Tag Archives: home decor

Brocante in London and Normandy

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Normandy, Things to do, Travel

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It was in the Isère last year that I found a table solution for our troublesome kitchen-diner space in London. Visiting a friend in her chic chalet in the French alps, I saw a table that was just perfect: long and narrow, made from lustrous French boards, with a modern touch in the smoky iron legs. I asked where she had found it–an antiques shop in Grenoble, perhaps, or an estate sale in the French countryside?

Not at all. It came, in fact, from The French House, which is in York and in Fulham not five minutes from our London home. They go all over France and collect wonderful furniture and decorative objects. They also make furniture using reclaimed wood. They had made my friend’s table, and they would make ours.

Table from The French House

The also had these mid-century French card chairs which they polished up and reupholstered for the table ends. It felt wrong to buy French furniture from a London shop when we spend so much time in Normandy. At the shop they weren’t surprised at all. They said many people buy furniture for French homes in London. There isn’t enough time to get around and sift through the brocantes yourself.

French card chair

I have yet to explore the brocantes in Normandy – something to look forwards to. Here’s a site that lists all the brocantes and flea markets and antiques fairs in Upper Normandy. And if you can’t get there in person, Sharon Santoni, who runs group trips to French flea markets,  has a delightful online shop, My French Country Brocante.

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Another quite fabulous option, if you can find it, is Home Art & Matiere just down the road from Les Iris in Villequier.  Occupying the old pilot’s house, right on the Seine, H.A.M. is a wonderbox of treasures, each room painstakingly curated and filled with carefully chosen artifacts. The kind of place you go to find what you didn’t know you wanted.

Of course there’s a catch: it’s only open on Sundays from 3 – 6 pm. Our recommendation: take lunch in nearby Caudebec-en-Caux, and tour the Victor Hugo Museum. From the museum go left along the river to the old pilot’s house, and then browse to your heart’s content as the sun goes down.IMG_3906

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Night and Day

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Food, Normandy

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This year we did it the Norman way. The local oysters came from the supermarket, of all places–but only after a protracted discussion with the fishmonger about just how fresh the oysters were, and how to store them, and what size is best (2 is larger and better than 3). Oyster knives were secured, space was made in the fridge, and the last evening of the year was celebrated with oysters, champagne, foie gras and prune-stuffed pork loin (based on a Jane Websterrecipe).

Normandy Oysters

I’d wanted to do it this way for a long time–you see the oyster boxes piled high at market in December–but didn’t know how or have the confidence to do it alone. We had keen company: she had holidayed in Brittany as a teen, and remembered the men wearing oven gloves as they swore at the boxes of recalcitrant oysters. He claimed to have shucked oysters “once or twice”–know that an Englishman always understates his skill. The oysters were prepared, kept cool over ice and served with lemon, vinaigrette and scallions. Perfect.

New Years Eve Table, Normandy

I went a bit Martha Stewart on the New Years Eve table using bits of ivy, mistletoe and rosemary from the garden. The silvery tablecloth is from Zara Home, and extra sparkle was provided by our guests in the form of a hostess gift (as if the shucking weren’t enough), these gorgeous festive napkin rings from The White Company.

Napkin ring from The White Company

The next morning the Seine at the end of the garden was as perfect as it can be. It had gone all Monet, reflecting the trees and clouds so that even the most unpainterly among us couldn’t miss the mirror effect.

Seine, Normandy

In 2013 two of the major events in Upper Normandy will focus on the Seine. The Impressionist Festival from April to September will put on six exhibitions and many activities on the theme of water in Impressionist paintings. The Rouen Armada in June will host tall ships along the Seine from Le Havre to Rouen. No better way, then, to start the year than on the banks of this great, beautiful river.

Traditional decorations and the Christmas season in Honfleur

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food, Normandy, Travel

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The last post described my search for French Christmas tree decorations.  In the weeks after writing, I started to feel increasingly pessimistic about my chances of success. No one could tell me where to look. While we were away from Normandy, neighbours kindly decorated our cottage – a touching surprise that the children adored.  The decorations, however, were not quite of the made-in-France variety I was searching for.

Then, driving after dark from Calais to Upper Normandy during the holidays, the flashing Santas and light-dripping evergreens in village after village were as gaudy as anything I had ever seen in suburban America. Did real French Christmas decorations exist?

So I was intrigued when @mrslittleboot suggested Marie Vit in Honfleur, on Rue Haute where it meets L’Homme de bois.

What a gem. Full of charming home decor ideas – including these delightful French Christmas tree decorations. I particularly like the toile hearts.

There are also baskets and baskets of what I thought were paper fans. In fact they are hand-marbled paper lampshades, each one unique. They come in various sizes.  What an attractive stocking stuffer.

And Honfleur looked elegantly festive with its large fir trees and Christmas lights reflected in the old harbour. All Norman wood and red berried holly, nothing like the gaudy lights across the countryside.

As is traditional during the festive season, we lunched on the freshest oysters with a touch of lemon at a restaurant next to the Honfleur docks. And look at these seasonal table decorations, complete with sticks of cinnamon. Just lovely.

Flower arrangement, Honfleur