roomplanners OCTOBER 2011
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pretty in
provence
arles, avignon & the luberon
all washed up! French Laundry styling inspires a fresh furniture collection
french country
10 decorating must-haves to re-create this charming style!
trends...
from Paris opposites do attract!
french style!
this month...
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3 OPPOSITES ATTRACT
on the cover
Hottest home fashion trends from Paris.
6 ALL WASHED UP
French Laundry style inspires a new furniture collection.
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In love with
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… a beautiful setting in the south of France. Inside this issue, we explore three idyllic areas in Provence renown for their memorable design, including ancient Roman architecture, modern paintings, farmhouse makeovers and luxurious hotels. See page 12... Editor-in-Chief Loreen Epp Food writer Wendi Hiebert Contributing writer Dominique Waters
FRENCH COUNTRY STYLE?
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10 must-haves to create the idyllic style of rural France.
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Inside the region’s pretty countryside, charming towns and luxurious hotels.
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Bring home the idyllic ambiance of southern France with this do-it-yourself decorating guide.
RoomCues® $6.95. Reg. $9.95 Details on page 11
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THE COLORS OF PROVENCE
Southern France’s famous painters reveal a distinctly French country color palette.
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All written information herein is copyright ©2011 Room Planners Incorporated. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from Room Planners Incorporated.
opposites
!
The recent 2011 Maison & Object show in Paris revealed again the French knack for effortlessly mixing the chic and the casual. Simple paired with sophisticated, smooth with textured, dark with light‌. proving that, at least in France, opposites really do attract.
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Contemporary styles look as sophisticated as fancy period styles when given a dose of drama!
Refined
Notice the chic mix of opposites‌ low with tall, dark with light, smooth with plush, monochromatic with bright color! (Who says orange and red don’t go together?)
!
top trends: Paris 2012 tactile textures!
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OCTOBER 2011
metallic accents
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linen
industrial layering textures
It’s been dubbed ‘rough luxe’… the trend to blend historic influences, aged materials and chic glamour. An unexpected, but oh, so inviting mix lets us dress up and down at the same time.
!
Again, note the mix of opposites… elegant with rustic, detailed with distressed, shapely with straight.
twotoning
dark with light
grays...
plums & purples
poppy reds!
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Weathered wood,
washed linen and look
pewter accents
relaxed and
well-used.
French Laundry, French country and American casual styles conspire to create a look that’s as fresh and simple as it is sophisticated. Twilight Bay, by Lexington Furniture invites an easy pairing of pieces, tied together with a soft layering of neutral colors, natural materials and nappy textures. 6
OCTOBER 2011
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all
washed up! OPPOSITE. Elegant Louis XVI-inspired chairs look casual in a driftwood finish with washed linen fabrics and nail-head trim. CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP: A bistro table with burnished steel top and nail heads. Strawseated bar stools add a chic, industrial look to this simple, coastal-style kitchen. Straw-seated chairs with tie-on cushions offers a fresh take on ladder back chairs.
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LEFT TO RIGHT. A Louis XV-style armchair in an antique linen wood finish is upholstered in a written, documentstyle fabric, inspired by French Laundry styling. The same chair looks more formal a centered leafy pattern. A slipcover-style chair with striped bolster pillow sits next to an end table with nail studs and a multi-drawer storage chest. A quiet, tone-on-tone color scheme creates a soothing bedroom. BELOW. Slip-covered tailoring in a soft natural color palette and a cocktail table in a warm chestnut finish create a beach-like quality.
French Laundry styling inspires
slip-covered
tailoring and fabrics that look softened by use, rather than age.
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OCTOBER 2011
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Antique linen,
driftwood and
chestnut wood finishes are easily mixed to create a personal style.
ABOVE. A mix of furniture styles are tied together with a soft color palette and nail-head trim. BELOW. A chestnut wood finish on the table and cabinet complement chairs in antique linen.
TOP. A bar stool with rush seating and metal accents blends French country and industrial styling. MIDDLE. A relaxed, monochromatic sofa blends a plain-weave linen body fabric with leafy and documentstyle toss pillows, nail-head trim and a chestnut leg finish. BOTTOM. Open shelves on the top of and bottom of this etagere-style hutch invite a display of favorite objects. www.roomplanners.com OCTOBER 2011 7
Create the idyllic look of rural France with these 10 must-haves!
?
1. An etagere with open shelves, filled with pottery, plates or wine! 2. An antique clock with hand-painted flowers (Boutique Roses Clock, www.lampsplus.com) 3. An armoire with bonnet-shaped top or curved legs. 4 . A Louis XV chair with linen upholstery and a natural finish. 5. Landscape or floral prints in a fancy frame. 6. Seat cushions with tie-backs, especially in a toile or document-style print. (TeaHouse Cushions, www.hayneedle.com) 7. A lamp with an antique stone-style base and linen or hand-painted shade. 8. Hand-painted pottery or Faience. 9. Straw textures, whether used on baskets or chair seats. (Taza Junior French market basket, www.petitprovence.com) 10. Terracotta pots or window boxes filled with flowers!
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OCTOBER 2011
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A do-it-yourself guide to create a home inspired by the French country! Includes:
the 20-color French country palette, with paint numbers French country textures & patterns French country furniture and accessory ideas dozens of photos for inspiration 100 professional French country decorating ideas… and more!
French Country—RoomCue JUST
$6.95! until Nov. 15, 2011
$6.95 15-pages, full color Reg. $9.95
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From ancient ruins, stone farmhouses and lavender fields to tangled medieval villages filled with bright shutters, flower boxes and hand-painted pottery in open-air markets‌ the allure of southern France begs the question— is Provence a place, a style or a state of mind? From the Luberon to Arles to Avignon, we explore three idyllic settings that have inspired memorable design for centuries.
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OCTOBER 2011
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It was British novelist Peter Mayle’s move to Provence and 1989 book, A Year in Provence, that garnered Luberon legions of new fans. Living as an expatriate in Luberon’s picture-perfect village of Menerbes, Peter and his wife encountered the fierce Mistral winds, underground truffle dealers, unruly workers and quirky neighbors while restoring an old stone house and trying their hand at wine production. Mayle’s sharp wit and love of the good life made A Year in Provence an international bestseller that was later turned into a TV series on BBC. His 1993 novel, A Good Year was produced as a motion picture.
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OCTOBER 2011
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No trip to Provence is complete without a trip to the picturesque Vaucluse; a quiet strip of land between two mountains believed to be the source of the mighty mistral winds and credited for producing the clear air and bright azure skies that still compel painters to capture Provence on canvas. A charming and endlessly magical place, the Luberon region is home to sleepy hilltop towns and lovely villages, many clinging to the edge of mountains, or piled picturesquely atop hills spotted with vineyards, stone farmhouses and fields of poppies, lavender and ancient plane trees. From Roussillon, with its deep ochre quarries... to Grambois, with its irregular ocher cliffs... to Cuceron, Ansouis and the Red Villages north of Apt, Luberon’s hilltop hamlets (also known as villages perche, or perched villages) are home to winding cobblestone streets, sun-bleached homes tumbling over hills, charming open market squares, artsy townsfolk and incredible views that inspire movie sets and artists alike. The Luberon village of Menerbes became the setting for author Peter Mayle’s bestselling novel and British TV series, A Year in Provence. Ever since, Menerbes has welcomed thousands of foreigners and locals alike in search of their own paradise among medieval architecture, hilltop landscapes and lush vineyards. In proximity to the Luberon, the 15th century village of Alleins is home to Le Domaine de Mejeans; an idyllic bed-andbreakfast that boasts one of the coziest dining rooms in the regions and one of the most nostalgic interpretations of authentic Provencal decor. Opening onto a floral garden and pool, rooms are painted in the almond hues of the stone architecture or the ochre colors of the adjacent landscape, with prune-and-white accents that simulate Provencal sweets. www.roomplanners.com OCTOBER 2011 15
Leaving Paris in 1888 to begin an artist colony in sunny Arles, Vincent Van Gogh convinced painter Paul Gauguin to join him the same year. But after two months, the two were at odds. Van Gogh threatened his friend with a razor, only to use it instead to cut off part of his own ear in regret. The town was relieved when he checked into the local hospital, then into an asylum in St-Remy, where he shot himself months later, at age 37. Van Gogh painted over 200 canvases in Arles, but none remain in the town today. Years later, the city honored their troubled genius by restoring the flower-filled courtyard he loved to paint outside his hospital room.
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The ancient city of Arles could well be called the ‘Rome’ of France. With the good fortune to be situated on Rome’s trading route to Spain, it became a key center of commerce. Over the years, Arles was enhanced... first with Roman bridges, temples, baths, arches and an amphitheater, then with a basilica and cloister as the city became the center of early Christianity and Church councils until the 13th century. Home to the best bull fights outside Spain (in the town’s Roman-style Coliseum), the Gypsy Kings, the oldest person in the world (1877-1997), the finest donkey sausage and women so beautiful, they were said to inspire Daudet’s story L’Arlesienne in 1866 and Bizet’s 1872 opera. Some say it was his admiration of Daudet’s stories that drew the town’s most famous resident in 1888. Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh, dreamed of starting a painting school in Provence, but committed suicide in the neighboring town of St. Remy in 1890. Much of the city was damaged by American bombers in WWII, but Arles’ tangled medieval streets and squares, ancient Roman ruins, museums and connection to Van Gogh remain. Just outside Arles, the chic town of St. Remy is home to the romantic Les Hameaux des Baux: an ancestral family house-turned-luxurious hotel and terrace. A dining room modeled after an old farmhouse kitchen, stone steps to the second floor, locally sourced antiques and reclaimed ceiling beams (from old dismantled cargo boats on the Rhone River!) evoke the past. But the look is updated with a quiet contemporary color scheme, uncluttered, light-filled spaces and driftwood accents. www.roomplanners.com OCTOBER 2011 17
Pope Clement V (1305-14) was the first pope to flee Rome for safer Provencal lands the Church had acquired during a 13th century Crusade. Successive popes were only too happy to stay. John XXII (1342-52) and Benedict XII (1316-34) enlarged the palace in Avignon, as did Clement VI (1342-52), who purchased Avignon from the Countess of Provence in exchange for clearing her of any involvement with the strangling of her husband. Papal tolerance and greed turned Avignon into a haven for outcasts who could enrich the papal coffers... adding to the profits from tithes, pardons, indulgences and visiting pilgrims going to Avignon instead of Rome! Under pressure, the seventh Avignon pope, Gregory XI, returned to Rome.
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In Paris, one quarrels; in Avignon, one kills, wrote Victor Hugo of Avignon’s violent past and religious scandals. Avignon hosted seven controversial Popes in the 14th century as Rome fought to re-establish its papal headquarters. But the city’s association with mischief continued even after the Vatican returned to Italy, including its election of an anti-pope that launched the Great Schism of the Catholic church. As passionate about art as religion, Avignon established an international Gothic painting style (popes summoned Italian artists to paint in their palaces). As cultural and publishing capital during the Italian Renaissance, artistic ideas spread to Europe through Avignon. The city cradled the Felibrige, a revival of Provencal literature in the 19th century, and birthed Europe’s most dynamic theatrical event in the 20th. Home to the massive Papal Palace with courtly frescoes from the 12th to 14th century, the famous broken bridge, Pond d’Avignon, a charming antique carousel, museums that boast the only Van Gogh painting in Provence and Botticelli’s Virgin and Child, Avignon draws visitors as much for its artistic character as for its steep, picturesque streets, ancient plane trees, little bridges and pleasant squares. Just across the river from Avignon lies the quaint medieval village of Villeneuveles-Avignon, home to the luxurious Hotel Le Prieure; a remodeled convent and cardinal’s residence from the 14th century. Wisteria-draped trellises, a perfumed priest’s garden and flagstone and gravel patios feel uncomplicated and chic. Contemporary furnishings mix with select antiques, a soft palette of taupe, cream, mushroom and pale mauve, and sunny balconies with iron balustrades. www.roomplanners.com OCTOBER 2011 19
Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1889 Cezanne Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1885
Cezanne L’Estaque, 1885
Van Gogh, Bedroom in Arles, 1889
Van Gogh, Irises, 1889
Cezanne Mont SainteVictoire, 1894
Van Gogh, The Night Cafe, 1888
Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889
Van Gogh, Self Portrait (with bandaged ear), 1889 Cezanne, Saint-Victoire, 1902
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Paul Cezanne (1839-1906, French) was born in Aix-en-Provence. He spent his career trying to capture the ‘divine harmony’ in his local landscape using post-Impressionist painting techniques.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890, Dutch) spent just over 2 years in Provence, but the sunny region inspired his brightest color palette and his most famous and beloved canvases.
Self Portrait, 1884
Self Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887
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