Chez Pluie's Director Susannah Cameron shares some inspiration for designing an elegant and serene living space.
The room is styled with a careful selection of French antiques, vintage designer pieces, and modern artwork, that are all available for purchase.
The Console
The Louis XVI-style demilune console table is a beautifully crafted piece and the rounded corners make for easy circulation in the room. It's the perfect size: lighting, precious ornaments and floral arrangements all can have their place on it. I love the little drawer - convenient for storing matches to light the fire. The console's chic French farmhouse feel helped guide me in the choice of furnishings and artwork for the rest of the room.
The Armchair
This is a beautifully comfortable leather and walnut armchair dating from the eighteenth century. The rich brown color creates a lively contrast with the pale hues in the room while also being welcoming.
The Coffee Table
The modern glass coffee table in the center of the room is by Willy Rizzo (1928-2013). Practical, stylish, and classic, it complements the other furnishings in its simplicity but also has its own visual interest in the gold and silver frame and the smoke glass table top and shelf.
The Wall Sconces
Made from weighty iron, cast into acanthus leaves and tumbling gilded flowers, these nineteenth-century candle wall appliques cohere with the natural elements of the other furnishings: wood, leather and ceramics. As the seasons change and it becomes too warm for a fire, the single flames of the wall sconces continue to be enjoyed and create a beautiful ambiance.
The Walnut Oil Pitcher
Every room needs something handmade! - and ceramics are perfect because they are sculptural and often functional. This knobbly walnut oil pitcher was designed to mimic a walnut shell and is from the nineteenth century. I'm using it here as a vase for freshly cut spring branches.
The Water Ewer
Another nineteenth-century pot, from southwest France pairs nicely with the oil pitcher (from the Ardeche). They are like cousins of the same age!
The Still Life
This vignette was inspired by nature. Local artist Caroline Beauzon captures the fullness of Monstera foliage in this charcoal still life. The bobbing leaves complement the foliage of the lamp base in the foreground.
Bronze is a striking material for sculpture as the detail can be enjoyed while complementing a neutral palette. This unusual, petite 'mouton' bronze dates from the 1960s and was created by an anonymous artist. I love it and chose it to help animate the room.
This vintage lamp dates from the 1970s. The weighty bronze foliage adds to the nature theme of the vignette and echoes the gold of the coffee table.
The Floor Lamp
The floor lamp is a vintage Maison le Dauphin piece with an elegant column pedestal and a wonderful egg-shaped glass stem. The geometry of the silhouette ties in with the curve of the console table and back of the armchair.
These 1920s posters originally were displayed in a clothing boutique and are titled 'The Modern Style'. I selected them as a playful nod to the more traditional oil portraits often hung above fireplaces.
