A few years ago (five, it turns out – where does the time go?) there was a house in the Wall Street Journal. There was a house in the Wall Street Journal that made me lay the magazine in my lap and lean my head back, close my eyes and take a deep breath.

It was so good and so purely personal and all I could think was, “I want to live exactly like that.” The distilled beauty and the unbelievable – so unbelievable that I can’t believe I’m using the design world’s most over-used word – chic was stunning. (Plus, I will never get over the floors.)

I ripped the pages from their staples and put them in my files, because the best things from the rooms that live there sometimes happen in real life.

In a way, happen they have. This house in France is the home of Betty Catroux and her husband and designer, Francois and I was lucky enough to have their book land on my doorstep. I was not surprised to find that there were many other homes in my files by Catroux that I’d collected long before I knew designers’ names and signatures.

The images in the book are remarkable and author, David Netto, narrates an engaging tale. Indeed, he’s written the text on the very stories in my files.  He knows things.

I am older, wiser and perhaps a bit less prone to gush, but do buy this book.  It will show you a thing or two about style and courage and balance.  And, really, who couldn’t use a little more of all three?

You can find Francois Catroux, with text by David Netto here.

All images copyright and courtesy of Rizzoli International Publications, New York.