Provençal Maison Auction in Paris This Friday

Ever wanted to go to an estate sale for a maison en Provence? The Druot auction house in Paris is auctioning off the contents of one next weekend...here is a sampling of the items that I particularly love. What do you think? 

I am available on short notice to hop a plane to Paris and place bids for you :) (or, I am actually registered for the auction and if you are brave, we can bid from afar!)

enchanting decorative element in sculpted wood of sun's rays with clouds peeking through! 18th C. 

paintings: two gouache armchairs from mid century by Louis Valtat (1869-1952) 

Les Deux Bretonnes, 1918, oil, Pierre de Belay (1890 1947)

 charming small chandelier in tole in the form of leaves

fabulous butcher's table with voluptuous iron worked base 
and white marbled veined top 

caned canape in walnut scuplted in ribbons and flowers; washed white; sstamped Pillot, from
the time of Louis XV 

the marque for Pillot, the furniture maker from
Nimes in the time of Louis XV, 1774 

pair of Empire era armchairs in cream and coral

six chairs with straw seating in cream lacquer in 
the Provençal style of 18th C. 

rattan chairs from 1900 

pair of small etagere in bamboo from 1900 

pair of 19th C. vases in pottery from Anduze 

pretty birdcage form
hanging light 

to see the full auction catalog along with projected pricing, click here

Thanks for visiting!... Kit

Anna's Beautiful Room!

For your Sunday enjoyment!

I just want to be in this sweet room! it makes the heart sing.. that wallpaper,
the mix of patterns and color! brava, Anna! a really fun space!
AND it was featured in Home & Garden

via

Absolutely Beautiful Things

thanks for visiting!...  Kit

Scouting Apt in Provence

Waking up on a Saturday morning and heading over to Apt for the weekly market is a joy. Once there, the sights alone captivate.. flowers, fruits, vegetables, cheeses everywhere; lots of fabrics, leather goods and baskets too. I was able to poke around the village and found "La Brocante".. which is exactly that... pretty much a second hand store... but hey, this is French second-hand stuff! I also had a moment to peek into a lovely design shop. 

looking beyond vegetables I spied this intriguing shop in the background!

the wicker lounger is a little worse for wear, but at 25 euro, quite the bargain too!

great collection of apothecary jars and etc in La Brocante

who doesn't like to poke around in
junk shops.. here you could score a
Ricard pitcher for pennies!

while at the market outside you could buy a bathtub full
of dried rosebuds...

...or the perenially beloved Basque striped fabrics at
a few euros per yard

... or a rosemary tree or watering can....

.. or lavender soaps....

while inside the nearby design shop, this stunning silver metallic
medallions printed onto linen and used as draperies
really caught my eye!

and this rustic lamp with it's rumpled linen shade sits
front of that exquisitely printed Manuel Canovas silk 

two more stunning silk fabrics in this Provençal designer's shop in Apt

and the beautiful work at Atelier du Vieil Apt took my breath away

after all the browsing, we ended up in this little resto a few miles away from the bustle of Apt

Come with us to Provence next time... and 

thanks for stopping by!...  Kit

Chic Provence on Facebook

Misty Morning in Provence

One of our greatest joys in Provence is to follow "le route du petit ecolier"... or the "way of the little schoolboy" who cannot walk home in a straight line! Instead we take to the little car, map in hand, and set out to see what we might see with no particular destination in mind, and start wandering ourselves. 

This time we headed up the Luberon Mountains in the Vaucluse and climbed our way up to the small, very quiet village of Murs (so tiny there is little even on wiki about Murs!). Here we saw the stark beauty of stone buildings against fields of green, and a XV C. castle which was closed to visitors. We were there on a misty early morning in spring, and found ourselves virtually alone in the village... not another soul in sight!

It was an altogether peaceful little wander that morning... restorative and very easy on the eyes! Come with us!

beautifully stark, this plain arched and whitewashed stable door caught my eye

stone buildings in the village include the mayors office,
the dark blue shuttered "town houses" and the light blue
shuttered restored XV C. castle

a shrine to the Blessed Virgin welcomes travelers
to the entrance of the village of Murs in Provence

oh, the difficulty of deciding just which
road to take!

an ancient "borie" also greets visitors
to the village of Murs.. these structures
dot the landscape all over Provence and
once sheltered sheep herders

stunning curved and tiled ancient old roofs of the
homes in Murs, Provence

one of the grander doorways in the village, this
one has an awning covering the opening

it was not easy to find "un cafe et une croissant" in this little village
but we managed 

we stopped in the nearby church to see the
rustic polychrome interior, the statues of
the saints, and the crumbling walls
with ancient decorations

thanks for visiting!... Kit