Grab a glass of wine because it is time to take a break from the holiday rush for everyone’s favorite–a “Before” and “After” about our apartment. Now, I would say our “new” rental but we did move in at the end of July and we are quickly approaching the end of the year! So, although the photos are not the quality that I would like (the rooms look small, they are not) and the decorating is not finished (where oh where is my chandelier), here we go!
As those of you who have been reading for a while know, we were excited by the photos that we had seen in the real estate agent’s ad. It looked like exactly like what we had been hoping for and we pressured him hard so as to be the first to visit it. So imagine our surprise when we walked in and found this…
BEFORE, THE LIVING ROOM
Heehee, you weren’t expecting that now were you? Three futons, the empty bottles, a refrigerator by the fireplace and a whole lot of sadness. The white stucco walls had been repainted only as high as someone could reach. I could smell the cat. With planning and elbow grease, we changed the space to this…
AFTER, THE LIVING ROOM
(This is an early photo from this angle as the lithograph is now hung and I have made a linen underskirt for the white table behind the sofa)
In one corner, a closet had been partially covered in stucco that was peeling. We removed that but left the patina behind. Yes, some of our friends think that we are odd.
BEFORE
AFTER
A view looking towards the “kitchen”, which is in truth an alcove in the living room. What on earth to do for a couple that cooks as much as we do? Cry? Well, Remi really used his thinking cap and I’ll do a separate post soon. We did take the stucco off half of the facing wall, put in cabinets and appliances (they are not often supplied for rentals in France).
BEFORE
AFTER
One of Remi’s best ideas was to use the old shutters that were previously our headboard as a means of pulling out the space while still retaining a bit of privacy from the kitchen. Behind them we installed a simple stainless steel cart from Ikea that holds all of our pots and pans below, veggies and wine above.
I knew that I would be spending most of my time in the salon or small living room as soon as I saw this photo in the ad.
BEFORE, THE SALON
Do I really need to say anything about my feelings when we visited? Truly, I wanted to give those students a kick in the pants right then and there and save this lovely apartment.
AFTER, THE SALON
So here we are today. As for all of the photos, I just took them on regular ol’ days when I thought that the light was pretty. No special pillows or styling as you can see. If anything there is too much light! More than the little Pentax can handle.
As with the living room, we scrapped all of the stucco on the outside wall and painted the rest of the walls “Chanvre” by Tollens. We were delighted with the quality of the paint and it was well worth the investment. When you live with a photographer, the light needs to reflect just so…
(Oops, another old photo. Yes, we have put the “Maharajahs” to right.)
Remi’s office (seen in the doorway) is, shall we say, still not available for viewing. Ah-hem. But you can see the big architectural piece where we keep his prints with our big mirror above it. And yep, here is my little desk where I write! I can’t tell you how hard it was to find the right piece of wood to make that photo railing. In the States, poof, we would have found it ready made. We have recently been given some wonderful gifts by friends that are moving, including this club chair and brass standing lamp. Remi had that deep attachment to our former club that only men can have but when the bottom fell through, reason won out.
(I wish the photo better reflected that the paint perfectly matches the aged paper on this Four Seasons series. Winter is on the bottom and I love reading with a bear peering over my shoulder. Delightfully, no longer in this chair.)
Oh my. BEFORE, THE BATHROOM
AFTER, THE BATHROOM
Well, it still isn’t exceptional enough to merit a large photo but we scraped the paint off of the glass door, removed the linoleum, painted the walls Sesame (also by Tollens), installed cabinets and these glass shelves holding more bits from our travels, including the pair of carved bone buddies, bought in Bali and originally from the island of Sumba. The great news? The owner’s of the apartment recently stopped by for a visit and were so pleased with what they had done that they are willing to renovate the bathroom!
BEFORE, THE HALL
AFTER, THE HALL
How happy was I to put up these three classical drawings? Very. Along with the pair of African heads and Remi’s crocodile skull, it all gives the entry the oomph I was hoping for. The walls are “Muscade” by Tollens and are lovely in the evening.
Looking towards the bathroom, Remi built the shelves in a doorway that we had closed off…
And back towards the salon…
Oh, and let’s not forget the lantern that I wrote about here.
BEFORE, THE BEDROOM
Now thankfully, the students used this room as a work-space so it was less, sigh, well, you know than the others. Still. Time to make it ours so we installed an alabaster light fixture from the 1930s (yes, I know that the chain is too short, I’ll fix that eventually) and painted the walls “Teatime” (still Tollens). Now, never in my wildest dreams could I have guessed that the ivory tone would come out with a soft pink hue to it but it did. So for all of our very careful masculine/feminine balance, I got my girly bedroom.
AFTER, THE BEDROOM
We only recently put up the ciel de lit, one of the things that held me up from doing this post. Can you believe that I found it at that Depot-Vente in Eygalieres for 40€? Score! I also decided to give up on having the money to make curtains out of the Nina Campbell fabric that I had bought truly for a song on ebay UK and just swooped it up and around the frame. In the summer, we had our silk coverlet from Angkor on the bed, now thanks to the generous gift of a headboard and a matching bench from our friends, we have gone with something simpler.
Try as I might, I cannot get this right, photographically. But yes, that is Ben’s “bed” and that will be my makeup table once I fix the chair’s also saggy bottom.
So to wrap up, let’s go back to the apartment’s main feature that called to us, the enfillade or stretch of rooms opening one after the other.
BEFORE, OR ACTUALLY DURING THE LONG FINGER BREAKING WORK
AFTER
Tah-dah! I hope that you enjoyed this little walk through the apartment, past and present, with me. Yes, it may have been a decided “down-sizing” but I can say with all joy, that it most certainly now feels like home!
i like your brown chair a lot. lovely greetings
Maria
A great post….I adore the front hall…a design triumph!
All snug for the Xmas season by the looks of it. Enjoy!
Thank you so much everyone! I can't tell you how wonderful it was to wake up to such amazingly kind responses. What a way to start the day!
SP, I am really enjoying having you here–merci!
Jane and Lance, I was truly blown away, left speechless by your wonderful remarks and have read them out loud to Remi as well. Coming from you both, two arbiters of excellent taste if ever there was, it means so much. As always, you understood exactly what we are trying to achieve–on a budget that was finished after the paint! We would absolutely be delighted to have you here and will definitely pop open some Champagne to celebrate such a wondeful occasion!
Oops! I just saw the time and have to head out to the doctor (normal stuff) so will have to be rude and say a general thank you to everyone else but I am very, very touched!
Hooray! Finally a tour of your new place! WOW – it looks amazing! Amazing on its own, and especially so when pitted against the "before" pics! (ew!). It really looks beautiful; you are a wonderful decorator and the place is so you and Remi! Love it.
Wow what a great post. Any wonder I had to take a seat. thanks for sharing I have enjoyed looking around your special place. I will follow on my way out so as I can keep in touch. I hope you will find the time to pop over to my place soon and do the same. Whilst I am here I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and look forward to engaging more in the New Year! Cheers SpecialK XoXo
Hello Heather
You have been working very hard transforming the apartment to a home. I love your choice of paint colours and all the unique touches. I am particularly fond of the shutters used in the kitchen as a divider. You have a wonderful variety of textures which is so pleasing. It is so beautiful to see a home with cherished items collected over time. I love the stores behind each piece.
I can see how you loved this space at first sight
Thank you for sharing xx
Oh Heather I think your apartment is wonderful! You and Remi did such a fabulous job. Great idea Remi had using the shutters to extend your kitchen. I had to laugh at your first picture of the mess in your living room I kept thinking some vagabonds were living there but turned out to be students. All those windows, the doors are fabulous and the rooms look to be a generous size but the thing that has me a tad jealous…fireplace in the bedroom! Your apartment is truly wonderful and reflects who you are, stylish and comfortable. Ben looks happy in his home too where ever he flops! Thank you for taking us on a visit to your new apartment!
Ooh Heather I do love a before and after, you have worked wonders, the apartment looks beautiful, you and Remy obviously are people with exquisite taste.
Apologies for being such a lousy blogger recently, I am so behind with everybodies posts, I am really looking forward to taking some time out with a glass of red and catching up with all the posts I have missed.
XXX
Hello Heather:
It is all exactly as we should expect of you both: stylish, elegant, chic, and totally inspirational. Given an unpromising start, you have very obviously exercised your enormous talent and flair to give to this apartment a very personal and individual style which so successfully combines a traditional approach, appropriate to the age and period of the building, with a contemporary twist which makes it so much a home in which to work, relax, entertain – in short live.
And this has been achieved through careful choice of soft furnishings, paint colour, placement of objects, the arrangement of fine furniture, a profusion of pictures and, above all else, an unerring eye for detail. You are both, dear Heather and Remi, masters of your art.
It is all absolutely lovely and we do so wish you many, many years of happiness in your new home. And, may we one day come knocking at the hall door to enjoy it all first hand?
Thank you so much for sharing. It has been such a treat and a real joy.
Wow! what a transformation…it looks lovely, SP