From the best-selling author of Villa Décor and Unmistakably French comes an insider's guide to French design secrets for home interiors. Betty Lou Phillips, America's foremost interior design expert on French style, shares some of her best-kept secrets-ones that the French seem to know instinctively. Secrets of French Design looks behind heavy lacquered doors at the design principles the French hold dear. Whether furnishing a château in the Loire Valley, a fabled manor in Normandy, or a pied-à-terre on Paris's grand Avenue Foch, the French make no secret of their love for family, affection for pets and fervor for all things Gallic. With mystery rooted in culture and the ever-elusive idea of "French flair," Betty Lou Phillips shares these long held secrets, and illustrates the principles with awe-inspiring photography. Chapters include: · Les Couleurs de France · Le Salon · A Table · Le Chambre et La Salle de Bains · Lés Details Betty Lou Phillips is the author of Gibbs Smith, Publisher's incredibly successful line of French style and design books, including the award-winning Villa Décor, as well as Unmistakably French, French Influences, French by Design, and Provencal Interiors: French Country Style in America. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers. ." . . Style must have an air of novelty, at the same time concealing its art." Whether furnishing a chateau in the Loire Valley, fabled manor in Normandy, or apartment on Paris's grand Avenue Foch, the French make no secret of their love for family, affection for pets, and fervor for France. However, the old-world élan of their rooms may well owe even more to unspoken revelations equally instinctive. With mystery rooted in their culture and French flair more elusive than taste, foremost interior designer Betty Lou Phillips reveals the secrets of French design, tucking photographs eliciting awe among them. She shares ways color solves irksome design problems without moving walls or making other structural improvements, addresses the art of hanging art and dressing salon windows, then moves into the French kitchen and bed chamber-both with a culture all their own. In pursuit of beauty, the French penchant for detail makes decorating look effortless, yet most are exacting in their thinking. But then so are the American designers who artfully sculpt satisfying rooms indulging a passion for France while mirroring the lives we lead. Whether furnishing a chateau in the Loire Valley, fabled manor in Normandy, or apartment on Paris's grand Avenue Foch, the French make no secret of their love for family, affection for pets, and fervor for France. However, the old-world elan of their rooms may well owe even more to unspoken revelations equally instinctive. With mystery rooted in their culture and French flair more elusive than taste, foremost interior designer Betty Lou Phillips reveals the secrets of French design, tucking photographs eliciting awe among them. She shares ways color solves irksome design problems without moving walls or making other structural improvements, addresses the art of hanging art and dressing salon windows, then moves into the French kitchen and bed chamber-both with a culture all their own. In pursuit of beauty, the French penchant for detail makes decorating look effortless, yet most are exacting in their thinking. But then so are the American designers who artfully sculpt satisfying rooms indulging a passion for France while mirroring the lives we lead. Award-winning designer and best-selling author, Betty Lou Phillips is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers. With projects from New York to California, her work has been featured in countless magazines, as well as in her numerous home design books on French and Italian style. Interiors by Design--her 13th design book-is the ultimate guide to home décor. Additionally, she has appeared on the Christopher Lowell Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She lives in Dallas, Texas. Betty Lou Phillips is the author of Emily Goes Wild!, an illustrated children's book, and co-author of The Night Before Christmas in Paris. Later this year Gibbs Smith Publisher will release her Night Before Christmas in New York and Night Before Christmas in Texas. LE SALON Le salon par excellence is indeed a work of art, inspired by France's storied culture and splendid architecture. Most often, however, tangible links to caring ancestors who lived centuries apart make the most abiding impression. Unlike family cast offs that dwell in American homes only until we can afford to replace and forget them, the French treat long adored furnishings as pieces of history fit to reign forever in the most coveted spots. But then, who could begrudge a regal armoire, the celebrated source of Gallic pride, the opportunity to pay homage to France with its magnificence? Built in the thirteenth-century for storing armor, the armoire has risen to iconic