Lifes tyle in a C l a ss o f i ts O wn
magazine
Wonderful
12th issue 2015 US $13.95 €9,95
Christmastime • • • • • •
Plenty of DIY Christmas decorations Host a Christmas brunch Decorate with alternative Christmas trees See our Top 10 Christmas finds Set the table with a White Christmas theme Make wonderful hostess gifts
Visit
The most beautiful Christmas homes
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Song fo r Saint Lucia. Night ly, go heavy hea rt s Round fa rm and st eading On ea rt h, whe re sun depa rt s, shadow s a re spreading. T hen on ou r da rke st night, Come s wit h he r shining light Sankt a Lucia! Sankt a Lucia! T hen on ou r da rke st night, Come s wit h he r shining light Sankt a Lucia, Sankt a Lucia. Night-da rkling, huge and st ill. Ha rk, somet hing's st i r ring! I n all ou r silent room s, Wingbeat s a re whi sp'ring! St and s on ou r t h re shold t he re, Whit e clad, light s in he r hai r, Sankt a Lucia! Sankt a Lucia! St and s on ou r t h re shold t he re, Whit e clad, light s in he r hai r, Sankt a Lucia! Sankt a Lucia! Da rkne s s shall fly away T h rough ea rt hly po rt al s. She b rings such wonde rful wo rd s t o u s mo rt al s! Daylight, again renewed will ri se, all ro sy-hued! Sankt a Lucia! Sankt a Lucia! Daylight, again renewed, will ri se, all ro sy-hued. Sankt a Lucia! Sankt a Lucia!
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Dear Reader
December and Christmas itself can be very stressful. The preparations and planning can be particularly challenging if you feel like everything needs to be perfect. At our house we’ve often gathered most of the family for Christmas Eve – and we have a big family. Having all of us together is incredibly cozy. The farmhouse is buzzing with life and we love the atmosphere of it all. But to be honest, it’s tiring as well – probably mostly because I have certain expectations of myself about what our house should look like, which food should be served and what decorations need to be made. Because it’s customary... Last year we spent Christmas Eve in our small summerhouse for the first time. It was a very special experience. A lot of things are kind of a given when you celebrate Christmas away from home. Space is a little tight up there so we can’t fit too many people. There’s five of us and then my parents along with my sister and her husband made it a party of nine. That’s all we can fit this time of year. I couldn’t clean, cook or put up decorations in advance here. We only just got there on December 23. We brought along a single Christmas decoration in the car, a string of lights and a few ornaments, mostly for the tree. We had planned and shopped for a slightly more simplified version of our usual Christmas dinner. Somehow it seemed alright in a different way to have everything be a little more relaxed in these surroundings. We actually ended up spending a lot of the time going for long walks, playing board games with the kids and hanging out in the hot tub. Here we were, out in the woods on the Himmerland peninsula, in 100 °F water under a clear and frosty sky on December 23, Christmas candies and glasses of gløgg in hand. What a life! On the day of Christmas Eve, I couldn’t set the table in advance like I usually do. In fact, there was so little room that we couldn’t even put the food on the table and we didn’t have enough serving plates either so dinner was served buffet style in the kitchen. We did spend quite a lot of time on one task: finding a tree. We planned to cut down a tree from our own large forest property. ”It’s full of Christmas trees,” Lars said. ”It’s much cozier to cut down a tree from our own property.” Turns out we hadn’t really taken a very close look at those trees. They were all warped and crooked. We did finally choose one – which even that same night was named the world’s ugliest Christmas tree, its branches long and poky with parts bare and overall very crooked. But it’s a tree that we’ll never forget and we’ve had some good laughs about it ever since. Somehow it took on a personality and we had fun with pretending that the tree shouldn’t overhear us speaking badly about it or see us laughing at it. So here’s my recommendation to try spending Christmas in a new way. That Christmas was stress-free – it was all cozy family time. This year we’re getting the whole family together again for a big Christmas Eve. Only this time around, I’ve lowered my expectations a bit and intend to try to enjoy everything a bit more. I actually think they’ll enjoy lending a hand to set the table and cook dinner after we all take a nice, long walk in the woods.
Lonnie & Vivian
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!
magazine No. 12 · 2015 Published by Jeanne d’Arc Living
Lonnie Würtz Jensen
Cover photo: Lonnie Würtz Jensen
Vivian Christensen
Chief Editors: Vivian Christensen · Email: vivian@jeannedarcliving.dk Lonnie Würtz Jensen · Email: jeannedarc@jeannedarcliving.dk Editorial Office:: Jeanne d’Arc Living ApS Houmarksvej 92, Kondrup · 8920 Randers NV · Denmark · Tel: +45 36932010 Email: jeannedarc@jeannedarcliving.dk · www.jeannedarcliving.dk · www.jdlblog.dk Graphics & Layout: Flower Arrangers: Photos & Styling: Food, Text & Styling: Proofreading: Handyman: Advertising Director:
Rikke Daugaard Thiel
Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Helle Routhe Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Dorthe Hviid Lonnie Würtz Jensen & Dorte Palsgaard Vivian Christensen, Rikke Vinter, Dorthe Hviid, Rikke Daugaard Thiel & Bettina Solveig Bakkestrøm Vera Jensen Ole Sørensen Email: annonce@jeannedarcliving.dk
Rikke Vinter Translation into Swedish, English, Dutch, German, Finnish & French: www.wordtoword.dk Translation into Norwegian: Linda Rønsholm.
Dorthe Hviid
Bettina Solveig Bakkestrøm
The editorial office disclaims all liability for possible errors. Likewise, the company is not liable for errors in recipes, instructions, etc. Since the magazine is sold in many countries throughout the world, the editorial office accepts no responsibility for the applicable laws and regulations of said countries. The reader is solely responsible for consulting with local authorities. Articles and pictures in the Jeanne d’Arc Living Magazine may not be used in sales activities without prior permission. Lending and renting of the magazine for profit is prohibited. The editorial office accepts no responsibility for content, articles and other materials which are submitted without invitation.
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Helle Routhe
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CONTENTS Page
4. Philipse Vintage & Brocante
Page 16. Transformation for your new ball ornaments Page 20. ”Hungry” pine Page 26. Christmas brunch Page 32. Alternative Christmas trees Page 36. Christmas with brocante treasures Page 50. Create the style Page 52. Patinate your lametta Page 59. Vintage Paint Page 60. Red is the color of Christmas Page 64. Wonderful, painted tray Page 66. White Christmas Page 70. Christmas in shades of white Page 80. Christmas decorations with vintage pearls Page 86. Christmas in beautiful pastels Page 92. Wonderful Christmas decorations in brown and black Page 98. Old tablespoons Page 103. NEW YEAR’S cocktails & treats Page 110. French vintage Christmas Page 124. The Column Page 126. Hostess gifts Page 132. JDL Living Page 134. Our top 10 Christmas finds 5
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Philipse Vintage & Brocante
Photos & text: Anneke Gambon. Editing: Rikke V.
We rarely feature articles in the magazine that are shot in stores but here at Jeanette Philipse, we actually might as well have stepped into a home. The way the store is set up and Jeanette’s way of decorating are both incredibly charming and very personal. The goods in the store are also very particularly and carefully selected from the many markets in France and Belgium that Jeanette visits often. The store is located on one of the cozy, little streets of Nijmegen in Holland. It’s three stories so Jeanette has plenty of room to play about. If you visit the store, you’ll need to look through everything several times as you’ll find that you constantly discover new things, pretty displays and beautiful details. The house is old. In fact, the basement dates all the way back to 1367, which in itself gives the place plenty of soul and atmosphere. Christmas does not have an overwhelming presence in the store. The decorations are very subtle yet the space is incredibly charming with great atmosphere. The long table is covered with a very beautiful piece of old fabric. Wonderful clematis inflorescences hang from the ceiling. The large pot is bulging with lovely hopbines and vintage silver balls are discretely placed as a decoration inside the cheese domes. Although you’ll find neither pine nor Christmas candles, there’s plenty of Christmas spirit in here.
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Jeanette loves the beauty that’s only present in a charming decay so she uses the raw and weathered walls in the house as part of the decor to set the mood and atmosphere that she wants her customers to sense when they visit the store.
Use the ideas in your home.
An old frame from a mirror that no longer exists is decoratively leaned against the wall where it’s most worn and the wallpaper most tattered. This frames the charming decay so you’ll get your very own, personal piece of art. What’s wonderful about this old mirror frame is the wide edge along the top. It’s perfect for a nice, little still life and you don’t need to hang the frame to make it work. When you’re redecorating, you can easily move the frame to create an entirely new look. The idea behind placing blankets and pillows in a stack is that it looks decorative in a different way than if you just hang the throw blanket on the armrest and place the pillows on the couch. It works just fine in a regular home, too. Jeanette has wonderful, little collections of things – purses, for instance, as shown here. Hang them up together or place them in a small group. Grouping your things together has a very decorative effect. It calms the eye and provides a sense of coherence to the decor.
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Philipse Vintage & Brocante
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