* Chic Provence *: Chic Provence Design Tour 2012

Showing posts with label Chic Provence Design Tour 2012. Show all posts

06 October 2012

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

04 October 2012

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

08 September 2012

Vivid Pastel in Provence

May in Provence is a soft time of year.

The greens are still tender and new, the ochres are gentle,

the pinks are softly radiant in the still-gentle sunshine.

all photos Kit Golson's iPhone in Provence

on the Chic Provence Design Tour

Printemps 2012

***

thanks for visiting! .. Kit

19 June 2012

Birthday Chris in Provence!

Since today is a really big birthday for my adorable, sweet, funny and crazy husband Chris, here are some photos of him on our recent trip to Provence. I took these using my iPhone, and tried to capture the essence of his energy and zest for life!

I owe him so much... it was with Chris at my side that I first discovered the incredible land called Provence over twenty years ago, and we have been back there countless times, including living there for a (too short!) time.

Together we have made a bid on an incredible bastide, hiked the treacherous Gorge du Verdun, sunbathed a la francaise (yes, really!) on the beaches, hosted a huge family Provençal Thanksgiving dinner, attended countless military memorial events of WWII with our friend the drap porteau, driven from here to there and back again, getting lost on little crooked streets and one time even managed to wedge our tiny European car between the walls enclosing a VERY narrow little street... until help arrived in the form of irate villagers, pompiers and les flics.

I cannot tell you just how many croissants, petits pains du chocolate, petits suisses, baguettes and yogurts we have consumed there, nor how many cafes au lait, Oranginas, pains bagnet, salades nicoise, socca, glasses of Bandol, & moules frites we've inhaled on our daily rambles in Provence.

This then is a quick tribute to Chris in Provence... all shot last month while there on the Chic Provence Design Tour! See what you missed? :)