An intimate tour of quintessential Provencal style, featuring chic homes and interior details inspired by this picturesque region Thirty years after the publication of Peter Mayle's bestselling memoir A Year in Provence, the sun-drenched southern French region continues to excite home decorators with its combination of rustic charm, elegant details, and historical influences. Provence Style showcases the best of the region, with Shauna Varvel's quintessential 18th-century Rhône valley farmhouse--Le Mas des Poiriers--as its centerpiece. Named for the working pear orchard on the grounds, the property was reimagined by noted local architect Alexandre Lafourcade, who transformed a rough structure into a luxurious expression of the Provençal aesthetic, referencing historical influences, rural traditions, and Parisian taste. Set amid a garden of allées, arbors, and terraces designed by the architect's mother, renowned landscape designer Dominique Lafourcade, this exemplar of Provençal style is the starting point for exploring the region's characteristic interior details and exterior features. The book includes chapters on the public spaces of the home, from entrances to living rooms, the private realm of bedrooms and bathrooms, and outdoor areas including patios and kitchen gardens, transporting the reader on a captivating stylistic journey.

From cities to quaint towns and everything in between, Provence has something for everyone. Swim in the crystal clear waters of the Calanque de Sormiou in Marseille. Drive with the top down through fields of lavender in Valensole. Experience a bite of just-out-of-the-oven fougasse, a Provençal classic. Stand in awe of the beautiful, white Camargue horses native to the area. Located in the South of France, Provence is uniquely positioned to be a cultural blend of the Mediterranean. Roman landmarks still prevail from the 1st century AD alongside châteaus from medieval times—a varied legacy brightened by the indigenous mimosas and cypresses.

Proud villas, farms surrounded by cultivated land, simple stone buildings in the middle of vineyards, and fields of lavender: that’s Provence, and these homes, photographed by Maisons Côte Sud magazine, showcase the region’s beauty and style. On display are brick tiles that stay cool in the summer, big clay pots displayed on either side of a door, mosaic stone paving, sunny kitchens full of yellow and green earthenware, comfortable bedrooms with cotton furnishings, wrought-iron banisters, gates, and window grills, and courtyards bathed in dappled light. It all adds up to a combination of heritage and stylishness unlike any other.

Inspired by the sun-drenched colours of Southern France, French country orrovencal decorating is as fitting in the city and suburbs as in rural areas.ut how does one go about achieving the provencal ambience?

Explores the open-air markets of Provence, and includes recipes for Provencal-inspired dishes.

Provençal houses are true homes. Warm shades of ochre glow from the walls and roofs, weathered doors shine, and reflections glance off glazed ceramics and strike printed cotton tablecloths. This volume showcases the architectural diversity of Provençal houses and their interiors, gardens, and decorative art traditions. Images of gold-hued walls, iron balustrades, leafy terraces, and painted shutters inspire thoughts of balmy days in the sun. Aromatic lavender in terracotta pots and almond trees casting shade over cobbled courtyards evoke the magic of Provence-style living. The reader wanders up a stone staircase, past brightly painted walls and across tiled floors, through a variety of rooms ranging from a sun dappled kitchen to an ornate drawing room and shaded bedroom. From plain rustic benches and beds to delicate walnut armchairs and elaborate dressers, all the painted and polished accoutrements of a Provençal home are featured. From tableware to what lies beneath, to traditional flowerprint fabrics and intricate quilted textiles, the decorative florishes of Provence provide boundless inspiration for the home.

Provence is a way of life. Its gardens are visions of paradise rediscovered, its houses--whether looking out over sea, forest, the countryside, a shady terrace, or a patio full of flowers--reflect a secret harmony between interior and exterior. Today's architects and interior decorators have in no way renounced Provençal tradition, but rather have drawn tried and tested knowledge from it. They play on the purification of lines, the fluidity of spaces, the rhythm of volumes and the refinement of details. A house in Provence can mean a cardinal's palace, the showcase for a contemporary art collection, or a simple cabin screened by trees. What is important is the spirit of these places, which reflects the gentle way of life that is the specialty of the Midi. This book features sections on gardens, interiors (including contemporary houses, village houses, farmhouses, log cabins and lodges, and historical buildings), and useful information on restaurants, hotels and guesthouses, and best sources for authentic decorating in the Provence style.