A Year in the French Style: Interiors & Entertaining by Antoinette Poisson
Authors – Vincent Farelly and Jean-Baptiste Martin, Photographs by Ruth Ribeaucourt, Foreword by John Derian
Description: The founders of Antoinette Poisson take readers inside their historic townhouse on the Atlantic coast to discover a style and art of entertaining rooted in French tradition and elegance.
Maison Lescop—the historic residence of an eighteenth-century French importer for the Indian trading company in Port-Louis, Brittany—seemed predestined to become the new home and restoration project for the creative duo behind Antoinette Poisson, a Parisian design team dedicated to reviving the savoir faire of domino paper for home decoration and furnishings. The art historians became enchanted by the poetic beauty of this artisanal craft—derived from an Indian block print technique—when they uncovered original hand-painted eighteenth-century domino wallpaper while restoring a mansion in central France.
Enchanted by the repeat-pattern domino prints, which range from florals and fauna to geometric and ikat, they have appointed their new home with the charming decorative touches that are their signature—handmade lampshades, wallpaper lined armoires, paper-mâché marriage boxes, assorted table settings, and luxurious textiles.
Celebrating the rhythm of life in France, they bring readers on adventures—shopping at the local market, antiquing, mushroom hunting, sheep’s cheese making, paper making, and textile dying—and share classic seasonal French meals inspired by antique cookbooks, served-up on hand-dyed indigo tablecloths or on nautical striped throws for a seaside picnic. They also include creative insight from their style icon friends, like American decoupage artist John Derian and French musician Clara Luciani.
About The Authors
Vincent Farelly and Jean-Baptiste Martin are co-founders and art directors of Antoinette Poisson, whose domino prints have been featured in collaborations with Gucci, Ladurée, Diptyque, and the Château de Versailles. Ruth Ribeaucourt, a lifestyle photographer, is the founder and editor of Faire magazine, dedicated to artisans and creatives around the world. John Derian is a decoupage artist based in New York.
Review
We absolutely adore this beautiful book!
Starting with an Introduction,the narrative is fascinating as the authors share their chance encounters, and how they discovered the eighteenth-century domino paper and their own creative journey.
The authors then divide the content into Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter each with an introduction. Together they describe how they have created their rooms, interviews with their friends and other artisans, style tips and even mouth-watering menus complete with recipes, as they share their French lives.
The designs reproduced in the book are exquisite, and the photography is outstanding, providing the most wonderful background to the words of the authors. This is not just a beautiful book, it is an inspired way of living!
One of our absolute favourite books of 2023! Highly Recommended!
A Year in the French Style: Interiors & Entertaining by Antoinette Poisson
Authors Vincent Farelly and Jean-Baptiste Martin, Photographs by Ruth Ribeaucourt, Foreword by John Derian is published by Flammarion
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