Customer Reviews

Villa Decor: Decidedly French and Italian Style

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I expected a book filled with photos of French and Italian villas - houses and estates outside cities, perhaps some at the seashore, for passing leisure time. Instead, it is a book filled with text on French and Italian style as applied to USA decorating. ALL the photos seem to be of American homes, most in Texas, some containing some pieces "found in a Paris flea market..." etc., and ALL done in beautiful taste and with very generous-(Texas oilman?)-sized budgets! Having said that, however, I assure you that the book is filled with excellent photos of absolutely beautiful kitchens, bedrooms, gardens, baths, living rooms, porches, filled with great fabrics, elaborate window treatments, chandeliers, sconces, wonderful wrought iron, porcelain, ceramics, woods, rugs, marble and all the things you either love or hate about French and/or Italian style. The text is also very helpful, although occasionally a little gushy, and I could have lived without the recital of so many details of European History. (Okay, I admit it, I'm an uncultured swine. So sue me.)
If you want a book of vacation villas on the shores and islands of the Mediterranean, this isn't it; but if you want ideas for beautiful, comfortable homes for "gracious living" -- then this book is a gold mine.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you are looking for a rich European style to inspire you in your own decorating, "Villa Décor" is a warm and comforting experience.

Betty Lou Phillips demonstrates decorating secrets, like linking rooms with patterns and palettes with out detracting from the furnishings. Her work has appeared in Southern Accents, Traditional Home & Bath, Window and Wall, and Decorating as well as many magazine covers. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and also has a penchant for quotes.

There are six main areas to explore:

Old World Elegance
New World Excellence
High-Minded French
Italian Panache
Points of View
Magnifique in America

The minute I opened this book, I was in love. The lush carpeting and tapestry pillows, the piano in a sunlit room with the sun casually falling on an eighteenth-century buffet a deux corps. It was a music room of dreams.

Not only do you enjoy the aesthetic elements, you actually learn the names of a variety of decorating techniques and Italian and French furniture names. You could also recreate a room by finding similar items. The bedroom on page 74 is to die for: Lavish comfort with sensuous linens and goose-down duvets, not to mention bed hangings (looks like a four poster bed).

My main thought while reading this book was "All these rooms look like good rooms to read in." One picture does show a rather elegant two-story library with a spiral staircase and many of the rooms have fireplaces and cozy couches.

I've been dreaming of redecorating my bedroom and this book gave me quite a few dreams.

~The Rebecca Review

I am so glad that I ordered this book. I have been reading it from cover to cover since it arrived and everytime, I find something new to consider. This book is perfect for anyone interested in mediterranean interiors, both French and Italian-influenced. I even found some ideas for mediterranean style exteriors that I am considering for incorporation into my own home's exteriors. I highly recommend this book!

This is one of the most beautiful and inspiring books on Italian and French design I've ever seen. The book is loaded with breath taking color photos that will provide endless hours of enjoyment. I have read through it several time now and each time I find more enjoyment in it than the last. A wonderful book that you will want to add to your collection.

I found this book while building a new home in the Italian style, La Villa Sulla Collina. My interior designer and I dubbed it our "Bible" since we referred to it many times. The doors on page 123 became templates for my master bedroom wall of closets. My arches and entryways now have rounded corners instead of square as found in the book. My woodworker made me special baseboards and corners to capture the height shown in older homes and displayed in this book. The barrel vaulted ceiling became my library ceiling. And, of course, the wall treatments became ideas for my painter. We have visited Italy several times and love the "ancient" look of Italy but wanted an Italian style home with a newer look. I find something new in this book each time I read it and I never tire of reading it. It holds a special place on my coffee table today.

This book was the most beautiful I've seen on the "Italian/French-like" decor I like. I first checked it out of the library but fell in love with the photographs, style and decor ideas from the book, that I purchased it. There is not much of a discount from other vendors so I bought it through Amazon with the free shipping. Delivery was prompt and the book arrived in new condition.

I know there have been some reviewers who mentioned it was not "true" Italian/French...but these rooms are so beautiful, I did not care whether it was an authenic representation of the style. Ms. Phillips has captured the type of decor I love without being too country, rustic or over-the-top. The decor is tasteful, stylish and elegant. It's funny, after finding this book I wanted to look for more of her books. I browsed through her French decor book but it was not on par with this book.

Villa Decor is well worth the purchase and now tops my list of decor book, so far.

If you are looking for design ideas that match Phillips Mediterrean and French looks, this is a good book. I collect many books on design and hers are well-illustrated. Additionally, they describe the manufacturers of the decorative items & fabrics. While some of the interiors she show are a little "Dallas" or Nouveau, overall they are filled with homes that appear well built with good materials and interior design. I would recommend this one.

One glance through this book and it is immediately obvious that this is "Villa Wannabe"--American Style. If you think you are really in a foreign country when you visit Epcot, then you might think this book represents French or Italian Villas, but it does not. It shows homes of American clients that are chock full of 'so called' decorative accessories and fru-fru treatments sold to them by eager Interior Decorators. Save your money and put it towards "Venetian Palazzi", This reasonably priced large format book
has wonderful photographs that show
great details of interior and drawings of the exteriors.
The text is in 4 languages. I love "Venetian Palazzi". OR
Venetian Palaces
by Alvise Zorzi, Paolo Marton---a much better investment.

I love all of Betty Lou Phillips many books, and have all of her books in my library. I must admit that her elegant/casual approach to French design is always wonderful to behold. This book is full of outstanding photographs which are filled with great details that underline the epitome of the French and Italian influence. No wonder it was awarded book of the year by ForeWord Magazine.

I really loved the this book for trying to copy nicely decorated rooms. I also used it as a guide when selecting new furniture to buy. I didn't like the comments on the French/Italian eras but the pictures of the rooms the decorator has done are beautiful. I love it and am looking for more like this one.