Books on French Country Decorating

French country decorating offers family-friendly elegance that can mix rustic wood pieces with grand fabrics. Its exact style parameters, in terms of fabrics, colors or furnishings, can be hard to pin down. Books that offer a tour of French country interior decorating are both colorful coffee table books and handbooks for new designers interested in what constitutes French country. Does this Spark an idea?

"Great French Country Style"

This book's newest edition, published in 2009, boasts 300 color photos of tours of both city and country French homes. Author Michele Keith, who also wrote "Country Living Easy Makeovers: 101 Quick Design Fixes You Can Do in a Weekend," offers a guide on how to work with French country patterns and colors and suggestions on which elements are vital to creating a French country look. The book is a 288-page paperback and listed at $9.98 as of January 2010.

"French Country Living"

Caroline Clifton-Mogg, author of such books as "Italian Country Living" and "Provencal Escapes" and a House & Garden magazine contributor, provides an in-depth look at French country homes by delving in room by room and delineating the fabrics, woods and textures commonly used. Photographer Christopher Drake, who also shoots for Architectural Digest magazine, contributes hundreds of photographs to this book. The hardback book, published in 2008, is 144 pages and the list price was $19.95 in January 2010; you can often find it on sale for less.

"Country French Kitchens"

For those specifically and only interested in country French kitchen style, author and Redbook magazine contributor Carolina Fernandez offers this 176-page, 2.4 lb. hardback. Fernandez offers tips and strategies for remodeling or decorating your kitchen to look French country, as well as color photographs of inspiration kitchens. She discusses the use of antiques and art in the kitchen, how to design a practical kitchen, and which materials should be used. The book's list price was $30 as of January 2010.

"Charles Faudree's French Country Living"

Tulsa-based designer Charles Faudree shows fledgling Francophiles how to select a fabric that will inspire a whole room of French country style or how to pick an antique to design the rest of the room around. His style of order without formality stays true to the French country aesthetic. Faudree also discusses the use of natural light as an element in decorating. The 176-page picture-heavy book, published in 2005, retailed for $39.95 in January 2010.

"New French Country: A Style and Source Book"

Less widely available is "New French Country: A Style and Source Book." This 2004 edition can still be purchased from some online retailers, but it was no longer being printed by the publisher as of January 2010.

Nonetheless, the book is a worthwhile read for the history lesson author Linda Dannenberg provides about the evolution of French country style. She divides the book into chapters about fabrics, pottery, colors, textures and accent pieces. The 304-page hardback edition cost $19.95 new as of 2010 and weighs nearly a whopping 3 lbs.