Stepping inside Carolyn Westbrook’s home, it’s impossible not to notice that romance is in the air. It’s not just the traditional scene-setters of soft lighting, candles, plumped cushions and vases filled with fragrant flowers.
There’s also an abundance of gilding, sensually curved furniture, mirrors with decorative detailing and luxurious fabrics, which provide the clues to the real passion of Westbrook’s life – French style.
“My love affair with France began long before I ever set foot in Paris,” says the designer, as she walks around her beautiful 1800s plantation home in Texas.
“I’ve always been drawn to the intricate detailing that’s evident from French furniture, and the way they decorate their homes with elaborate mouldings, aged objects and pieces that have become antique as they were passed down the line, from one generation to the next.”
It’s a decor approach she has interpreted in her own distinctive way and which she reveals in her book Through The French Door.
Nowhere is her enthusiasm for French romance more evident than in the bedrooms. One is totally feminine, with her favourite shade of pink used subtly in flowers and paisley bedding, with a bright-pink chest flanked by simple white chairs.
Another has theatricality, with the bedhead a stunning antique mirror and velvet drapes, which once dressed a stage, providing the backdrop beyond.
Westbrook hopes to inspire others to enjoy the beauty of aged and antique treasures and to create homes that have their own spirit and reflect their owners’ personality.
“The beauty of French style is that it’s so versatile and can be adapted to suit,” she says. “All that’s essential is that your home should envelop you in beauty, familiarity and comfort.”
If you’ve fallen in love with the style, have your own French affair by sourcing classic touches that will turn your living room into a salon and your bedroom into a boudoir…