Entryway Part 2; Under the Stairs

Having finished tongue and grooving the two walls near the back door I added a panel to lengthen the under stair so they ran parallel to the other side….

The panel is the side of the armoire that the mirrored door in the kitchen came from. You’ll notice the wood block underneath; this was left in the garage by the previous owner. I’ve used others that were there in the will be kitchen.

As the side of the armoire had a detailed piece that I didn’t want to lose and it didn’t quite reach the top the block served to raise it up to fill the gap. Well, almost.

I just marked on the wood the lowest point where it needed to meet the stairs and the highest. I cut along the line I drew between the two with my jigsaw.

As there was a wood strut where the stair panel ended I glued the two together and clamped them tight.

I carried on gluing tongue and groove to the brick wall under the stairs. I have another armoire door (don’t ask 😖) and I thought I could make a cupboard under the stairs using this.

It’s incredibly heavy. As I heaved it down the stairs the weight made me think about how to support it. Although I have heavy duty hinges I thought it would be a good idea to add a few rollers to the bottom too, just to be sure.

I measured the door and it came to just below the back of one of the stair treads. There’s an additional piece of wood that runs along the stair as it descends that juts out slightly. I ran two lengths of wood horizontally beneath that in line with where the door will stand.

I finished tongue and grooving the back and side of the space.

As I finished that days work I took a length of wood and glued it so it ran parallel to the base of the door. The wheels that needed to be screwed in where too wide to attach without doing this.

In the morning I attached the pole for the hangers along with the wheels and the hinges on the door. I used the same technique for the hinges as when I did the shutters in the will be kitchen.

The mirrored door was a little too narrow so I added a panel to the side of the cupboard.

I left this part of the project at this stage to continue with the doorway. However, having found a bargain Henry II buffet, I used a lovely detailed piece from that to finish off the door.

You can see in the above picture that I’d originally painted the surrounding area white, but not the door. I wasn’t sure at that stage if I wanted to have it all white and thought a contrast might look nice. But I decided that painting all the section would help to unify the whole area in the end. This hasn’t got its fin coat yet, but you get the idea.

There’s lots more work to do, I’ll add another update soon.

Repurposing a Buffet Top – Part 1

When we first moved to France I bought this buffet in a brocante.

We had to furnish a rather large rental home and so I bought inexpensive furniture. As we moved it into the new house it didn’t take the strain and there was some breakage. The carved top was still in good order and that will go in another project. In the meantime I’ve used one of the shelves in the hallway…

and one in the toilet/utility….

So in terms of the top of the buffet I was left with this,…

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I unscrewed the parts that held the lower shelf and I plan to use that in a project too. Then I seperated the top into two parts with a circular saw.

I’d never used one before and I was so nervous doing it. All seemed to be going well and the two areas were divided – great! Then I moved the parts from the workmate I’d been using and found that I’d sawn a load of the bench off too.

Anyway, the method differs to this doorway in that I just screwed the wood straight onto the walls using the same raw plugs and long screws as before. I then added some quarter rounds as before, but this time to the top and bottom of the boards to cover up the cut edges and give it some extra definition.

I also added some additional wood carvings to run beside the door frame.

This is a part one as I’m going to add a central wood carved moulding, but I went ahead with the project because when I finished the other door moulding and came through to the sitting room I found this waiting for me….

So I figured I’d get on and do this and then I have one of my jobs off my New Years list.

Bare in mind that they need caulking and the additional wood carving to be added (hence the waiting for the caulking), but in the meantime there’s this…..

And this….

My hubby was uncertain of my efforts when they weren’t painted, but after their coats of paint he was pleased. Especially when you consider that this cost about 10€, including the wood carvings and paint.

Do you recycle old furniture parts? I’ll be posting a lot more of this kind of stuff this year as I have many things I want to move from my ‘junk’ pile to make our home a little bit of heaven.

If you do have any recycled projects add a link in the comments below – I’d love to pop over and take a look!

Oh My! Art Nouveau Stove

Art Nouveau is my favourite decor period; it has the more restrained elements of the Edwardian period, after the excess of the Victorians, but still maintains beautiful, intricate details. The decorative style wasn’t as commercial as the aesthetic it’s ofen confused with, Art Deco, primarily because the latter is more easily mass produced having cleaner lines. However where I find Deco too sparse and clinical (sorry to you Deco fans), for me Nouveau communicates the romance and, perhaps, innocence of the prewar period.

I naturally gravitate to the colours of the period too and have found, having researched it, that many of the decor items I already owned are of this time. In fact if you look in my wardrobe it reflects this tableau of era’s colours.

The tones are far lighter than the Victorian palette, primarily because of new technologies. The Victorians had acquired wealth, so their decor was opulent with lots of fuss and nicnacs in order to show that new found money, but due to the gas lighting a lot of the textures and colours were sought for their capacity to hide the resulting soot marks. With the introduction of electricity this wasn’t such a necessity.

I say all this to introduce you to a find I fell for today – hook, line and sinker. This little Art Nouveau stove. It’s dirty and I doubt I’ll be able to get it to work, but I still couldn’t resist it. The beautiful intricate metalwork, that soft Art Nouveau blue – heaven.

I naturally did a little research on it as it’s name was proudly emblazoned on the top. I found this website of a company near Fareham, coincidentally my old stomping ground, where they refurbish old, French stoves. They’re a mine of information.

The company, Deville & Cie of Charleville in the Ardennes, called the model ‘le non pareil’, or the none equalled. The French Antique Stove refurbishment company found it advertised in Deville’s 1930s catalogue with the subsequent information on it.

The stove was manufactured in the early part of the Art Deco movement, with production between 1925-1935, however the style is evidently Art Nouveau.

The design, described as a ‘pôele à bois’ visible et continue’ by the manufacturers, was revealed at the 1925 Paris exhibition. It was developed with style conscious Parisians in mind. The site continues that if you look carefully at the film Chocolat, you can see a honey brown “le non pareil” in Judi Dench’s character’s parlour, but I’ve done an internet search and can’t  find any images (not even on one of my favourite sites Hooked on Houses),

Here are some close ups of the working stove on the refurbishment site, just to give you a taster of what mine will look like when it’s been cleaned up a little. Mine won’t be in situ for a while; I have to finish the kitchen first (as well as the finishing touches on the dining room and the soft furnishings in the living room) and then move to what will be the family dining room. So, lots of work. Can you tell I’m loving it?

Sunday Dining Room

God bless…

10 Brocante Buys

Oil painting

I love this painting, it reminds me of the french revolutionary period. It’s incredibly old. However, my husband doesn’t love it as much. He actually encouraged people to vote on whether she was attractive or not once; let’s just say that I could see how devastating the Tinder app could be for teenage girls nowadays.

Dinner service

I have an entire dinner service like this, with different scenes on the plates. It goes exactly with the shades of teal and blush pink I have in the dining room. No way Autuman is here I’m waiting for a dressy Sunday lunch to get it out. When I do I’ll post it in all it’s glory, so subscribe if you want to see it.

Art Nouveau bust

I know I posted about this here, but I couldn’t resist including it in my latest favouraite Brocante buys top ten (for the devious one take a look here).

Dressing table

I love the carved side mirrors on this, as you know Art Nouveau is one of my favourite decor periods. It’s evidently a homage to the period as this light wood would never have been used during this period. I orginally thought of painting it, inspired by similar painted pieces on Pinterest. However I decided in the end to keep it as it is; I didn’t want to risk spoiling it.

Chandeliers

Just two of my lovely chandeliers. I’m avoiding posting some of the others as many of the have carpeted walls for a background as you saw in the house tour when we first moved in.

Café set

These was my Christmas gift from my mother. We’d spotted it together when we were in the brocante and I loved it. It’s Art Deco and beautifully feminine. I have plenty of vintage tea sets, but this is my first coffee set. As our friendships here progress I hope to be able to bring it out for a café with friends. So far I’ve been using a set I don’t mind destroying as I haven’t wanted to risk it with the children around.

Bistro table

This wasn’t from a Brocante, but leboncoin.com – a site where individuals sell unwanted items. These bistro tables were traditionally used to display patisserie on, with the marble top keeping them cool.

Pink Jesus

As he’s called in our house. I saw him in the Brocante with my friend who was travelling through to her holiday destination, with a planned stop on the way back. When I pointed him out she looked at me oddly, evidently wondering what was I thinking. I mean, he isn’t a pink Jesus. Then when we got home she saw Mary in the dining and exclaimed ‘That’s why you wanted him. Yes, you need to get him’ out of the blue. So convinced of this was she that when she returned she actually reminded me of him.

I love his golden heart – what a perfect centrepiece for Easter?

Copper saucepans

These were a bargain at 25€, and I think serviceable. They’re obviously on the small side as a set, but I hope to add bigger pieces to them. I’m gradually starting to do up the room that will be our kitchen – it will take a while as we need the big electrical items as well as new flooring. Nevertheless I already have most of the cupboards we’re going to use, as I’ve opted for free standing vintage pieces for a farmhouse look. I’ll update you on that in the coming weeks and months (I think it will take that long to get the money together).

Architectual prints

I actually had bought two large, black and white photographic prints taken at the turn of the last century of  the area surrounding us whilst we were in rented accommodation here in France.  I loved them and was keeping them seperate, waiting to put them up in our new home. I’d wrapped them carefully, but somehow along the way they got lost in our move. I’ve searched and searched, praying all the time to, as yet, no avail.

So when I saw these prints in our Brocante they went some way to making up for their loss. They’re actually hung in the hallway but, again, the brown carpeted walls put me off photographing them in situ.

Repurposed Armoire Carvings

These actually aren’t just repurposed armoire carving tops, I’ve also used some brackets from a dressing table.

Firstly the armoire top. I’d been wondering in my local brocante when I saw this amongst the furniture in the less, ahem, showy items (yep, the junky section). It’s dirty and my first thought was ‘20€, what a joke’. Off home I went. Then literally in the night it popped in my head. In fact, it was more an image of it above our bifold doors.

I still think 20€ is a lot, but I’ve researched carvings like this to do the same job and they’re at least 130€. It doesn’t seem so bad in comparison does it?

So Monday morning I was there and home it came with me (with a light fitting for our soon to be kitchen, but I’ll tell you about that later). As I was driving home I remembered the arms to a mirror from a dressing table mirror that I’d kept. I was going to use it for a different project, but my plans have changed and I’d spotted them recently making me wonder what I’d now do with them.

I was thinking about the abrupt, dead end the carving would have when I removed the side struts. My initial thought was that I could match the three together. However when I put them in place it was evident this wouldn’t work as the straight sides where too big for ends of the carving.

Looking at them again I realised that if I joined them together they might make a nice heading to the other side of the bi fold doors.

I put the carving above the doors – too big; they hit the dado rail I’d put up in the room. My mind turned to the mirror struts, but then I remembered something else. When my family and I had moved here we bought an armoire for our rented property. Long story short (unlike this one) it broke. I kept lots of bits to use elsewhere, including the top. I sought it out in the garage and, with it’s intericate, traditional carvings, it was perfect for above the door in the dining room.

So this is how we’re looking now. A large armoire top which is going in the hallway, mirror scrolls to be joined together and put above the bifold doors between the sitting room and dining room and another armoire top above the other side of those doors in the dining room.

The dining rooms colours of teal green and blush pink are being used in the doors too. I’m not going to show you a full picture of this yet, as there’s more work to be done in the dining room and the lights not good today. The next thing I’m working on in there is a possible stencilled ceiling.

Id rather gotten bored of finishing this room off, I’ve been waiting for someone to make a patters for a dolly light switch before I showed the whole room, this has ré-energised me.

10 Details For A French Period Home

I’ve been doing some posts on some little details I’m adding to our French period home, but I thought I’d do one on other  things to introduce some French period style to your home. Some of these projects are bigger, some small, but they’re pretty much all in the affordable range – particularly if you salvage some of these things from your local flea market, eBay, charity shops etc. So here they are…

Fingerplates And Doorknobs

I’ve been doing loads of posts on these and, believe it or not, there are more to come. There are the brass doorknobs that where already in our home when we moved in, and are a staple of most period homes, which I’ve finished off with these uniquely French style fingerplates.

I’ve started to introduce vintage glass doorknobs, with Art Deco mirrored fingerplates. Also you can find these beautifully decorated porcelain ones, often labelled as Limogés porcelain.

Buying brass fingerplates new was very prohibitive – they worked out at about £20 for an Art Nouveau style one, or sometimes I could find two for the same amountof a style I didn’t like as much. The postal fee to France was excessive though. Buying vintage ones on the UK eBay site was eye wateringly expensive as well! However a quick look on French eBay revealed a whole different picture!

Also I’ve often found going to my local Brocante was far cheaper. I think this may be because a shop has physical space, so needs quicker turnover to pay their bills. Whereas thee are many people on eBay who sell these items just because they have them and as a result it creates a false pricing structure. So shop around and try different ways of buying them to make sure you keep costs down.

Armoire

Every French home needs a beautiful armoire – the  curved detailing and elegant shapes are gorgeous. Living in France they are relatively numerous; I’ve observed French fashions seem to go more towards the new unless it’s an antique piece.

When you buy a genuine French one it’s worth noting that they don’t tend to have a clothes rail, but shelves. Great if you want somewhere to store folded clothes, handbags etc. Not so great for dresses. It’s easily rectified by maintaining one shelf and inserting a curtain pole; though maybe not something you want to do with an expensive antique.

Alternatively you may pay more, but you can buy a purpose made Armoire in the UK, US etc. But, for me, just one of these beautiful pieces of furniture would be worth it.

Lightswitches

These are more a period house addition, not particularly French.

There are actually some Bakelite versions of dolly light switches in parts of the house that were evidently seen as unimportant; the garage, the attic, the old maid’s bedroom (really, there’s a little room in the attic that the maid of the doctor slept in years ago). I love them, but I really love brass versions.

I’ve actually found some of these using eBay and, like the fingerplates, they are a lot less expensive than new ones on the market and even less expensive than the reclaimed ones you can buy in the UK.

However as period style is more popular in the UK (and America I imagine) there are alternatives. I found these dolly switches pictured aboveon this site, they’re a reproduction of an original Art Nouveau design. I love it and even though I have some I’m seriously thinking about ordering just one for my dining room. Admittedly it’s a bit of a waste and it goes outside my attempts to make the house as Earth friendly as possible – but it’s just so gorgeous! It’s the delivery price again that’s giving me pause.

Marquise

I did say some of these suggestions were a little more expensive than others and, depending n where you live, this is definitely in that bracket.

I’ve actually just bought one from the French site leboncoin; a real bargain at 50€. It’s taking a little time to strip the old putty, paintwork and rust in order to replace the glass and ensure it’s protected from rusting further. However it’s still going to be a more expensive outlay as it will need to be put up professionally due to it’s weight.

It will be worth it though as I love these – they’re so typically French! I’d never seen glass porches before I started coming to France and I fell immediately in love with them. They let in light whilst providing protection from any inclement weather for you or your guests whilst you wait to get in the house. Perfect!

Shutter Holders

Since I made my front of the house decor plan I’ve changed my mind on some items. Shutters are really expensive – about 160€ per shutter, not a pair, a shutter. So 320€ per window. We have a lot of windows!

As the front of the house is shadier they’re not essential, so having bought a marquise I’ve made other plans (more on that later).

However lots of the ancient stone houses that still have them have these little shutter holders too. I adore them. You can get them on French eBay super easy and inexpensive – if you’re in another country though it’s going to come down to delivery again.

Baguette Bin

A really inexpensive addition, baguette bins are awesome! They hold your baguettes and have a little draw on the bottom to get rid of the crumbs. Kind of like a toaster draw. Love them! Haven’t got me one yet, but when we start our kitchen it’s going to be on my list!

Chandelier

Did you know each design has a name? They do. Maybe that’s another post though. They’re lovely.

Catholic Statues

One of the things I love to do is keep my out for these and collect them. Then when it’s a particular saints feast we can make a little tray display like this.

Whether you’re Catholic or not these worn, plaster devotionals are beautiful and evocative. Personally I love to have the ones that have belonged to others; it always seems to me a beautiful symbol of the eternal nature of the Church knowing that in my home is something that has probably belonged to someone who either is or are on their way to being a saint triumphant.

Decorated Plates And Soup Dishes

Again, this is more a period touch that a particular French one. They are also inexpensive. I love hanging vintage plates on the walls, and having beautiful soup dishes displayed on shelves. I haven’t actually used any yet, the girls have been too little for them, but that may be happening in the future.

Baroque Gold Mirrors

These can be really expensive – but if you find one a little damaged on the gold plaster work you can get yourself a bargain. I have and I’ve been thinking about what to do to mend mine – if it works I promise to post my method (so subscribe to get that in your feed or inbox).

My mirror isn’t up in our new house yet, I’m patiently waiting for the right place to put it. But here’s a picture of it in the old house.

More little details…

…after showing the first one that went up it was inevitable I’d want to share these handles with their fingerplates. When I finally finish the curtains in the dining room I’ll share with you the complete room and you’ll see just how perfectly this handle goes with the it….

In the hallway I’ve fitted this handle…..

and the fingerplates goes superbly with these, which were necessary as the handle themselves are set away from the main panel….

They’re all eBay finds, so a lot less expensive than new and obviously being vintage they also save on landfill. Obviously I need to paint the doors, but what do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

It’s Worth It!

I found this chandelier in a state at a local Brocante for 4€. I was so excited because, even though it was badly tarnished, the detail was exquisite. I had placed it in the passenger seat next to me in the car and was driving to pick up the girls when I glance over at a set of traffic lights to admire my special find. That’s when I noticed it, the parts where the light bulbs where held had the electrics burnt away.

My heart sank – would I have to throw this beautiful thing away?

My mind whirred – what could I do with it instead. It simply couldn’t end up in landfil! I considered removing the electrics completely, gluing tealights holders in their place and hanging it from a tree outside as a form of external, candle lighting for al fresco dining.

Then one day in the supermarket I saw what I realised were replacement light fittings. I bought one and asked my Pops, who lives here in France, could they be used to replace the destroyed ones?

My dad’s a star! After much tinkering he managed to attach it. We ordered more and the remainder were replaced to.

When we first moved here at Christmas I took it out and set to work cleaning it. An entire week later and an aching arm saw a gleaming, beautiful chandelier.

Halfway through the project I’d lost the will to live. My mother in law was over for Christmas and she’d sat with me as I’d scrubbed with brasso. At one point, about two thirds of the way through, I looked up and said “maybe I should just paint it white?” She’s from the rougher parts of London, but as a grammar school girl she sounds posh and is a cultured woman who is able to relate to everyone, irrelevant of class. At  this moment though it was like an Eliza Doolittle moment as she exclaimed “What after all that work!!!”

So I reconsidered.

After the job was finished I put the chandelier away with the view of putting it up as soon as possible, however other things have intervened. With the completion of the ceiling medallion I couldn’t resist putting them both up this weekend.

Unlike the light under the stairs, or in the laundry room or even our bedroom this was a trickier task and I had to call in my hubby to help after I did started as it was too heavy to do all on my own. Nevertheless when the bulbs where in and the candle cap shades where on I was so pleased with the result.

The hallway is starting to take shape.

3 Simple Steps To Spotting A Brocante Oil Painting

This post has been recycled from a former blog when we where living in our rented property. 

I was in a local Brocante, amongst the dust and the mess, next to some shelves holding a higgildy piggildy mess of pictures chatting to my Pops when I spotted it out of the corner of my eye – an oil painting. I new straight away what it was, I could see the way the light caught the brushwork and like a fox on the scent I was straight over their to pick it up.

“How did you spot that from over there?” Pops said. I’d love to say it was some Brocante buyers instinct, but it wasn’t. Just luck I guess, but confirming it was an oil wasn’t, that took three simple steps.

Look At The Back

The foolproof way of telling if it’s an oil is to look at the back; if you can see the paint coming through the canvas then it’s an oil.

Look At The Back Too

Whilst you’re round there look at the frame itself. Some oils have a canvass wadding place over the painting, but the obvious age of the frame will be a tell if it’s a clever reproduction or not. This picture wasn’t a good example of that, but my oil in the header is.

Look At The Texture

A lot of reproductions now have a textured surface to make them appear as if they’re an oil, so to be sure you’ve managed to bag a bargain, have a look and see if there are clear brush marks that correspond with the paint marks themselves. A reprint will have a consistent pattern of marks, an oil won’t.

In this selection here I have three oils, and a definite watercolour. The most expensive was 43€, then 9€, then an unbelievable 1€. Which one do you think is which?