Writing Nook
I’m almost finished with a great book Theresa lent me, called “Writing Down the Bones.” I’m planning on doing a real review tomorrow, but one of the things I wanted to share was the author’s insistence that there is no perfect place to write. You can’t design the perfect writing space and expect the writing to come flowing freely just because you’ve matched the chairs fabric to the curtains. I’m not sure she’d still feel that way if she’d seen this amazing nook:
I could write the next Great American Novel in that room, I just know it. Writer’s Block? Banished by the overwhelming wonderfulness of its French farmhouse style! It has something to do with the white-washed clapboard walls, the linen tablecloth, and all that dried lavender. Here’s how to get the look (writing expertise not included or guaranteed!).
1. Chair / 2. Basket / 3. Cabinet / 4. Lavender / 5. Linen sheet / 6. Pillow / 7. Notebook / 8. Candle
Forgotten Paris Apartment
Sam tweeted me a link to this story a while ago, and I swear my jaw hit the keyboard. A woman fled her apartment in the 9eme arrondissement in Paris before the start of World War II, and never returned. She died a few years ago at the age of 91, and her frozen-in-time apartment was finally reopened for the first time in 70 years. It had remained completely untouched (how? I feel like if that happened in America the city government would have seized everything after six months of neglect) and among the relics was a portrait of the woman, by artist Giovanni Boldini that later sold at auction for £1.78million. Everyone loves La Belle Epoque Paris and the early part of the 20th century, but imagine finding a time-warp apartment that is authentically historical. Aside from the overwhelming smell of dust it must have been the most magical thing in the world.
A Home in Provence
This house, in Aix-en-Provence, took my breath away. It’s never encouraging when, instead of a dollar amount, Sotheby’s lists “Price Upon Request” but I am not letting that deter me. I must have this house. Continue reading »
Wowza
What do all these images have in common?
Besides from being glamour shots of books stacked into gorgeous fireplaces (and potentially posing a fire hazard if your fireplace is anything like the one in my last apartment, where pieces of brick continuously fell in from the chimney on the roof) these all made my heart skip a beat. Oh! To be surrounded with books to the point that you have no where to stash them but your fireplace! It’s like Carrie Bradshaw, sticking sweaters in her oven, except real and more esoteric.
Not-So-Tiny Paris Apartment
This apartment, of an Art Director and her Architect husband, in Paris made me have little gasps of delight. The building is located in the 14eme arrondissement on Boulevard Raspail, and was home to the studio of Pablo Picasso between 1912 and 1913. The couple also use the apartment as an exhibition space for occasional art showings.
via Sarah Skinner for Freunde von Fruenden
A chic, artistic couple reminiscent of characters in my book (he’s even part Spanish just like the entirely fictional Andres). Windows for days. Artistic history. Be right back, dying.
Medicine Cabinet
So remember that vintage medicine cabinet I mentioned on Friday? Yeah, I got it.
We drove an hour outside the city early Saturday morning (after I spent the night with a stomach bug and JAMAL spent it unsuccessfully attempting to breathe through his nose for the first time in a week). The things you do for love of vintage home goods, right? I just can’t believe this piece was UNDER $150. I almost felt like I robbed the store. Of course because I’m me, I spent the entire car ride panicking that we’d get there and despite my multiple phone calls to the vintage shop begging them to hold it for me, double checking they still had it, and asking for the measurements again, that we would get there and it would be gone. Or we’d get there and it would be in horrible condition and it would have been a waste of a car rental (oh yeah, we don’t have a car, either). But all my worry was for naught, like it usually is, and the whole thing took 5 minutes, and that includes the time it took me hand over the cash and load it into the back of our trunk. IT. IS. PERFECT.
Here’s a shot with Fitz for scale:
I apologize for the horrible quality of these photos, but I’m not kidding when I say our house is a black hole that gets no natural light. This is in the back of our first floor, with the kitchen directly behind me, and the laundry closet right next to Fitz. The only window on this level is across the room at the front of the house. City living! I’m also sorry for not “styling” the cabinet better, but whatever, we keep potatoes and garlic on it and not fancy striped straws or mirrored trays. Also, Fitz is so cute I can almost forgive him for all the shit he’s eaten in the past week. For the record: Otterbox cell phone cases cannot withstand being chewed by a heavily medicated rescue animal. Ahem.
And here’s a detail shot of the inside. We’re using it as a liquor cabinet, and storing all our cookbooks underneath. We’re lushes, what can I say. But for the record, that Jameson bottle has never been opened, and will likely never be opened, because Jameson is disgusting and nothing good ever comes from drinking it. Those black tins are my collection of Mariage Frères tea, and those old cans are empty vegetable cans JAMAL scored at another flea market a long time ago.
I found out it was made at a factory in Johnsville, Pennsylvania and was used in Harford County, Maryland in some medical office. There was even a handwritten card taped inside the cabinet with a list of medical supplies on it, including “Sutures, Hemostats, Elevators” and other terrifying clinical words. I forgot to take a picture of it. Blogger of the year.
Moral of the story: the vintage gods smiled upon me and life was good.
La Case de Cousin Paul
I feel like we spent the majority of our time in Paris either shopping or eating. I think that’s the best way to spend your money, though, if you’re going to go to Paris. One of the stores we passed in Montmartre that I wish we’d gotten to browse was La Case de Cousin Paul.
They sell string lights and decorative colored balls, and you mix and match whichever colors you’d like to make up a set of string light garland. They also have pre-chosen kits in beautiful hues, but I think it’s more fun to pick your own. A strand of 20 balls is €22, 35 balls is €32, and 50 is €42. Kind of a steal. Unfortunately they were closed somehow both times we stumbled past the shop, so I’ve been getting my kicks playing around on their website, designing my own strands.
You can add them to the string yourself by dragging and dropping, or putting 8 colors in the “Random Cart” and letting it generate an order for you. There are almost 50 colors to chose from, and they ship to the US (for a fairly reasonable €17,50). To say I’m having analysis paralysis trying to decide is putting it mildly. Do I make one for the living room, or be super crazy and make one for a future nursery? And then, of course, I’m stuck doing something gender neutral. Problems. I have them.
Next time I’m in Paris I’m going to nerd out so hard at this store.
My Home: Sue of A Nomadic Abode
That sound you hear, that sad, bleating cry, would be me, crossing the Atlantic today (and not in the good direction). Oui, mes amies, we are on our way back to the states today and I am most displeased. The trip was AMAZING and I have so many photos to share with you. In the meantime, the delightful Sue from A Nomadic Abode is here to share her London home (the color palate is gorgeous!).
firstly, thank you so much erin for inviting me to hang out with you here for the day! what girl doesn’t like a party invite, right!?!
& being asked to discuss my favourite topic {my home} is just the cherry on top!
there are many words i could use to describe what my home means to me: it’s my sanctuary, my workshop, my decompression chamber from the world outside…
but it’s what my home isn’t that can be summed up so much more succinctly: my home isn’t defined by the bricks & mortar from which it’s built…
for me, home is very much a feeling, not a place…
&, perhaps as a by-product of having moved house so much in my life, i’ve become pretty adept at invoking that feeling wherever i am by simply surrounding myself by the people i love & the things that hold meaning or memories…
here’s a little peak into the london home i share with my boyfriend of nearly ten years…
in our dining nook sits one of my favourite pieces of art, an etching picked up on a girly weekend in venice: what i remember most about that weekend was my friend & i lugging her baby pram up & down many, many steps as we chaperoned her infant daughter around this city of bridges {there was a lot of laughter that weekend}…
while the white porcelain cockatoo reminds me of those yellow-crested fellas that swoop & squawk around my parents’ house at dusk each & every day, plucking the ripening fruit from their orchard & unleashing mayhem in their wake…
taking pride of place in our lounge room is a screen-printed bus blind from home: on it are listed some of the suburbs that served as the backdrop to our budding relationship all those years ago…
& vintage photos found at a flea market in cuba, a silver teapot from dubai & an antique key from my boyfriend’s parents’ village in italy bring back memories of our travels together…
& finally…
flowers are a permanent fixture in our home & never more so than in the bedroom…
i use a lot of floral motifs, alongside the real {& faux} thing, as not only do they add a sense of colour & movement but they also remind me of a childhood spent amongst the blooms {both of my parents were keen gardeners}…
our bedroom is also where i display my jewellery collection {especially the sentimental pieces that have been gifted to me}, some of my favourite books & a selection of much-loved pictures, including a print depicting a simple mantra: LOVE!
everywhere throughout our home there are tell-tale pieces like these that speak of my partner & i, our friends, families & the journeys that have gotten us to where we are today…
& that is precisely what makes this, & every house i live in, feel like my home…
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Isn’t her home beautiful? I love the garland above the tufted bedframe. And all the little bits Sue picked up on her travels…those are wonderful souvenirs! Thank you so much, Sue!
My Home: Christine of the Plumed Nest
Today is our last full day in Paris, which we’re just going to ignore because that seemingly small fact is sending me into an existential crisis. While we’re making the most of the day, I’m happy to bring you another guest-post. Today I’m beyond lucky to have my twinsy extraordinaire, Christine from The Plumed Nest, sharing her wonderful west coast home with us. Check out that faux-wallpaper!
Hi! I am Christine from The Plumed Nest and I am really excited to be here today at like/want/need to fill in for the lovely Erin while she is in Paris taking pictures for us. Today I will be sharing photos and talking a little bit about my home.
My home is in Portland, Oregon and while I have lived in other places, traversed a few spots around the globe and obsessively dream about moving abroad someday, Portland is a beautiful and creative city and I love living here. I live in a community of townhomes that were built in the 1930′s. There is so much I love about my place, it has beautiful wood floors, a wall of windows, huge gardens and lots of vintage charm.
My personal design taste is not limited. One day I might be dreaming of a shabby chic cottage, the next a mid-century ranch, and a few days after that an industrial loft. So with my love of so many different design styles I try to keep myself in check by decorating in a way that works with the style of my home. Additionally, as a renter, I am always looking for ways to make changes that don’t include knocking down walls or changing out cabinetry. Would I love to have a giant farmhouse kitchen? Sure I would. But I embrace the sweet vintage charm of mine with my 1950′s stove being one of my favorite things in my home. I try to look at the parts of my home I love as starting points to design around and augment them. I have changed out hardware on my cabinets, the light switch-plates, added window treatments and have done a lot of painting in every room!
A favorite place in my house is my dining and living area. I have three children, work from home and am by nature a homebody, so we spend a lot of time in this communal area. I recently painted this main living space all white to bring more light into my house, but in my innate need for a feeling of coziness I added some patterned interest to my dining wall. I love the vintage feel of it and how it helps define the space. The best secret behind it is that it’s actually shelf liner! Another great option for renters who can’t put up wallpaper.
Again, constantly balancing my role between mother and a person who works from home with my blog and my Etsy shop, we end up spending all our time in a shared space. It’s great because I can be many things at once and switch back and forth as needed, but it also means I am constantly on a mission to keep it light, bright and airy. It’s important to me that we can feel cozy and relaxed as a family and also feel the space is open enough for our minds to be focused and creative. My exception to this is books, I have several bookcases and books on top of books stacked in each of them. I love the feeling of being surrounded by books. It’s really important for me that my home to reflect all parts of me, the parts I am striving to be – like more organized (always trying to be more organized!) and the parts that are firmly rooted like my love of books, my family and art.
Thanks so much for having me Erin! I can’t wait to see all those fabulous pictures from Paris!
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I can’t get over how impeccibly clean her house is for having three kids! She certainly puts me to shame :) I’m so jealous of all that sunlight, too, and that vintage desk (Christine said it was her grandparents’)! Thank you so much, Christine!
My Home: Santa of Homestilo
Joyeux Lundi, mes cheres! I hope everyone’s weekend was, shall we say, parfait. Last night we were supposed to see the comedy show “How to Become Parisian in One Hour” but that is story for another time….which will be never because I AM NEVER LEAVING. Today, I’m so happy to have the inspiring Santa from Homestilo sharing some sneak peeks of her beautiful home (check out her view!).
While Mademoiselle Erin is out enjoying herself in The City of Lights, I’m happy to be with you today, sharing a look at some of the things that make my home…well, my home.
Where the day ends
We honestly make the bed everyday (and by “we” I mean me, of course). I find it’s just a great feeling to end the day with some sort of semblance of order and neatness. No matter how crazy the day was, no matter what chores didn’t get crossed off the list, a made bed is always a pleasant way to end the day.
On my nightstand there is usually a pile of magazines waiting, for months on end sometimes, to be read. I also keep a copy of one of my favorite quotes attributed to, oddly enough, Elsie De Wolfe: “Be pretty if you can be, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you.” Words to aspire to.
Put a bird on it…and some stripes
Our home and its colour palette are quite neutral. But neutral can be just as fun. I tweaked the old IKEA Melodi lamp with a few birdie silhouettes. Then once, while my husband was out of town on business, I went ahead and added stripes to the focal wall. The hubster wasn’t completely sold on the look, but the stripes still make me smile whenever I look over at that wall.
The view out there
The main thing that sold my husband on our current home was the view. We live in an apartment and our outdoor space is limited to a balcony. But we do overlook a golf course which gives one a sense of having a much more grand outdoor area. We always have a view of the perfectly green lawn during the warm months and a ‘Winter Wonderland’ after snow fall. It’s also great for gazing out of first thing in the morning or in the middle of the day, when one needs to gather her thoughts.
So, that is a small look at our home. A big thanks to Erin for having me over and for making me take a moment to appreciate my surroundings.
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Is it weird to say that someone else’s bed looks snuggly? Santa’s totally does, though! I love the simple touch of stenciling a bird on a lampshade. So clever and creative! Thank you so much, Santa!
