Home Wong Nga and Black Cty: my French girlfriends

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Friday, July 6, 2012

a girlfriend's home - so french and feminine

A little way along our valley, is the home of a good friend. I love her house and the way she decorates. It is simple, country style, and most of all just so feminine.

She kindly gave me permission to show you around, I hope you enjoy these shots taken in her home and garden.

I just love her soft and comfortable colour scheme. Her sense of space and proportion, and of course her sure eye for placing brocante pieces.

Even her cat blends in well!

The kitchen has two large windows let into the roof and is bathed in a soft and beautlful light. It is a welcoming, and comfortable room. The tall bar table, with its zinc top was custom made by a local carpenter. I love her choice of bar stools in this picture; their transparent seats add a contemporary edge to the design of the room.

There is a wonderful continuity of colour through the ground floor, soft neutrals with touches of pink, pale yellow and green.

Outside the colour scheme is continued on the doors and windows. The garden is carefully planted to echo the house.

One of the delightful features in the garden is the river running through. Just a small stream really, but enough to add a visual interest and to enjoy from a well positioned chair and table.

I love visiting here, I love the soft and friendly atmosphere, I hope you get a feel for that through these pictures.

my stylish french girlfriends - Marie-Laure

Another talented and stylish girlfriend has been kind enough to endure my camera and questionnaire - where would I be without them?!

Marie-Laure lives along our valley in a beautiful house with her husband and four gorgeous children. The house is typical of the valley, shutters, stone walls, a barn. Sweetly she apologised that being at the start of winter, the garden didn't look more spectacular, I thought it looked great!

Besides caring for her family she also creates! Marie-Laure is handy with a jig saw and a paintbrush and turns out beautiful items that sell like hot cakes on the net and in private sales around here!

I asked her a few questions ...

Thank you for inviting us into your home Marie Laure, a real family home. I know you like to hunt for brocante like me, and you use brocante pieces in your house. What are your favourite items?

Thank you for inviting me over Sharon, Yes, I love discovering things that have their own history, and just need a little attention to give them a second lease of life. I think my two favourite pieces are the 'meuble de metier' (the large chest of tradesman drawers), and the Hermes silk scarf that I framed.

Your workshop is at home, where does your inspiration come from for the pieces you create? And where do you sell your goods?

At the moment I am inspired by natural elements, birds, deer. They are motifs I use a lot. I also specialise in portrait silhouettes which are very popular.

I sell on the net at Decoclico, the shop 123 famille in Paris and Versailles and soon I hope to sell via my new blog.

How do you manage to find the right balance between work, family your home and your children?

It takes a lot of self discipline, and it's not always easy, especially at this time of year when I am making things for Christmas. I generally work while the children are at school but sometimes I have to creep into my studio over the weekend too.

With four children you must do a lot of cooking! Do you enjoy cooking typically French food?

Ooh la! They eat so much, especially the boys who are growing fast! I cook more at the weekend, and a blanquette de veau is a family favourite, but we also eat a lot of italian food, risottos and pasta. I love sitting down together for family meals.

We are lucky to have a good selection of local food shops, even locally made macarons!

You live in the country in a tiny village, but you dress very stylishly. Where do you like to shop for clothes?

Thank you! Actually I wear jeans and a jumper a lot of the time, but to go out I'll always make an effort. I hardly ever wear all black, I love to use bright colours, in particular burnt orange. It's easy to shop in Paris from here, but I also like Rouen, it's such a pretty city.

Thank you Marie-Laure for letting us be so indiscreet and good luck with your business!

I hope you are enjoying my series, I aim to bring you one more before Christmas,
I'm just waiting for her to put up her tree!!

Thank you for reading, à demain!

my stylish french girlfriends - Emilie

How much fun must it be to arrange beautiful weddings in exceptional surroundings?! - definitely a job I'd be happy to get my head around ... and that is what Emilie does, read on and you'll know more ....

Although originally from Normandy, Emilie lives and works in Paris. She gained her know-how working for the LVMH group of luxury products, then a few years back decided to launch her own events and weddings company, L&M Event along with her friend Lucie.

Eager to discover more about her life as a bright young entrepreneur in Paris, I asked her a few questions while I followed her around Paris as she prepared an upcoming wedding:

Hi Emilie, thank you for letting us join you for the day. How easy is it to live and work in Paris? We have the image of such an elegant city, do you have to be super chic every day?

Thank you for featuring me! I adore living in Paris, it's a melting pot and you're right, there are a lot of very chic people around. I try to dress in a feminine fashionable style, what the French like to call 'sport chic'. I always dress carefully when I meet clients, but sometimes a pair of jeans with high heels and a smart jacket or top is more chic than a fancy dress. My weakness is shoes, I have a cupboard full, in every colour. I think that shoes really make an outfit.

What is a typical working day for you?

Ooh la! No two days are the same! I always start the day early, I run or exercise then have breakfast while going through my emails. After that it varies a lot. Sometimes I have days where I'm tied to the office, other days I'm meeting with clients, or checking in with my 'suppliers' the fleuriste, photographer, printer, caterers. I'm lucky to have such a varied job.

Where do you like to shop in Paris?

Professionally I am faithful to my favourite florists, Fleurs Fruits Feuillages. I love going to Ladurée for wedding favours, and often use their adorable restaurant for meetings with clients. For my own personal shopping, I far prefer to use small shops than large stores. That's the beauty of Paris, that you can still find the small outlets be it for food, for shoes or even for a hat!

I notice that you like to jump on a 'velib' to get around Paris, in high heels, is that usual here?

You'd be amazed how many women you see cycling around Paris in beautiful outfits, I love using these velib bikes, it makes it so easy to get around town, but only when it's not raining!

Your role of wedding planner at LM Event is fairly new in France, do you think it's a very feminine job?

Yes I think you need a woman's touch when it comes to listening to a client and understanding what they want, deciding on the decor, the flowers. But when it comes to the big day I feel like I'm running a marathon, it can be quite physically demanding - I love it!

I'm sure that in France, food plays a big part of a successful wedding. What do you think is fashionable at the moment? And what brings a French touch to a wedding?

I love to cook, and I love to eat well! I help my clients decide on a menu and find the right caterer for their needs. At the moment people prefer to spend longer with cocktails or champagne and 'amuse bouches', finger food, before sitting down to eat. It allows for mingling, and it means that the guests don't need to be sitting down for so long.

I think that the Frenchness we can bring to a wedding is simple elegance.

I know that you have already planned weddings for American clients, how easy is that at such a huge distance?

It actually works very well. My American clients are used to the idea of a wedding planner, and although they are very demanding, they also are happy to trust and let go. We communicate by email and skype, and they generally arrive shortly before the day of the ceremony. Part of my family lives in America, so I'm very familiar with their culture and the level of service they expect.

Most of all, I love my job and I think when you enjoy what you do, that energy is communicated!