My Shabby Streamside Studio: Review of ‘Belle Blanc: Aus Liebe zu Weiß’ by Mira Schnepf and Bianca Aurich

All content from Belle Blanc: Aus Liebe zu Weiss by Mira Schnepf and
Bianca Aurich, published by Busse Seewald, 2011

At long last, I can glue my bookplate in.

Graphic: Tattered Vintage

Belle Blanc: Aus Liebe zu Weiß (Beautiful White: For the Love of White)

ISBN 978-3-512-03354-4

Hardcover
9 x 11”
High quality paper with the title embossed in zinc foil. Yummy.

Q:

“Why should I buy this book?   It’s $50, their blogs are free to view, and it’s in German.”

A:

Just in case you’re thinking this, and I doubt you are, gentle reader, I will relay why you should.

The price is now $34 with free shipping from The Book Depository.

It’s the sort of book that never gets shelved.   It’ll stay on my dresser or in my tote bag.

If you love New England/Cape Cod, Cottage, and Jeanne d’Arc Living décor, this book is a must for those aspiring to perfect the ,,White and Worn” style.   Lastly, if you have a weakness for old roses you’re going to have a heart attack at the bounty of them throughout.

Pictures speak louder than words, and it’s obvious to see the book is organized by room and garden.   The experience was like those wordless illustrated books I enjoyed as a child.   If you must, type text into Google Translate and read to your heart’s content.

There are merely two pictures I recognize from their blogs: this is fresh material.   The layout is a dream.    Expanded font.   White space.   Edited palette.   Pictures evenly toned.   All imparts an atmosphere of blissful beauty.

What touched me the most was the level of elegance Mira and Bianca achieve in average suburban homes.    I’m the sort of person that swoons over homes with 14 foot ceilings, rinceau, and 19th century oak floors in a herringbone pattern.   However, these ladies made their spaces as special as can be without adding texture to the walls.   Their Nordic-influenced kitchens will have you ripping out your kitchen cabinets and installing shelving to display your ironstone and French wire kitchenware.   They expertly fuse new fixtures with vintage items in the bathrooms, softening the modernity without muddling the clean lines.   Tasty dishes and recipes round the content out.

Mira and Bianca spent a lot of money and time and it shows: Belle Blanc: Aus Liebe zu Weiß glows with heart.   These are the sort of shots acquired only by planning, waiting, and shooting over & over at different angles on different days.   Old roses bloom only for a few weeks, and they work full-time, so the dedication it took to race home from work when the light was still magic and prop & shoot is extraordinary.   Family, cats, and relaxation time surely were sacrificed for their art.

Regrets:

It’s the way I wanted to do my book, so now I have to think of something else.   It should be in linen with a zinc foil title, but publishers are cutting costs.   I have no idea where in the U.S. I’m going to find those old brass church candelabra now that I need them.   My copy was imported and it took 3 weeks to arrive, so every night I came home hoping to see it in the mail I deflated.

Get The Belle Blanc Look: French and German Grain Sack Pillows

Budget Reprints:

The Real Deal:

Mira (Belle Blanc) and Bianca (White Living) made the leap from blogger to print author and I’m very proud of these two, who have been in my top five favorite blogs since I started out. I’ve contacted the lovely writer that did my German Elle Decoration article to inform her about this tome, and I haven’t heard back from her yet but I’m certain they’ll be featured in “Elle Deco” in short order.

So, hurry over to The Book Depository and serve yourself a slice of heaven.