Restyled Refinished Vintage
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Rent our holiday apartment in the South of France
Our apartment at Argeles-sur-Mer is available to rent now. Email us direct for the best prices for this season and next. See our "Galleries" post for more photos of our little seaside place in the South of FranceApartment gallery
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Tag Archives: design
A different Thursday Three- Painted walls, ceilings and beams
Super busy today, but in the middle of a restoring a handpainted piece my mind slips to the wall and ceiling paintings that I plan to execute here at the French village house. Look at this one –left-JP! painted ceiling … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged beams, ceilings, design, french, house, painted, renovation, restoration, stone, tree of life, village, walls
12 Comments
Gilding the lily
I am experimenting with an updated version of my alternative “gilding” technique. I have gilded with both silver and gold leaf, but where the detail needs to be supersmooth, and/or finely detailed with nuanced colours, then paint gives, in my … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged art, brushes, daler-rowney, design, dining room, embroideries, frames, gilding, oriental
13 Comments
Trevor’s limited editions 2017
You may remember this rack that Trev made for our small chopping boards. All recycled wood from the French house, apart from the dowels. The finish is my secret recipe for treating new and old wood to blend both together … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, french, house, kitchen, painted, recycled, renovation, restoration, rustic, wood
15 Comments
Friday French Property P**n – two and one
These are the three Pinterest photos that I have looked at the most over the last couple of weeks. I love the decorative frieze on what I presume is a stone chimney piece left and the ceiling treatment https://pin.it/thxb3iram3zm5r We … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, authentic, cave, courtyard, design, french, gallery, house, motifs, painted, property, renovation, restoration, stencil, stone, village
11 Comments
21st century schizoid plans
I had a brilliant trip to Toulouse on Thursday with bride-to-be Bev#1 (who loves fabric and old stuff as much as I do) and Welsh Bev#2 ( who comes from the same South Welsh valleys as my Mother’s family). There … Continue reading
The Thursday Three – 1930s woolwork embroidery panels
I have just taken delivery of these three woolwork panels, completed around 1939. Classic designs for France. Not in greatest condition when they arrived, stiff with dust and some odd marks. All have come out with a delicate wash. This … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged 1930s, canvas, cushion, design, embroidery, france, panels, wool work
6 Comments
Mixing materials
I am fascinated by the gorgeous mix of materials and colours in this one French house found on http://www.cotemaison.fr I like the change in colour on the stair risers at the door way. And the raw wood panelling on the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged art, design, french, house, painted, panelling, wood
19 Comments
Another old French village house
In my self appointed ongoing mission to bang the drum for Small Village Houses, here is another from Lost In Arles- see here I note the many common features shared with our place, inset cupboards, terrazzo stairs and modest dimensions … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, fireplace, french, house, plaster, renovation, terrazzo, village, walls
12 Comments
The Thursday Three – velvet and verdigris
I will miss aspects of the cottage in the UK. Although the cheap white walls and dark brown carpet upstairs are not my choice, they are an OK backdrop for photos. As you might know, I have been sourcing curtains, … Continue reading
More Friday French Property P**n- How to hang
I have around 100 pictures, paintings, prints & mirrors to hang at the French village house. Not all are huge, though some are almost wall-filling….. So I think about how to group and where to hang these a lot. To … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged art, design, french, gallery, hanging, house, mirrors, painting, pictures, renovation, restoration, village
15 Comments
Friday French Property P**n – Four modestes maisons
I know it’s Saturday, but I had a very, very, long and arduous day yesterday so forgive my tardiness. I would love to find a big, old wall panel like this-left. The inset cupboard- right is very much like … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged antique, art, cupboard, design, french, house, inset, maison, modeste, property, rustique
3 Comments
Wood is Good- The wood rescue diary
“Whether made into a wooden pillow or table, wood with excellent fine grain is a guarantee of splendid poems, and the composition of perfect documents.” ~Liú Shèng (d. 113 BC), “Ode to Fine-Grained Wood,” quoted in Beyond the Screen: Chinese … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged antique, art, design, mahogany, painted, table, veneer, vintage, walnut, wood
10 Comments
French interiors- four alternatives to white walls
Celebrating interesting old walls in small spaces. Above left-above right and right Or,if you have the space & the ceiling height-below-why not celebrate those cracks too? http://www.hemis.fr/?idPageWeb=95&afficherVignetteDuSujet=519&nouvelleRecherchePhoto=1 http://thebridescafe.tumblr.com/tagged/Home/page/7 http://thepoetryofmaterialthings.tumblr.com/ … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged art, colours, design, french, inspiration, interiors, walls
16 Comments
The Thursday Three – Broderie & Brexit
I have spent another week editing our lives on every level. The pile of boxes, books, pictures and mirrors in our UK garage has been rigorously sorted and tidied and the stuff destined for France edited down to what I … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged art, broderie, chainstitch, design, embroidery, frame, framed, france, french, picture, silk, vintage, woolwork
12 Comments
The Thursday Three- Hand carved wood panels
So, I went to collect these two square panels yesterday. I have bought them to put the right proportions back onto the lower part of the main door into the salon. They are perfect, the motifs echoing those of the … Continue reading
Episode 111 Bowled over-Les lavabos part 2
As a COMPLETE contrast to the Chinese basin I posted last, here is my bowl and stand for the en-suite to cave bedroom. My bowl is actually perfectly plain apart from subtle ribbing, whereas the one –left- has a raised … Continue reading
The Thursday Three- Passementerie
Now you all know how much I love my textiles, and I love the complementary fine art of passementerie too. “Passement” comes from a French word and is generally taken to mean decorative trimmings, tassels and edgings made from silk … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds
Tagged antique, design, french, history, interiors, silk, vintage
3 Comments
The Thursday three- “Rough luxe” embroidery, vintage shop display, something new.. but just right
Ok, what is rough luxe”? Apart from being a hot new buzz word in interior design ( which doesn’t really matter to me,as you may have deduced from my random style) it seeks to epitomise the spirit of “authenticity of … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, bedroom, chic, chinoiserie, colours, design, french, house, interior, Linen, original, period, renovation, style, terrace, village, vintage
9 Comments
Newsflash- July 2014
Renovation, restoration, certification! Two very positive developments this week Firstly, after squeezing in a distance-learning course on Interior Design on top of my demanding day job, renovations to village house in France, running the French holiday … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, france, french, house, interior, renovation, restoration, village
4 Comments
Episode 75- Papier peint, oui ou non? to wallpaper or not to wallpaper
I had absolutely no intention of using any wallpaper anywhere when we bought the French house. Almost all my recent decorative treatments have been paint based. I liked what was left of the wallpaper in the tulip bedroom, but it … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, bedroom, chic, chinoiserie, design, france, french, historic, Linen, paint, painted, renovation, restoration, style, textiles, vintage, wallpaper
1 Comment
The Thursday Three- three French interior design essentials!
How about these for village house in France? From ebay, carved, painted and gilded pale French blue corbels How can the rest of the world have missed these? Someone has glued felt on the back to turn into bookends but … Continue reading
Episode 73- ” A light in dark places”
renovation restoration, considerations- César Manrique Apart from my admiration for Mr Manrique’s paintings and sculptures, our visit to his home/studio/gallery on the Canarian island of Lanzarote threw up some more inspiration for dealing with dark places in style. http://www.cesarmanrique.com/fundacion_i.htm I … Continue reading
The Thursday Three- Serendipity and waterlilies; les nénuphars
I have hung the first picture” Les nénuphars” (waterlilies) up at the French village house, in the terrace bedroom, which is not far off completion. This feels like a big step. I found this in a troc (junk shop ) … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, argeles, bedroom, chic, colours, design, france, french, house, Linen, neutrals, renovation, restoration, style, village, vintage
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Episode 72- Hot, hot, hot!
renovation, restoration, conflagration Trevor is now, as I predicted, bored to tears sitting at home whilst he awaits further tests. Watching old episodes of Columbo & Murder She Wrote have lost their charm and he is all kindled out, so … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, france, french, house, kitchen, renovation, restoration, village
4 Comments
The Thursday three- carved wood furniture
Today’s three are two furniture treasures unearthed in the Languedoc region in the South of France and one little gem from my most frequented hunting grounds, Black Country charity shops. Left-my only photo showing most of my “buffet de cuisine”or … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, design, france, french, house, languedoc, South, village, vintage, wood
2 Comments
The Thursday Three- Art Nouveau, more embroidery, vintage florals
I will start today with this Art Nouveau piece from the turn of the 19th century. This would have been the back part of a washstand, which would probably have had a marble top. The hand made tiles with the … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds
Tagged antique, design, embroidery, original, vintage
2 Comments
The Thursday three- Latest French Vide-Grenier finds
We went to a great Vide-Grenier (literally “empty your attics”) market in Quillan in late April. Some great antique and vintage treasures Left-This wonderful cotton/linen union curtain fabric has a really evocative design in typically French country colours . Not … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds
Tagged antique, design, french, grenier, house, vide, village, vintage
3 Comments
Episode 64- WWWHHHYYYY MMMEEEEEE???????!!!!!!!!!!
renovation, restoration, complete bloody frustration…. My friend Pam has sent us this image, and the way things are going, we will probably be about 100 before we manage to move full time to France and toast in front of the … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged apartment, argeles, design, france, french, renovation, restoration
3 Comments
Episode 46- South of France, colour inspiration
renovation,restoration, colours and inspiration-May 2012 I am beginning to understand why artists who have spent time in the South of France have rhapsodised about the quality of light and the way it creates the unique colours here. left- Snow topped … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged apartment, argeles, design, france, french, house, renovation, restoration, South, style, village
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The Thursday three- les trois pour jeudi
I was favoured by fortune on the charity/junk shop vintage run this week! How pretty are these three little gems? For the cave bedroom suite conversion- colour palette cream, with taupe, ochre & French grey accents. Delicious…….
Episode 43- French restoration, let your imagination run riot!
renovation, restoration, use YOUR imagination.. You may not have a resident nutcase in the attic (I zoomed in on this photo and found a deranged looking Trevor peering through the tulip room window!) but if you are buying a modestly … Continue reading
Episode 42- TULIP FEVER!
renovation, restoration, yet another explanation …………. Why oh why? -you ask- do we call thebedroomthathadnowindowandasaggingceiling the tulip room? Because, dear reader, it has the unrestorable (sadly) remains of vintage hand printed authentic French wallpaper with red and aubergine tulips on … Continue reading
The Thursday three- (bit of a blue theme)
I carry around the following three items in my handbag 1) A list of nearly every possible measurement to be found in the French house; including a list of window sizes, floor areas, ceiling heights and other useful dimensions that … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds
Tagged chic, design, french, house, Linen, vintage
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Stumpwork, goldwork, woolwork-lovely!
I thought my fellow vintage and antique embroidery fans might like to see some more of my pieces destined for the French village house.-left woolwork Jacobean style embroidery. Tough to date, but the ground fabric is old style woven linen … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds
Tagged antique, design, embroidery, french, house, Linen, vintage
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A little French inspiration for 2014..
“what matters is not to add years to life but to add life to the years” We found this little vintage card in the French house, there is a calendar on the back in sepia ink . … Continue reading
Episode 3: Dream Villa with Pool
renovation, restoration, ramifications! April 2006…………………S**t! What have we done? As you may now know, we had flown out in April 2005 to look at property in the Aude region of Southern France. During our mad six-day viewing trip, we saw … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, france, french, house, languedoc, renovating, renovation, restoration, South
7 Comments
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