I did want Vola, but now it's out of my hands...
Today wasn't as bad as I had feared. Monsieur G wasn't sniffy with Window Man and Window Man seemed to think that they would make only a minimum of mess (having warned me it could be pretty awful, and the whole house is pretty much going to be done by the time they come in, which I was beginning to be afraid could lead to a lot of extra decorating woes).
I spent an amazing day last Friday with an experienced brocanteur friend of mine, who knows how to reupholster and lay wood panelling and all sorts of stuff that is way beyond my ken. She has an amazing eye for stuff and how you can recycle it. The place she took me too, in the middle of nowhere, is a veritable treasure trove of tat and other stuff, parquet, iron railings, masses of terrible dark wood Victoriana, cast iron spiral staircases, enormous stone gryphons and dragons, station lights, beds that look like the one your granny died in. It covers an enormous patch of land, and we were there for hours, sifting through old mirrors and doors and trying not to give in to temptation. Of course in the end we did - that's what we were there for - and I bought an incredible mirror that came from a hotel particulier in Paris and will look fantastic in our living room above the fireplace. A few bits of it got broken when it was removed, he gave them to me in a pot, they looked like something nasty you might be asked to bite on at the dentist's. A whole pot of dirty, strangely shaped bits of plaster. We got three other mirror frames between us, which we need to spend a day cleaning up and painting, for 50 euros each (I'm not telling how much the first one was. Way, way more than I would ever have considered spending on a mirror, but oh, it's so beautiful).
H also gave me the idea of buying an old unloved chest of drawers for the bathroom, painting it, plonking on a piece of marble and sticking a sink on top. At her bidding I discovered the fortnightly Maisons Laffitte auction house, where lo and behold there was a perfect little washstand, complete with marble top. I overbid for it, to be sure to get it (luckily, since someone else wanted it) but just the cost of the marble justified it - 230 euros for the lot. Painted, topped with a Duravit sink and Voila! (if not Vola), it's going to be just about perfect.
9 comments:
sounds lovely. the place you went to, i assume in paris, sounds like lafco in london, one of the most fun places ever to putz around in. makes you want to live in an enormous castle and be desperately in need of some new crenellation. if you needed it, they'd have it. anyhow, voila not vola will be gorgeous, too. what color did you choose? i think your sink will be lovely. there was a good sink on remodelista last week or so...did you see it? sort of what you're describing, i think. and i hope that h is not bc, as if it is, there's no end to her talents. i LONG for a house, or at least an apartment, to redo.
Don't know lafco. This place (near Versailles) worth a trip all by itself. Unbelievable, like a junk-lover's fairyland. No, not BC, by the way - though she would really love it too, definitely her style.
Taps are wall mounted, very minimalist - thought it would look nice with all the old stuff. Just like the remodelista one, actually, though with two taps, rather than just one.
ooops, i meant lassco. was thinking of lafco soap, inadvertently. http://www.lassco.co.uk/ ruth mandel used to take me there. love it. anyhow, i cannot wait to use your taps, your sink, and your whole home. speaking of taps, i once read an interview with matthew conrad's mother carole--the article was about the massive renovation she did on their home on kensington palace gardens. apparently there are no taps anywhere in the house, as she cannot abide them--water just pours magically out of slits in the wall. maybe that should be an option to consider. it would save the trouble of having to decide about taps, that's for sure.
Just took a look at lassco's website. I feel like I got rather a bargain on my mirror now! Beaumarie, this place, evidently more haphazardly junky.
Did I tell you Ido and Zara are going on Habonim summer camp together?!
NO! you didn't tell me the habonim plans! i think ruth and michael both went to habonim camps as children. interesting. where is the camp? i never did hear from ruth, weirdly, except for that "hello from zara" email.
And Marnie too!
Just looked up the Carole Conrad interview. The taps are one thing, but the his and her toilets with simultaneous sprays! Too much information!
marnie, too!!! and you always thought it would be thea to rediscover the jewish roots of the slotovers. i whisper this as i tell you, but my aunt and uncle have the same toto toilet, that sprays, cleans, and is heated. it's really nice.
Thea's going too!
oh my god!!!!!! it's almost a minyan. i love it. holly, too? better enough?
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