It’s one thing to have a favourite architectural or decorating style that is plentiful in your region and recent enough to find examples to inspire and guide you. But what if the look you love is a continent away and spans centuries rather than decades or mere years?
In those cases, often only the most cliched or coarse elements make the transition into other countries’ home design. For example, Tuscan and Mediterranean styles have been trendy for years, but we still see a mostly limited menu of recognizable features — tile roofs, arched windows, textured stucco walls, ornamental wrought iron. Nuanced or personalized elements rarely make the trip across the Atlantic, so homes tend to take on a generic quality that doesn’t reflect the true tapestry of Italian life.
The same fate might await devotees of classical French decor, but a London antiquities dealer has compiled an inspired volume filled with examples and strategies for keeping this look authentic and individualized. Josephine Ryan’s “Essentially French” (Ryland, Peters and Small; $29) does have a decidedly unfair advantage in that it features the homes of antiques dealers who either live in or travel frequently to France and thus have occasion to come across hundreds of unique furnishings, accessories and artworks. Still, the wealth of choices that results produces some very authentic and appealing homes.
Just for the record, we’re not talking the Palace of Versailles here, nor the gilded excesses of King Louis the whatever-teenth. There are the occasional flourishes of style that might have satisfied the French royal court, but for the most part, these homes are modest and very comfortable for everyday living. Most are hundreds of years old and reflect numerous structural or functional changes that also span centuries, and many contain unusual staircases, tiny rooms and odd but charming features that would, alas, never make it past a modern building code inspector.
As if to dispel any notions of glitzy French excess, Ryan chose the theme of simple French decor for her opening chapter. A careful perusal of the photographs reveals objects that are at once aesthetically appealing yet very humble — terra cotta cheese moulds, a rusted iron candelabra, remnants of ornate plaster mouldings, a rough stone garden bench, disembodied clock faces, an antique firefighter’s ladder.
Of course a rustic or “peasant” look isn’t for everyone, so the book turns next to more elegant decor. This doesn’t translate into extreme wealth but rather a slightly upscale and formal look that is still within reach of mere mortal checkbooks. Here, charming chateaus boast salons equally suited for entertaining or merely showcasing a thoughtful collection of art and artefacts. Small bronzes, porcelain lamps with custom lampshades, crystal chandeliers, and 18th-century mahogany furniture pieces make their appearances here, while a few original oil paintings and marble statues lend a classical tone.
Despite the added polish, there are no hard and fast distinctions to be found in most of these homes, many of which also sport eccentric or re-purposed items that wouldn’t be considered “elegant” in any narrow sense of the word. But a pair of large turned staircase balusters make great lamp bases, and in one home old scaffolding planks now serve as window shutters. Another residence features multiple taxidermied birds and small animals (former scientific specimens, not hunting trophies) and even a bizarre desk lamp fashioned from a human rib cage.
Whatever the chances of readers getting the same access to all of these varied and vintage treasures, Ryan’s tour of these homes offers plenty to recommend it.
Finding the art in The everyday
Appreciate items for their intrinsic beauty or appeal, not their financial value.
Choose utilitarian items that also have good aesthetics or unique character.
Feel free to feature multiple themed items in small collections, but stay restrained when it comes to matching sets or ensembles.
Informal and asymmetrical balance works best.
Don’t be afraid to mix different eras or styles.
Cultivate a keen sense of colour and light, and vary both of these elements.
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