a mid-week tresor...

Bonjour mes belles,

Thursday morning already, where as the week gone? Having a public holiday on Monday has not helped and I seem to be a day behind.

Yesterday we had a RDV to view furniture and I love nothing more than visiting houses, especially houses that look like the interiors have not be touched for the last 100 years or so.

There were a few items that we were interested in and we came away with a few pieces of furniture which have gone straight to the shop and I managed to get something for me.

The house was large and each room looked like something that you would see in an old film and the house itself would make a perfect setting for a period film.

In the "princess bedroom" hanging above the bed was a ciel de lit, these are getting harder to find and when you do manage to find one, they cost a lot of money.

I tried hard not to appear to keen when asking if this particular one was for sale and at the same time knew that if it was, I wanted it and would pay a premium to have it.

Within the next few months, we are  going to be starting a new project so I am busy buying up lots of decorative items and storing them in my "grenier".

This ciel de lit is going to look fabulous hanging above the bed as I am planning a bedroom that is modern in terms of comfort but has lots of lovely antique french details hence this is perfect.

Our guests are waking up and it is market day today so I will love you and leave you, as they say.

à demain, Leeann x

a fabulous find...

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you had a fabulous and relaxing weekend. Ours was a lovely weekend which involved a little hunting for tresors....one fabulous find was an antique sheet with a huge red embroidered monogramme and it has never been used hence I am very happy with this particular tresor.

Another find was this Napoleon III fashion print which is another of the items that I always enjoy finding as I am obsessed with anything like this as they really appeal to me, ditto with antique fashion mannequins.

The visit to the vide-greniers was followed by a lovely walk in the park of our village chateau where the fetes des fleurs was being held.

There was a hive of activity as not only were there lots of lovely plants for sale, there was also a competition for the best decorated velo.

All in all, a fabulous weekend and it looks like the fabulous sunshine is set to last through to the end of the week.

très bonne semaine à tous, Leeann x

glittering treasure...

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you are having a nice week. As promised, here are a few photos of the tresors that we found at the week-end.

At the 2nd stand I was memorised by this fabulous clock., I started talking to the charming Frenchman that was selling it but whilst in discussion, sensed that there were antique dealers lurking in the shadows so quickly did the deal and carried it as fast my little legs could carry me, to store safely in our car.

Note it is in a "as found" state and has yet to be cleaned.

Love the detail on it and I have just the home for it.
I am in the process of collecting objects for a new project that we are going to be starting shortly and this fits nicely with the theme that we have adopted, gray, white and gold with a melange of modern and antique objects.

A few stands later, I came across a set of 4 antique prints which also fit nicely with the theme so these are also bound for the new project. I feel like a magpie, finding items that glitter and then hiding them away.

 

 
Another find was this fabulous pair of sugar tongs, I have quite a few of these and I love them as they look fabulous next to the sugar pot. You will find them here.

Another fabulous find, was this set for removing crumbs from the table, love the detail on both the brush and the pan. YOu will find it here.

Last of the tresors, is this fabulous silver plated set which I think would look fabulous sitting on a dressing table and you could use the pots to store cotton pads etc.

à plus tard, Leeann x

week-end tresors...

 

 

Bonjour mes belles,

 

I hope that you had a nice week-end. Ours started with a visit to a house that contained over 5,000 antique French books.

 

Every room in the house was overflowing with books and it was overwhelming to say the least.

 

As we are not book experts we chose a select few that we thought would be of interest to our clients and at the same time, are very decorative in nature, should we need some books to decorate with.

 

One that I found amusing and loved the illustrations in which, is called Le Sourire, or "the Smile". It is a French satirical, risqué journal that featured top notch artistic talent.

 

It was published in Paris on the Boulevard Saint-Germain. The journal first appeared in 1899 and ran until the final year of the Great War. Each issue included sixteen pages of large illustrations plus a color cover.

 

The book contains 52 issues starting with 6 janvier 1927, and there is an issue for each week of the year.

It was a very cold and rainy start to the day yesterday which meant that a lot of the sellers at a local vide grenier, packed up and went home.

Hence all that I came away with, was this stunning Louis XVI style wall light. Unfortunately there was only one but I think that it would look great in a small hall or in a powder room.

 

You will find more details here. Note it is a quality item and as a result, weighs quite a lot.

 

Back to the books I must go.

 

Bonne et douce semaine à tous, Leeann x

 

 



week-end tresor and a bit of family history...

Bonjour from a very frosty SW France,

I have just returned from a quick walk to the Post Office, note the word quick  as it is very frosty and there is ice on the cars this morning.

Yesterday it was the same story, very cold start fgollowed by a lovely clear blue sky with lots of lovely sunshine. For some reason or another (slept through the alarm) we did not get off to early start treasure hunting and arrived later than normal.

Reason being that there was a fab jazz concert in the local chateau Saturday night and we were late to bed hence the "not wanting to get up early" state of mind.

Managed to find a few tresors and catch up with a lot of dealers, one of which is a favourite of mine as he always has some stunning and unusual items. 

The first find of the day, brings to mind the expression, never judge a book by it's cover.......

The exterior was a bit tatty and not particularly clean but I was drawn to look inside......

and this is what I saw.......there is something about old books and this one is a delight to the eye. It contains a year's worth of "Mode Illustree Journal de la famille" from the year 1872.

As we sat looking at the fabulously detailed pages last night, I wondered how many women before me had done the same thing......141 years old, 141 years worth of history.....a lot has happened since then. For some reason I thought about my ancestors, they were brave enough to take a voyage from England to New Zealand. they sailed on the BOLTON from Gravesend on 29 Oct 1841, and arrived in Nelson, 25 Mar 1842. 

 England was suffering from a depression, there was acute unemployment from the closure of many cotton mills and the resulting poverty that spread throughout the country fueled thought for adventure and the opportunities that these new and unknown lands presented to the public. The Bolton encountered a gale, about two months after leaving England, that broke the mast in two, the top deck had disappeared and the sails had gone. 

By good fortune the boat happened upon a French ship which supplied the necessary timber and repairs. 

It is ironic really, my ancestors were saved by the French and over a century and a half later, after spending 15 years travelling and working around the world, I am living in France....

Apologies for the deviation, here are some examples of the lovely pages hidden within the dusty and battered cover....

 

I was lucky enough to purchase 2, the other one is dated 1871 and contains similar illustrations.

They really are fascinating and as I flick through the pages, I get caught up in a different era......

 

My other find is not nearly as old but I love it as it is something that I have looking for and this one has a lovely patine to it. Ironically it was made in Scotland...

The seller joked with me that the price did not include a bottle of champagne....I had to smile as it was one of those "French" moments that I have come to love about living in France. Friendly banter with the locals, and to think when I first moved to France how I longed to join their conversations and to be greeted as if I belonged. Hence I get as much pleasure for saying "hello" as much as I do from finding a fabulous item.

After all some of the best things in life are free......and on that note I must leave you, as french Boyfriend has arrived with an armload of pears, which means he wanted another pear and almond tart.

très bonne semaine à tous, Leeann x   

week-end tresors...

 

photo from here

Bonjour from a very sunny SW France,

I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend and that you found time to relax....

Yesterday we managed to get out for a spot of treasure hunting albeit there was not a lot of treasure to be had.

I bought a fabulous buffet which we delivered to our shop and I have not had a chance to photograph it but will do so tomorrow as the shop is open tomorrow. It really is a lovely piece and you could even use it has a shop counter if you wanted to.

Other treasures included two stunning baguette baskets very similar to those shown in the photo above. You will find more details here.

A fabulous morroccan style platter which would be perfect for serving tea etc.

 A close up of the gorgeous detail.......

 

A favourite find was this whiter than white damsk table cloth which is immaculate and it is rare to find one like this, the monogramme is stunning as is the detail on the table cloth.

 

 

It measures 220 cms x 150 cms and is perfect for a rectangular shaped table. You will find details here.

I am off to buy some flowers.....

à très bientot, Leeann x

 

week-end tresors..and baby bird update

Bonjour à tous,

Apologies for the lack of post yesterday, I had great intentions for writing my post but got side tracked with looking after guests together with looking after baby bird. I have decided to call him "Edmund" after Sir Edmund Hillary the famous NZ mountaineer as despite being very young he loves to try and climb where ever he can. The first night I thought it was a good idea to put him in a vintage bird cage but as this was larger and he tiny, it was a dangerous place and he managed to get himself stuck in a variety of places.

End result Edmund is living in a cardboard box on a vintage table napkin and still likes to climb the folds before settling in the middle. 

He appears to be okay but it is early days yet and I still have yet to find an association that can take and look after him better than we can as we are not qualified but are trying to do the best that we can.

A few days ago we have an adult hirondelle dead on the footpath which we now believe was his mother and think that the nest may have been destroyed, end result an orphaned wee baby hirondelle.   

Weekend tresors were a bit on the sparse side and I have not yet had a chance to photograph all the items but will share a couple that I have photographed with you now.

The first treasure of the day was this blog, which despite missing a piece, I adore and have it displayed in our kitchen........

The last tresor was one that we both spotted in the morning but neither of us purchased eraly Sunday morning. later in teh day I mentioned to French Boyfriend that I spotted an item that had taken my fancy but did not purchase it. We decided to return to the brocante and I quickly rushed to the vendors stand, where he was in the process of packing up. Much to my delight, object of desire was still there and I felt that it was sad to leave "him" there.

He is not at all French but as a kiwi I felt drawn to him despite him being on the skinny side as I explained to the vendor he was more French than All Black, who agreed but replied that as a kiwi he was meant for me.

We think that he was carved in Africa but that is as far as it goes. End result he is standing in kitchen and I have no idea what I will do with him....seems to be the theme of my week so far, baby bird plus lonely looking rugby player....

très bonne  journée à tous, Leeann x