Wednesday, October 6, 2010

En France

At the end of my freshman year in college, my mother came to visit to watch me row at Eastern Sprints up in Connecticut.  The name of the lake one which the races were held escapes me now.  The day was so miserable and rainy that my mother dubbed it Lake Wobegone, and that is the name that has stuck with me ever since.  But once back in Philadelphia we had a grand old time, and I felt very grown up being able to show my worldly mother around a major city that I knew better than she did.

I took her to my favorite bakery, my favorite coffee shop and my favorite international magazine store.  We flipped lazily through many unfamiliar publications, but it was La Maison Francais which made a particular impression.  I still remember the image that did it:  a photo of a yellow jacquard upholstered sofa in a sunny nook, the legs and arms of the sofa almost completely shredded by a cat.  My mother was enthralled that such imperfection could be celebrated in a national publication (and perhaps it made her feel a bit better about the occasional furniture shredding our cats engaged in), and I thought it was just the chicest most bohemian thing I'd ever seen.  I vowed to love all things french home then and there.

So it is no surprise that my newest bit of blog love is directed towards a french woman who photographs french interiors of friends, acquaintances and perhaps strangers as well for all I know.  Sort of a gallic version of The Selby, Ensuite is where I've been spending quite a bit of time lately.  

I wonder if I lived in France whether I would have glorious windows to throw open in the sun...


...witty cats...


...gorgeous tarts and chanterelle mushrooms just sitting around...


...fabulous and well organized shoes...


...chic perfume bottles and pink flowers adorning my bathroom...


...and on my mantle...

all photos from Ensuite

...or would my apartment look exactly as it does in New York?  

I think my shoe and perfume collections needs some work.

5 comments:

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

Ensuite is wonderful, Laura! Kind of a one-woman Apartment Therapy in Paris, with all the advantages that implies. Thanks for telling us about it. I remember you talking about that photo with the shredded sofa before--it obviously made a huge impression on you. The photos you selected for this post remind me of a beautiful apartment Marion and I stayed in near the Jardin du Luxembourg. Usually your posts make me long for NYC; now you've got me jonesing for Paris!

Sneaky Magpie said...

the bathroom tiles are stunning, amazing interiors. This site will give me some inspiration for my new house but I am also thinking I will most likely stick to my own style...

Carla said...

I think we all have a little of the grass is greener complex. New York sounds pretty cool when you live in Paris. Carla

Mlle Paradis said...

great posts on ensuite and chard pickles! thanks!

Unknown said...

Speaking of witty cats...I am starting a write-in campaign for my cat Stella Koontz. She is running for Governor of CA. We are bohemian chic...she shreds couch arms.

My shoes are in my closet..but in a mixed up pile. Is that wrong?

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