terrace design and big french pots!

Our terrace extension is finally nearly finished - only 4 months behind schedule :) .... - and I am thinking about how we'll use the bigger space.

I have always used plenty of pots on the terrace, to break the straight lines and to bring the green and the flowers closer to the house.  I suppose it is a fairly English garden look, with plenty of flowers, strawberries in pots, sweet peas growing up canes ...  you get the picture.

But now we have a little more space, and now that my garden is taking shape after our remodelling, I am wondering whether I should keep it less busy.  More pared down.

Of course, what you do with a terrace, depends a lot on what else is going on around...

If you have a château surrounded by 300 year old trees, then you don't need much in the way of pots and flowers to make your terrace look good;

and if you look out over a view that is so beautiful, that you could be standing in a pile of mud, it wouldn't matter .... then you probably want to keep the terrace as pared down as possible;

but sometimes you can have a stunning house with a stunning view and still find  a way to place a couple of spectacular pots  to great effect, like at our friends house here, and his pots of pale blue plumbago....

so what do you think I should do?  

keep it busy and flowery and family style, 

or go chic and pared down and altogether more grown up?

go on tell me!   I'd love to know!

picture 1 google, 4 chateau de moissac, all other photos taken here and at friends homes

living with French antiques - a passion

 Today I invite you to take a step back in time as I lead you to visit the home of a couple of antique and brocanteurs who do things differently.

Pascale and Olivier have taken collecting and decorating with antiques to a whole new level, as they acquire, restore and decorate homes.  This beautiful 17th century property, in Champagne country east of Paris, has been theirs for the past seven years and has proved the ideal location for displaying their beautiful collections of furniture and precious treasure.

 Their home is at once home and showroom - a window on their extraordinary eye and talent for arranging, presenting and decorating.

 Twice a year they open the ground floor of the house to the public for a big sale.  The next will be for Christmas 2013.  The rest of the year it is possible to visit and buy on appointment only.

If you are interested in visiting them for their winter sale then keep an eye on the Ventes Privées page of their website, Le Grillon Voyageur.

And if perchance your ambitions and purse are larger than required for just a Christmas sale, then I have a scoop for you!  

The couple are ready to move on!  This lovely home will be up for sale, so maybe you'd like to call it yours!  

Just one condition if you do, please promise you'll invite me to tea!

Le Grillon Voyageur

27 rue de l'ancien Hôpital
51120 Sézanne

 

french irises on rooftops

It is iris time here in Normandy, and as well as enjoying them in the garden, we are also happy to admire the purple spires growing on thatched walls and rooftops.

This is a tradition peculiar to our part of Normandy, where there are still craftsmen to thatch, and where we like to add a few succulents and irises to the peak of a thatch covering, so the roots help anchor the reed thatching.

The lifespan of a good thatched roof can attain about  45 years; it is said to keep the house warm in winter and cool in the summer.  When it rains (which it does a lot in Normandy!) only the top layer is humid, the rest remaining dry as the water runs away.

Personally, it works for me.   I love the country charm it adds and the soft palette of colours.

What do you think?  Would you like  a home with flowers growing on the rooftop?!

What is sure is that I loved the outline of this thatched wall, early one  sunny morning this weekend.

 Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into traditional normandy.  Thank you for your comments over the past days, so sorry I've been too busy to answer all my mails, or comments.  Next week I should do better .....

the french garden chair

I have always admired those friends who know how to 'furnish' their gardens.  You know what I mean: the seat that is placed in just the right position to enjoy the fragrance of a rose bower, the bench that catches the sunshine at the end of the day, or that invites you to pause and admire the view.

I love the slightly ramshackled garden seat.  The one that stays outside all season, and who calls my name on a long summer afternoon, encouraging me to wander down, a good book and a couple of cushions in hand.

Just love these 're-structured' chairs for the garden, available here

When life is busy, the sight of a garden chair gives the comforting feeling that time can be made available to rest.

I often come across old garden furniture in the flea markets here, and I'm looking for some new bits for my place this year.  What I would love is a meridienne, an old iron daybed that could be left out year round, and dressed up for the summer.

Here are a few of my favourite chairs,  tried and tested ...

I wondered what style you prefer?  Do you look for practicality, and like your chairs to look pristine, or do you think a little rust adds character?

All these pictures have been taken over the past year: in Normandy and in the South of France.  Which do you like best?

authentic french country style

As I have often said here, real French country is not about bling, it is not about huge, it is not about spectacular show.

When I saw these pictures of a restored property in Normandy, I thought what a perfect example of French country style it makes.

There is so much to love here:  the muted colours; the natural materials; the mix of old and new and of course the simple, comfortable style.

I hope you enjoy these pictures, that reflect so accurately the way we like to live here in north west France.

all pictures thanks to Campagne & decoration

a girl's flat in Paris

Now who would like to live in a sweet little duplex flat, with a view overlooking the grey zinc roofs of Paris?

Who would like to trail around the brocantes and flea markets, finding furniture and objects to furnish the new home?

Who would like to decorate that flat in soft pastel colours and make it into a comforting little nest?

Who would like to hear the rain patter down on the skylight window overhead, or see the sunshine streaming down the spiral staircase?

Who would like to sit on a Paris roof terrace, surrounded by pink pillows and share champagne with friends?

Loving this girly apartment, seen in this months edition of Art & Decoration ... tell me, could  you see yourself here?

all pictures by Charly Erwin for Art & Decoration

the authentic french garden

If the words 'English garden' conjure up images of Gertrude Jekyll, tumbling roses and deep mixed borders, then surely 'French garden' must make us think of topiaries,  parterres and the unavoidable Monsieur André Le Notre.

Versailles was Le Notre's most well known creation, but he signed his name to many other 17th century gardens, and his influence has outlived him by over 300 years.  His intricate swirls and loops, contrasting so deftly with the sharp edges and straight lines of his topiaries, linked into the 17th classicism with its desire for order and need to believe that man could control his destiny.

A landscape gardener came here this week to cast his critical eye over my little patch of green.  He sighed and tutted (not very good for my morale!) and eventually came up with some wonderful and bold ideas.  And I couldn't help but think how much Le Notre still influences the young gardeners of France.

In France today we love to blend the big and colourful mixed border, brought to us by the Romantic movement, with some strict lines and layout, so reminiscent of Le Notre.

So without more ado, here are a few of my favourite  very French gardens,  far too grand in scale for this blogger to imitate, but wonderful to drool and dream over !  And one thing is for sure, this year, I shall be visiting as many  French gardens as I find the time for!

photos: 1 - Versailles; 2-Chateau Champ de Bataille; 3. Château de la Chatonnière   4,5,6-Château la Ballue  7-Marqueyssac; 8- Chateau Gaudon  9- Erignac