Rating: 
Summary: Just What the Doctor Ordered
Review: My wife and I are in the process of building a French Chateaux house and need all the design ideas and suggestions we could find. Betty Lou's book was a "God sent". Her selection of featured photographs are incredible with lots of variety in colors, fabrics, moldings, and furnishings. (We actually copied several elements from her book in our home's design.) We also found the book an invaluable resource for showing a contractor ideas of what we wanted in terms of trim, cabinetry, paint colors, etc., etc. The best compliment I can give this book is that its pages are showing wear.
Rating: 
Summary: For Americans creating French style, who can't go to France
Review: Ok, so this isn't "authentic French Provence design." Suppose you won't be visiting Aix-en-Provence and running around looking for all the pieces you need, and then figuring out how to fill up a shipping container and send it through customs, etc etc, (can you imagine doing this in a foreign country in a foreign language?!) You just aren't going to find a lot of genuine French furnishing and fabrics in the US. What if you want to use French elements in your decorating (as we did) and only have access to American furniture lines and the fabrics sold here? This book provides a great solution. American houses are DIFFERENT than European, and what's sold in furniture and decorating supply shops is different, too. "Provencal Interiors" shows you how to get that effect with things you can get here. THAT'S great. If it isn't authentic, that's ok. If you don't have unlimited funds for a decorator to buy worldwide to create "real" Provencal, this book works really well. Maybe better. The pictures give good examples of Provencal style rooms, and there are lists of suppliers that are helpful. The color schemes are perhaps the most useful part. Another useful thing are the fabrics and how to mix them. I myself have problems figuring that out; this helps.
Rating:
Summary: For Americans creating French style, who can't go to France
Review: Ok, so this isn't "authentic French Provence design." Suppose you won't be visiting Aix-en-Provence and running around looking for all the pieces you need, and then figuring out how to fill up a shipping container and send it through customs, etc etc, (can you imagine doing this in a foreign country in a foreign language?!) You just aren't going to find a lot of genuine French furnishing and fabrics in the US. What if you want to use French elements in your decorating (as we did) and only have access to American furniture lines and the fabrics sold here? This book provides a great solution. American houses are DIFFERENT than European, and what's sold in furniture and decorating supply shops is different, too. "Provencal Interiors" shows you how to get that effect with things you can get here. THAT'S great. If it isn't authentic, that's ok. If you don't have unlimited funds for a decorator to buy worldwide to create "real" Provencal, this book works really well. Maybe better. The pictures give good examples of Provencal style rooms, and there are lists of suppliers that are helpful. The color schemes are perhaps the most useful part. Another useful thing are the fabrics and how to mix them. I myself have problems figuring that out; this helps.
Rating: 
Summary: The contrived look stinks of money -- not originality.
Review: The book was a disappointing waste of my money. There is no original thought or style to inform or inspire the reader. The information presented can be found and explored with greater depth in other sources. The biggest fault is that the decoration on most pages is so obviously done by a decorator for wealthy American clients. The references are generic French and certainly not Provencal.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully presented book
Review: There are picture books and there are picture books. This is one of the better ones that will do more than grace a coffee table. There's a lot to learn about decorating in a style that is consonant with southern France. The text is informative and authoritative and it is a volume of real immersion even if you have no intention of redecorating your house. Very nicely done, and worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Provencal Interiors?????
Review: This is a nice book but it does not contain Provencal style interiors! I am not sure how the author came up with that title since anyone who is interested in French country will not find it here. If you are truly looking for Provencal decorating ideas-this is not the book for you. CONFUSED!!!
Rating:
Summary: Provencal Interiors?????
Review: This is a nice book but it does not contain Provencal style interiors! I am not sure how the author came up with that title since anyone who is interested in French country will not find it here. If you are truly looking for Provencal decorating ideas-this is not the book for you. CONFUSED!!!
Rating:
Summary: These interiors have nothing to do with Provence !
Review: What a disapointment ! None of the interiors presented has anything to do with Provencal or even French style. The book features interiors obviously designed by American decorators for wealthy and non discrimating American clients. Nowhere is to be found the true spirit of the French decoration or the Provencal style. A waste of time and money. Quite insulting for the true French style lover.
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