French Essence is a joy!

I finally received my copy of Vicki Archer's new book, French Essence. If you haven't ordered it yet, do it now. You will be in for a stunning collection of visual treats that will make you want to schedule your next vacation in Provence. 

Vicki weaves a warm story throughout, giving us little glimpses into the more laid back style of life with the locals. An Australian, Vicki and her family purchased their home, Mas de Berard, in 1999, where they spend a portion of the year; they spend the rest of the year in London. Vicki focuses on ambience: in her own home and in occasional forays into Saint-Remy-de-Provence and Avignon.


Carla Coulson's photos are both stunning and captivating. The book's large size qualifies it to become a coffee table book, but one that will certainly be earmarked with use.




One of Vicki's "exterior" rooms:

 A little vignette:

Lovely objets combine with everyday items:

Le Chocolaterie de Puyricard's chocolates:
 

Christmas is a special celebration in the Archer home.

Gathered here are mercury glass ornaments: 

A commode top in Mas de Berard's dining room:

Scenes from romantic Avignon begin with the
paint boxes in Cezanne's atelier, located nearby:

Shutters on a home in Avignon:

 Vicki describes herself as an "interiors junkie". I am sure many of us can relate!


"As a nation France has chemistry, as individuals the French have spark."

French Essence can be purchased from Vicki Archer here.

Arezzo building closeups

By request, here are some closeup shots of Arezzo's beautiful buildings. The designs and colors are still current, wouldn't you say?

Sorry that the shots are not in the best focus, but they'll certainly give you a good idea.

Left side:

Right side:

More...

For additional photos of excellent quality, see the book The Painted Facades of Florence, written by Eleonora Pecchioli and photographed by Antonio Quattrone. It is full of stunning photographs of Florence's exquisite sgraffito facades. As the book's introduction says: "This phenomenon, particularly in the case of sgraffiti, derived from the late fifteenth century discovery of frescoed underground rooms ('grottoes') in Rome, which were decorated with stuccowork motifs of flora, fauna and monstrous figures mostly dating from the Imperial Age; those found in the Domus Aurea, the splendid palace built for the Emperor Nero in the heart of Rome, attracted particular interest. Fascinated by this innovative vision of polychrome antiquity and by the imagination that it revealed, late fifteenth century artists were quick to imitate it, referring to their own decorative work influenced by those models, as 'grotesques'." (ie: grottesca) I will be posting on this favorite type of art in my upcoming post on our visit to Rome.


Here are a few peeks at the book's photos.

Theresa Cheeks, over at the Art's the Answer blog, just posted about her grottesca class with Carolina D'Ayala Valva, of the Artelier Studio in Rome. The class was held at the San Antonio studio of Leslie and Nicola Vigini. Both Carolina and Nicola are the best of the world class grottesca artists. (Can you tell how much I love it?)

Misc Italia / Tuscany and Umbria

We decided that while we loved seeing the main sights in various cities, what we enjoyed the most on our trip to Italy was to spend time wandering in the smaller towns and interacting with townsfolk. 

After leaving Venice, we drove to Roma via Arezzo, Assisi and Orvieto. The driving in the countryside is decidedly tamer than the cities, especially Rome. I think the Roman drivers are worse than in NYC and Boston!

Now grab your cup of tea, settle in and come with me. (And, again, please forgive the Ipod's not so great photos!)  Shopping? Did you say shopping? 

Hmmm, I'd like to see that architectural scrollwork on the floor and the candlestick in the back, please.

 I also like the shield lampshades.

This is in a woodcarver's Assisi shop. It was so crammed in there that you really had to look slowly. A claw foot here, a bust there, wood everywhere. Would you like a drawer with that?

We finally decided on the acanthus leaf below. It is now in the process of being gilded in my studio. (I know- we were trying to pace ourselves. As I look at the pictures, I would have loved that frame surrounding the acanthus, along with 10 other items!)  

I really like his stacks of boxes and containers.

 (How many can I fit in my suitcase?....)

There were little goodies everywhere.

 Need a cute set of mini steps?

 

Great club chair and angel and scrolls and table and pewter...

OK- back to the sights. 

I thought this building's decorations rivaled those in Florence.

A more modest building, but still beautiful.

A casual peek into a door and this is what we saw!

A closer look at the fresco:

We enjoyed Assisi's beauty, but I honestly thought it was a bit "touristy".  I did not gain any weight (even though we liberally consumed wine and had lots of chocolate), partly because we walked and walked. In Assisi, we walked to the top of the hillside town. What a view! Precisely as we reached the summit, a ferocious wind arrived and did not let up the rest of the visit.

It turned out that a storm was heading our way. Here is Assisi from the highway.

A quick stop in Orvieto:

And we were on our way south. Next week will be the last installment of my Italian series- our visit to Roma.
If you'd like to see more, visit PlumSiena blog here and here and for my favorite, here. 

Creativity Hits the Wall

 

As I was admiring Stephen Sills' latest home in Architectural Digest, I couldn't help but notice the walls in the library. A faded Ottoman pattern was executed on jute burlap and applied to the wall as one would apply wallpaper.

credit

Here is a closeup:

Nice! Great use of the pattern and color.

I researched further and found that the work is created by Particia Arnillas of CONTRaPOSTO, located in New York City. Patricia's background is in the fine arts and the fields of illustration and graphic design. Over the past fifteen years, she gradually moved into the the interior design field, specializing in murals, decorative textures and wall finishes. Her client list includes many renowned interior designers and architects.

I admire her use of patterns and texture. Creating them on burlap takes it one step further, allowing one to remove the finish at will and using it elsewhere down the road.

Here are some of her rooms:

glazed silver leaf

 floral pattern on burlap

damask texture on burlap with hardware

closeup of damask texture

embossed craqueleure on canvas

closeup of the craqueleure

faded Greek pattern on burlap

Patricia also does the more traditional finishes, such as woodgraining and creating various textures.

graystone

limestone

woodgraining

Visit Patricia's website; you'll be in for a real treat! 

 All photos not credited above are courtesy of CONTRaPOSTO.