broken plate on the floor, pearls on the stair steps, rose petals on a window sill: are they
real or painted? An excellent addition to a collection of
interior design books. You can't go wrong here. The resource
guide in the back features decorative sources, fabric and upholstery sources, garden catalogs and graphic designers.
Lots of garden pictures too as Nina Williams was the founding
editor of Country Living Gardener. From the kitchen to the
atelier, the boudoir to the foyer you will find inspiration!
Thumbs up!

Nina Williams has created a gift for those of us who are artists who like to make our homes or in my case my cottage a day to day living canvas. Not only did I appreciate the "theme" which is basically a young girl flowing into adulthood but like Ms Williams I have a serious free spirit mode that is very Bohemian.

The photos are wonderful and one sees how an artist creates beauty that is a mix of fairytale and reality. And I am also a grower of French lavender and could almost smell the lavender tucked in the curtain or in the mural of the French lavender fields that seemed to stretch for miles.

And the whimsy of the strand of pearls broken and dropping down the painted stairs of her home, the mouse on the stairs the looks so lifelike and the flowers...oh my they look so real, as if freshly picked. And the young girl at the window, caught in a far off thought with love letter in hand.

And the colours and hue are so vibrant and I so love the way the artists creates smiles on peoples faces. How you open a door and see a painting on the other side. How rooms blend paintings with tile work and furniture.

This is a book I would recommend for all my fellow artist friends who love creating and are not afraid of working on non canvas surfaces.

Owning a residence in Provence, We werelooking for inspiration for a redesign. This will be my bible. She perfectly captured the mood and colors of Provence. The Trompe L' Oeil work is some of the finest I have ever seen. It weaves the tri-themes of the book together perfectly. Personality makes a room.

A wonderful blend of 3 themes - how the author came to purchase the cottage of her dreams, renovate it in the French Procenval theme she had dreamed of all her life, and the "fairy tale french fantasy" that consumed her throughout the renovation of the cottage. If you are a painter, as I am, you will love the murals throughout this wonderful cottage, and the lovely way it is decorated as well!

A few years back I bought a little farmhouse and quickly ran out of ideas to make it even more unique than it already was. Not wanting what the neighbor's had in decor and finish I picked up this little book to see if it sparked any new creativity...

Hmmm...four years later this is still one of my favorite little dream guides. Although some of the ideas don't fit with our lifestyle, the concepts do (painting reminiscent and personal stories on our walls). This book is an inspiration to anyone wanting a home that is unqiuely theirs, that tells their story, and invites all visitors to become a part of their life, just by entering the front door.

This book, although not practical, is lovely and dreamy. Great for thumbing through on a weekend afternoon. The author has tapped into my psyche by fueling my dream of having a getaway cottage. We want a dreamy place not in Europe but close enough to home so that we can escape every weekend if we want to. Fortunately, that is possible in our part of the country where vacation homes are common. I've searched for vacation homes and cottage books, and the best are:
SECOND HOME. Rating: 10. This gorgeous coffee table book is also practical. Great houses, dreamy photos of locations, but the homes, which are in all styles from cabins in the woods to big family homes on the Atlantic, aren't out of reach. The book has tips on finding a location and that sort of thing as well as decorating. Nice resource list with internet sites for more information. Blends dreamy beauty with information.
THE CABIN. Rating: 6. Another pretty coffee table book. Not practical in any way but nice to look at. More of an architecture book than anything else.
COTTAGE STYLE. Rating: 8. All about decorating any home so it looks like a weekend cottkage. My decorating "bible."
ADIRONDACK STYLE. Rating: 5. Good pictures of homes and interiors. But it's limited to one rustic style, of course.

I can't finish this book. It's so good,
I want to leave some for other days.
The decor is fasinating.