sempé - the frenchman who conquered new york

This book  I lift down from my shelves again and again, just for the pleasure of immersing myself into the poetical, whimsical world of Jean Jaques Sempé, a French artist, who has been drawing for 50 years and who in particular conquered New York with his numerous cover illustrations for the New Yorker.

Jean Jaques Sempé has a poet's soul, his characters are small, lost in a giant world of urban buildings, tall trees and infinite ocean.   His characters are musical, there are many children, and cats.  I adore his sense of humour,  his fine observation.

Equally at ease when drawing Paris as New York, he lived in both places for years.  But it was a teenage dream come true the day the New Yorker accepted his first drawing, and then gave him  his first front cover.   A short while later he had his own space in their offices and today, with over 100 front covers to his name he is part of the institution.

 

If you are visiting Paris this winter, there is an exhibition of his drawings at the Town Hall.  Not to be missed!!  And if you'd like to acquire one of his delicious watercolours for your own home, the place to go is the Galérie Martine Gossieux in Paris. 

authentic french country style inside the home

Yesterday I put up some ideas for the french country style when it comes to choosing a house.  Today - if you don't mind - I though I'd do the same inside, using pictures from my home and from those of friends near here.

Once again, I don't pretend to be an expert on what is true French country style, I'm just telling it the way it is lived here: never about big, nor impressive, rather living simply and elegantly, using what you have to hand and making the home as comfortable and welcoming as possible.

Now, I'm a big sleeper (that's not a scoop!!) so to me a large comfy bed is really important, you all know about my feelings for old French linen - vital!! - but the bed is important too.  My favourite here is the old 'demi-corbeille' that I restored for our guest cottage.

Besides which I like to place a few flowers -  everyone sleeps better

in a setting that is prepared with care and attention.

We love open fires, we have two downstairs and one in our bedroom.  Real logs, real flames, a little extra work to clean out the ashes, but I certainly don't do that after every fire - life is too short - just now and again.

While we're on the subject of flames, candles are really important here too.  We use real candles in our dining room chandelier, lit most days, although our favourite time in the winter is Sunday morning breakfast:  a fire, candles, fresh croissant, the newspapers ......

when we eat outdoors candles are obligatory, love them!

Furniture is a happy mix here, quite a few old pieces, often found at

brocantes and re-upholstered by yours truly, using a mix of fabrics

in fact fabric plays a big role in giving the French look, and nothing can be more

French than toile de Jouy, see here at my friend Aude's house

Ceilings tend to be high in these  old houses, giving plenty of scope to play with curtains

The true French kitchen is hard to define, and somehow never really fits in to a 'label'.  

Of all the kitchens I know here, my favourite elements are the solid 

pewter sink and chippy chairs in Frederique's château!

Other vital touches include paintings on the walls, 

and propped up behind lamps;

unruly bouquets of flowers from the garden;

and a mix of old china displayed behind wire mesh cabinet doors.

Voila!  Ours is not a designer house, we don't lavish huge sums of money on our interior.

The priorities are comfort, elegance and most of all a warm welcome!

I'd love to hear about your priorities in furnishing and decorating your home

Thank you for stopping by

authentic french country style

'French country style' ...  it's a term that's used a lot, all over the world, but what is the true definition?  Is there such a thing?

I can't pretend to be a world expert on the matter but I do know about the vital elements to what I call a French country home, here in Normandy.

First of all , it helps if it's in the country!  Preferably somewhere beautiful and peaceful, a village where the church bells ring on the hour from dawn till dusk.

Next you need a gate,

not necessarily this grand 

-  it can  be made of metal or of wood  -

oh yes,   and a stone wall ...

The house must be authentic but not necessarily big.  A lot of the most attractive 

properties along our valley  are less than 2000 square feet.

 Shutters on the windows and doors are almost inevitable,

painted or left shabby as your inspiration leads you;

A truly vital element is outbuildings:  small barns, old stables, even the odd pig sty works!

A few chickens scratching around the garden are an excellent idea;

a dog  is  'de rigueur',  cats an optional extra

at this time of year it's a good sign to have a pair of boots outside the door, a watering can

and a basket or two, although one is never sure what they shall be used for -

going to the market, picking up apples, cutting flowers from the garden...

of course the boots , basket and watering can are elementary accessories for caring for the potager,

which will be regularly hoed, varied in its planting and  'parfait' all year round!

There we are, it's really quite easy once you know what to look for!!

Hope your week is going well,

thank you for stopping by.

all photos taken by yours truly here in the valley

my stylish french girlfriends - Frédérique

Frédérique is what the French call a châtelaine, which is just a fancy way of saying that her home is a  château.  This one actually.  Le Château d'Emalleville, where she lives with her husband and children and horses and dogs.

Remember last week my criteria for this series about my french girlfriends?  totally gorgeous, great home, great job;  Well they all seem to work with Fred.  We are good friends,  we ride together, we invite each other over, our children are friends.  I have always admired her stunning looks, her distinct style and her meticulous nature.

When I asked her about taking part in my girlfriend series, she replied with her habitual generosity and candour that it should be fun!

She has full days keeping up with her husband and children,  her horses and dogs and of course the guests to the  château where she and her husband Arnaud run guest rooms and a conference centre.    Over coffee one afternoon, I sat her down and asked her a few questions.

First of all Fred, thank you for letting us into your beautiful home and accepting this interview.   I know that most of the time you go for a very natural look in the way you dress and look, but I've also seen you very glamorous.  Which side is the real Fred?

F:  That's easy, the real Fred is a pair of jeans, riding boots, and some red nail varnish to make me look a bit more chic!  Every morning I pull on jeans and a jumper or t-shirt because it's the most practical way for me to dress for my busy days here,  but by the evening I love to be able to dress up to go out for dinner.  Sometimes I may even overdress, but that doesn't matter, it amuses my friends and there's no point in having a wardrobe full of dresses if I never use them!

You live in  a beautiful château, you are probably living many people's dream, what are your favourite moments? 

F:  I love going off for  a run in the mornings, with the dogs (Chips and LOL), it has to be the best way to start a day.  After that I go around the paddocks feeding the ponies and checking that everyone had a good night, that is what makes me the happiest and is a real luxury.  But maybe my biggest luxury is having the time to do so many different things, and time to see my friends and I have to admit that I spend a lot of time on the phone too!

Why did you decide to start breeding ponies?

F:  Oh dear, if you say I breed ponies, it makes me sound very professional and I am still learning every day!  I love to be with horses, I try to ride most days, we have the space here so I started this project three years ago.  My daughter Charlotte, who is 15 also rides, and competes, so it is an interest we can share, even though I know that at her age she has other priorities too!

Would you like to live in town, in Paris for example or are you really a country girl at heart?

F:  Before coming to Normandy I lived in Paris for 38 years.  I was born there and grew up there, I love Paris, I'm sure it's  the most beautiful city in the world.  But I don't regret our change of lifestyle in 2004.  Living in the country allows me to live differently with different centres of interest, I think I've become a real country girl.

Anyway Paris is only an hour away, close enough to go out to dinner or to the theatre, or to go on a  shopping spree, but maybe with 8 pairs of jeans in my wardrobe I don't need to go shopping that often (that bit is to please my husband, Arnaud!)

I know that you are very meticulous, but this is a large château to look after, how do you manage to have everything so impeccable?

F:  It's true that I hate things to be untidy.  I try to be well organised in running the property, the guest rooms, organising and hosting the seminars, but I'm very lucky to have the help of our super nanny Paulette.  She has been 'looking after' us for the past 15 years and she works miracles!

I like the property to run like clockwork, I try to have everything done in a timely manner.  I love to have a list of things to do, and if I have ticked everything off by the end of the day, then I'm happy.

The French are famous for their great cuisine, do you love to cook?

F:  To cook?  What does that mean?!  No I don't like cooking and I'm not that good in the kitchen.  Our family meals are very simple, and quick to put together.  Luckily our Paulette is a great cook, and she often prepares meals for us.  We love to entertain here, but even more I love to be invited to friends' homes for dinner.  I'm lucky to have friends who cook really well, and I'm always ready to  finish off a dish.  I have a very sweet tooth, in fact I just love good food.

I have to ask you Fred, what's your secret for looking so young.  You are very slim and you have fantastic skin, do you spend a lot of time and money taking care of yourself?

F:  Thank you!  Maybe I'm just lucky!  I have no expensive creams or beauty routine.   I do a lot of sport, I'm outdoors for hours each day, I walk long distances all over the property, the only place I sit still is in my car!  Some of my friends find me hyper-active, but that's just the way I like to be, always rushing around doing things.  I hate having nothing to do.  So tough luck if people don't think I look ladylike enough for a 45 year old woman, I like it when I'm called Mademoiselle instead of Madame!

Voilà girls - another French girl with serious style and beauty, just getting on with the simple things in life, even if she lives in a not so simple setting!

I hope you enjoyed the second in my French girlfriends, let me know if you'd like to meet some more.....