Thanks for all the really thoughtful and interesting comments on yesterday’s post. I really appreciated hearing your thoughts!
We are thinking about adding Provence to our travel calendar this year and if we do, I know the perfect place to stay. La Bastide de Moustiers is an inn with the very finest dining set among olive groves and lavender fields. Honestly, what more could a francophile ask for? Okay, maybe a charming room with typical Provencal decor. Well it has those too:
Whoa, is it really December already?? This is a busy travel month for me so it’s going to be a mad frenzy around here while I try to get things done in between trips. Thanks for all the sore throat suggestions this week. It feels a lot better although now I sound like Peppermint Patty. (That’s the husband’s description.)
Anyway ….. let’s take a look at the only chateau-hotel in Paris – the St. James Hotel - because there are so many great design ideas to take away.
As a francophile, there’s nothing I don’t like about this place.
Check out the ceiling:
The painted detail around the drapes is something I haven’t seen before and I really love it:
Black and white toile and stripes are always good together:
The interesting striped wallpaper is a perfect background for the gothic headboard and I like how it’s echoed in the drapes and walls:
This soft color palette is so pretty and here’s a sunburst collection done right:
Baroque headboard, bubble pendants and Bergeres all work beautifully in this serene room:
P.S. If you haven’t already left a comment on my “Creating an Entertaining Space” Ideabook at Houzz, I would really appreciate it! Each comment is a vote for me and if I win, you could win a $250 gift certificate to any online retailer of your choice. Merci beaucoup!
So the Hicks rug ended up in the dining room. I decided it was too much pattern for the living room but it works well in here because there’s less going on.
This is truly one of my favorite patterns so I’m really glad I was finally able to use it somewhere in the house.
I also brought this pillow out to see how it would look in the room:
A little story about this pillow – with a laughable number of gaps due to my horrendous memory. I bought it in Paris this spring in a little shop in the Marais (I can’t remember the name) and my girlfriend who was with me bought a makeup bag (or it might have been a coin purse – I can’t remember) made out of the same fabric. The salesperson told us the pattern is based on a medieval map of Paris and indeed, it depicts some areas and streets that no longer exist. Not the Louvre which you see here. Obviously that still exists.
I had never seen this fabric before and just loved everything about it. Then, when I was back in Paris this summer, I was reading a magazine (Air France inflight I think) and saw this:
It’s an ad for Le Mathurin, a hotel in Paris, talking about its newly remodeled rooms. See the pattern on the moodboard? It looks like they used it in wallpaper form in that room in the back. Anyhoo, I thought it was an interesting connection.
While we’re talking about Le Mathruin, let me leave you with the video from their website. It’s nicely done and I quite enjoy this kind of music on a Monday morning. In fact, the hotel is so well presented, I’m going to keep it in mind for future trips. I’m also going to make it one of my Hotel Picks FROM THE RIGHT BANK.
It’s going to be another busy week around here. For all you locals, if you’re free this Thursday, come talk blogging with me at Digital Atlanta’s Design Day at ADAC. You can RSVP here or with ADAC. I also have a great book giveaway and other fun stuff coming up later in the week. But today, I’m on my way to the dentist for a new crown. Hope your week is off to a better start than mine!
Today I have a double dose of Hotel Picks FROM THE RIGHT BANK. 3Rooms is a hotel in Milan and in Paris that grew out of 10 Corso Como, the uber cool concept store I mentioned previously in this post. As the name suggests, both hotels only have 3 rooms each.
First, in Milan, the hotel is tucked away within the 10 Corso Como store. Each suite is individually decorated with designs from the best mid-century designers and architects.
Check out all the Eames textiles in the bedrooms!
Now moving on to Paris, 10 Corso Como teamed up with the supremely talented fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa (one of my favorites!) to create another 3Rooms hotel, located within a townhouse attached to his atelier and apartment.
He handpicked all of the furniture and the result is pure design heaven.
I’d be tempted to stay in my room all day, waiting to get a glimpse of the man working next door! (Okay, that sounded stalker-like. He probably gets that a lot though.)
In both, each suite is a full-floor apartment with private entrances. I imagine it would be like staying in the apartment of your most stylish friend ….. who also has the most amazing design collection ever.
Click here for more about Hotels Pick FROM THE RIGHT BANK and here for all past hotel picks. Happy Traveling Thursday and bon voyage!
I just learned that Martin Margiela designed a hotel in Paris. One of my all time favorite fashion designers + a hotel + Paris? I flipped out when I heard the news. And when I saw these first photos, I really flipped out. La Maison Champs-Elysées is scheduled to open in a few weeks and here is a first peek.
I’m going back to Paris in a couple of weeks and I’ve already booked my hotel but you can bet I will be paying La Maison Champs-Elysées a visit!
For more about Hotel Picks FROM THE RIGHT BANK, click here. For all of my past hotel picks, click here.
I was giving tips on Paris to a couple of people recently which reminded me that I never posted about Hotel Amour. I love the playfulness of its funky decor so I’m making it one of my Hotel Picks FROM THE RIGHT BANK.
On my last trip to Paris, I had lunch there in this courtyard. It’s a fun place to hang out and people watch – if you can get a table, that is. It was packed.
I’m obviously a Right Bank devotee – my blog is called From the Right Bank, after all – but the soon-to-be-open Hotel Belle Juliette is enticing me across the river.
Isn’t it just overflowing with design inspiration?
Remember when I flipped for the Hotel du Petit Moulin designed by Christian Lacroix? Well, I love everything he does and most recently, it’s the Hotel Notre Dame whose rooms are filled with
…royal blue velvet, wall-to-wall carpet that resembles medieval paving stones, “cowhide” wallpaper, floral and striped fabrics, marble, slate, natural yellow tones, stone and period wooden beams…
It’s bold, colorful and fun – all the reasons I love Lacroix.
The location is pretty special too, wouldn’t you say?
Since my interview about Paris style, I’ve had France on the brain so that’s where we’re headed this Traveling Thursday.
One of the very best things about living in Paris was being able to just jump in the car and explore different parts of the country on the weekends. We managed to see quite a bit but there just wasn’t enough time for all that France has to offer.
One of my biggest regrets is never having made it to Les Crayères.
The chateau was built in 1904 and is located in Reims, the capital of Champagne.
It’s all gilt mirrors, chandeliers, wrought-iron balconies, intricate moldings, and lots and lots of toile. In other words, it’s that old school, French opulence which we Francophiles sometimes just need. (My fellow Francophiles, can I get an amen?)
But all this isn’t my main motivation for wanting to go to Les Crayères.
Nope. It’s the cellar of 300 champagnes and Michelin 3-star restaurant.
In my book: champagne + fine food = heaven.
My dearest Crayères, I’m so sorry I didn’t pay you a visit before we moved away. But I promise you that you will see me one day. Love, me.
Helloooooooooo! I’m back and just wanted to say a quick hi. Paris has probably been written about more than any other city in the world so I always feel like there’s nothing new anyone can add. But I happened to be reading an article about Paris in Conde Nast Traveler right before my trip and I loved this line:
” . . . A city can offer little better than aesthetic arrest every time you traverse it. . . . ” — Cristina Nehring
That, to me, is it in a nutshell. I think it captures perfectly why I have always loved it and what I loved most about living there. If you love Paris too, you may find this article about the left bank vs. the right bank interesting. So for now, I’ll leave you with that and some cool interiors from Hotel Sezz. I’ll be back tomorrow with my monthly to do list and a couple of other posts. I’ve missed you all!
A million thanks to my fabulous guest bloggers! You are the best!
Our airline tickets for Paris are in hand but I haven’t decided on a hotel. I usually plan way ahead for these things because I hate being shut out and of course, that’s exactly what’s happened. I was really hoping to stay at the Petit Moulin (which I blogged about earlier) but they’re annoyingly booked solid one night right in the middle of my stay. So I’m looking into other options. Bella posted photos of the Hôtel Particulier Montmartre on her blog today which reminded me how much I love their garden!
And of course I’m all for Mama Shelter because I love Philippe Starck but my husband has nixed this one. He’s right that it’s pretty far out of the way but I do have several friends who live close by and it’s right across from La Flèche d’Or where I used to hang out about a hundred years ago.
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