Flea markets of Paris...

When we visited Paris last month our goal, aside from eating and drinking everything in site was to shop.  I know it is terrible right!  We were in the process of trying to fill our first container to ship back to the States.  We started out in Paris at the flea markets and could have shopped there for days but as you know travel does not always allow for days and days of endless browsing and then going back to make final purchases and decisions.  Things move so fast it can be hard to know if you have made the right choices for weeks to come.  I know I should have bought the chairs that are shown below, I am kicking myself now for doubting my first inclination.  I love these chairs and I hope that they find a wonderful home somewhere in the world.. they are so amazing! 

Aside from that I tried not to pass up anything that spoke to me.   I finally had to realize that anything is possible with the right amount of determination and dare I say money behind it.  We did end up dragging dress forms and multiple goodies back with us on the metro, yep they looked at us like we were crazy but whatever, they did that every time we spoke to them in English after starting with "bonjour".  It was amazing to buy furnishings and accessories with the idea that we would be having them here in such a short time.  I am looking forward to getting all of our goodies and setting up for our first container sale!

 

 

We loved all of the displays, the talent in these flea markets blows away what we see here at home.  Although I must say that we have to remember these are permanent spaces not pop ups.

 

This space was amazing, I wanted every book!  I love the green blue!

 

This big guy was so cool and calm, he just wanted to chill not shop.

 

These two I did not manage to leave.  They are perfect and I love them.  I will also love them when they get home to me in my living room thank you very much!

 

I did pass this sweet little thing up.. I was tired and did not even ask the price - a mistake I know!

 

Gorgeous!

 

This vendor said this was a painting of his mother in law.  His booth was super cool!

 

(This picture is for Loi)

 

images by christina for greige

If you would like help creating inspirational spaces for yourself contact us!

Flea Market Sunday...

Sunday was a very very busy day!!  I hit the flea market in the morning only to find these sweet things!!  I am a sucker for LV and vintage pieces make my head spin a little!! She had a great selection and some Chanel pieces that made my heart skip a beat, unfortunately a little out of my budget! All in all it was a pretty good day- there were a few things on my wish list as always that I did not find but I got some fun pieces non the less.

 

 

It was gloomy all morning but that kept things a little more relaxed for the shopping.  I completely loved this space the lighting and furniture where fantastic!   

 

He hand makes the lights by adding in the mirror on each piece.  LOVE!

 

I bought a pair of these for inside our cabana.  I cannot wait for it to be complete so we can decorate and actually use it! 

 

I have completely fallen for these jeans from Gap that I picked up on Friday! 

 

After the flea market I stopped at the nursery quickly and fell in love with this hydrangea, I have a weakness for these too!

 

 These are two ladies that had to come home with me..  The little vintage bag is snakeskin and so so cute.

 

Vintage industrial lighting contact- genarogutierrez01@gmail.com 

images by christina for greige

 

If you would like help creating inspirational spaces for yourself contact us!

Vintage fabric pillows

I admit I have a thing for vintage fabrics... let's just call it a problem okay.  Just before I left these sweet little things were finished but I did not have a chance to share them with you.  I pulled them all out this weekend and love them all together.  The Ikat is new for me and I love the way they came out, so clean but so wonderfully modern mixed with the Batik fabrics.  I have put most of them in the shop because let's face it, I cannot have them all!   I have used mostly vintage fabric pillows in my home just because I want them to be unique, I think that is the best way for a home to be... mixed and matched with vintage and new.  What do you think?  Do you do vintage?

 

If you would like help creating inspirational spaces for yourself contact us!

Design Traveler: Andrea of The French Basketeer

Design Traveler Visits: Le Domaine de Chantilly, France
When thinking of Paris and châteaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau and perhaps the Loire Valley come to mind. But just a short distance from central Paris lies a gem of a château that has been carefully restored and offers some serious eye candy of paintings, decorative arts, gardens and equestrian displays.

The Domaine de Chantilly passed from different parts of the same family without ever being sold, from 1386 to 1897. The Château first opened to the public in 1898, less than a year after the death of the final owner, Henri d’Orleans, Duke of Aumale. As with the Louvre, the Château de Chantilly was improved, expanded, destroyed and rebuilt over the course of centuries. Its long history is complex, fascinating and, well…very French...

 
Chantilly was at its peak in the 17^th century, when André Le Nôtre (who would be later become the head gardener at Versailles) created a Grand Canal, water features and parterres. Chantilly came alive with grand balls and fireworks displays, visits from Louis XV and plays by Molière.

The fun came to a halt during the French Revolution, when the collections of the Château were seized and carted off to the Louvre and the Château served first as a prison, then was partially demolished. The Château regained its glory in the 19th century when Henri d'Orléans, the fifth son of King Louis-Philippe, inherited the property (and great wealth) in 1830 at the age of eight.

 
Today, a visit to the Domaine includes the Renaissance-style Château, with grand entry hall and hunt theme, intimate chapel, a generous painting gallery, library with over 1,300 manuscripts and 12,500 books, private apartments and gardens. The collections are presented today just as they were in the 19^th century as Henri d’Orleans had arranged them. The collection can be considered a mini-Louvre, with representation by many great French and Italian masters such as Raphael, Corot, Watteau, Poussin, Delacroix and Clouet.

The private apartments have been undergoing extensive renovation since 2005, and the details behind that work are interesting from a design standpoint. The largest expense of restoration work on the Château is gold leaf. Pure, 24 karat gold leaf is used, not paint, and there is a lot of it. The walls and relief are cleaned, to uncover the original colors, and not completely repainted. The paint is made especially for the Domaine with a base of what is called colle de peau, or animal glue, which holds well for centuries and has been used since ancient times.

The Domaine de Chantilly is a marvelous and carefully restored château with its collection of period decorative arts, paintings, book & manuscripts. In addition to being beautiful, it is also fascinating in that it is the personal collection of one man, Henri d’Orleans. If you have visited the Louvre or Versailles, you will love this Château, for the intimate portrait it paints of the tastes and life of one of France’s royal sons after the monarchy. In the spring and summer, the Domaine also presents a series of live horse shows and dressage demonstrations in the Grand Stables.

 
For more information on the Château de Chantilly, visit www.chateaudechantilly.com

* * * * *

Andrea Drexelius is a devoted Francophile and divides her time between Laguna Beach and various destinations in France. In addition to importing classic French market baskets, she writes extensively on France. The first of her e-book series Rêve will focus on Paris (including Chantilly) and will be published imminently.  Information on Rêve and her blog can be found HERE.