Sebastien Siraudeau

The interesting thing about this book is that these are real places in France that you can actually stay at. While reading it I felt like I was shopping for a vacation that I'd never be able to afford. The first half of the book the rooms were just so bare - walls, floor, bed spreads - very plain. None of these pictures seemed all that inviting or cozy to me. It was like booking your room for a monastic retreat. But if that's what you want. towards the end of the book there was more play with color and interesting design elements (painted wainscoting? Gold textured painted head board?) I'm really glad that I didn't put this book down, because I was very tempted to. Another thing that struck me as odd, is that most of the owners of these guest houses weren't French. Dutch, German, Swiss, American, but not many French proprietors. It became a little game hunting through the book looking for French owners who would presumably know more about French style? All in all, this book wasn't a total waste of time, but not a design staple either.… (meer)