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Cozying Up To French Design

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By JURA KONCIUS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 22, 2009

"French Style at Home: Inspiration from Charming Destinations," by Sebastien Siraudeau (Flammarion, $35)

A new book on French style uses Gallic guesthouses to show how insiders arrange their interiors with charm and a confident hand.

"French Style at Home" by author and photographer Sebastien Siraudeau shows 30 very personal bed-and-breakfasts located in stone cottages, urban lofts, chateaus, farmhouses and beach retreats. Siraudeau illustrates the effortless way owners blend periods, from Gustavian antiques to Charles Eames chairs to industrial-steel cafe furniture.

"Technology and comfort can all be mixed in an old-style house here," he says. "In France, young people don't avoid antiques or old family things. They actually like to recycle objects from the past and maybe use them in a new way, especially if they provide a link to their childhood."

Siraudeau chose guesthouses "because they are like private homes open to the public," he says. "Everyone can learn from them."

The book, which groups the various interiors together thematically, is designed to provide inspiration for home decorators looking for borrow from the French playbook in decorating their own homes.

Siraudeau has authored several books on travel and lifestyle in France, including "Vintage French Interiors" (Flammarion, 2008), and books on coastal living and on Brittany. He contributes to many home decoration magazines.

Jura Koncius writes for The Washington Post.

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