The telephone rang early that morning. I had just sat down at my desk to do some work and the sound suddenly shifted my consciousness into overdrive and I was wide awake and ready to face the day. The call was the kind that all designers and people in the arts love to get – a referral from a former client. The voice at the other end was friendly and eager to meet to discuss a new project. An appointment was set for early the next day at the sales office for her new home.

We clicked immediately (always a good sign!) and had great fun and interesting conversation as we toured the model. She was decisive and her observations and comments were truly insightful – how wonderful to work with someone who really knew what she wanted. And what she wanted was French Country, a look that I have always enjoyed for its combination of charm, warmth and sophistication.

“French Country” isn’t really “country” (as in loving hands at home) and it isn’t really “French” – all froufrou and gild – but to me it represents “stylish country” and I already knew that this would be the vantage point from which my new client would be approaching our project. She was too classy and chic herself not to see it that way. From the get-go I knew that only furniture with a unique charm and individuality so inherent in this type of design would be right for her new home.

After our initial meeting I started to refresh my memory of the characteristics of French Country decor: the kinds of colors and fabrics that are usually included in this type of design as well as the woods (selected to show their color and grain to best advantage) and overall appearance of the furnishings and cabinetry since I was being called upon by my client to handle all of these elements.

When approaching this kind of design I felt a basic thought to keep in mind was that French Country was exactly that – it was conceived and flourished in the magnificent French countryside, the hillsides of rural southern France that often bask in bountiful sunshine and where the picturesque landscapes have been the inspiration behind so many of the homes that have at once a look of comfort and sophistication and where many fortunate souls really do seem to lead a life worth celebrating.

Vibrant and exciting colors are key in this world especially when combined with patterns such as checks, stripes and landscapes. I would certainly be using vivid tones of yellow, green, red and blue which appear to be trademarks of French country style and did indeed ultimately appear on the seating in the formal livingroom. I’m sure that most of us are very familiar with these fabrics as they’ve been sold for years in such retail stores as Pierre Deux and Calico Corners.

The traditional Provencal prints use a combination of yellow or gold with blue or green. The themes of such fabrics usually include vines, a variety of cheery sunflowers, olives and leaves, grapes, roosters and beetles formally arranged in geometric patterns with borders or striped sections. Yes, fabrics of this type would surely play a major role in the design of this home with grapes, vines, and flowers reappearing thematically on various pieces of furniture throughout.

I remembered that French Country homes usually had architectural features such as distressed ceiling beams, timbered details, rough stone walls or floors and coarse plaster walls all of which, funnily enough, never did appear in this client’s home – but other typical elements surely did.

It’s been said that the heart of a French country interior is the fireplace and that certainly was the case in this home. I designed three mantels and fireplace surrounds that truly were the focal point of each room they graced. All were made of oak and featured graceful lines with beautiful carved corbels supplied by the brilliant craftsmen at Enkebol. And one my own talented, local workers actually hand-carved a charming oak console table to fit a particular niche in the main entry.

The built-ins I designed were somewhat “dressy” in following my client’s leaning towards a more sophisticated look. They included a back bar with a butcher-block top, hand painted tiles for a back-splash crowned by a garland of grapes at the top. A charming built-in for display and large TV in the family room, bookcases in the formal living room and upstairs landing, as well as a built-in armoire in the master bedroom which is quite typical of this type of design.

But if I had to guess which piece my clients were most intrigued by, it probably would be the oval, up/down television cabinet I designed for their circular breakfast room complete with storage for napkins and cutlery and handpainted by a wonderful local artist to exactly match their existing table. Upon completion of the project my clients would often sit in this lovely room looking out at the hills of Red Rock with the sun pouring through over-sized windows, sipping on a glass of fine Bordeaux, easily believing that they were in the French countryside.