The New Eighteenth-Century Home

Michele Lalande and Gilles Trillard-the author-photographer team that brought us The New Eighteenth-Century Style and The New French Decor-return with 29 all-new homes, decorated in the modernized, eclectic version of Pompadour decor that has become so popular in this young century. The resulting blend of ostentatious luxury and repurposed treasures, the natural and the manufactured, is a warm, lived-in style that perfectly embodies the comforts of home. Interest in this iconic French style of interior decoration was revived following the restoration of Madame Pompadour's apartments at Versailles early in the last decade. Characterized primarily by excess and opulence and often dismissed as gaudy at the expense of taste, traditional Pompadour style incorporates lush velvets, precious and semiprecious stones, gilding, and elaborate handcarving to dramatic effect. In its modern incarnation, these antique elements are allowed to show their age, tending more toward the shabby chic. Gilles Trillard's delightful photographs reveal interiors of breezy elegance, where Pop Art and industrial design mingle with patinaed highboys and carved candelabra; texts by Michele Lalande highlight the playful, surprising details that personalize these spaces. A perfect companion to the two previous volumes, Eighteenth-Century Spirit proves that the old has been made new once more-and it's here to stay.