TABLE SETTING: Salt and Pepper

I am very sorry to say that I have had to postpone Nan Mabon's Wednesday column

The London Bulletin 

until tomorrow; The pile of work on my desk on my return from my 2 1/2 week trip to Morocco has made very difficult to stay  on course; 

I apologize to you and to Nan; but please tune in tomorrow. 

A demain.

LA TABLE 
Sel et Poivre

Les Fêtes de Pâques- Easter weekend- has made me think of dinner parties and dinner tables; always one of the fun parts of hosting a dinner party for me,   is weighing my decor options: a very classic table, all white starched tablecloth and napkins, silver shakers and tall candles: my humble version of grand? or perhaps a more fun, vintage look with a different vintage salt and pepper shaker for each guest with multicolor linen placemats, and 40's Vallauris pottery candlesticks? more fun...or what of a more earthy table exotique with metal birds to hold the salt and pepper, ostrich eggs, ivory accessories on a sand and taupe damask tablecloth and smoky brown water glasses? Yes, that, I really like.
The deadline will push me to decide. As usual.

 les grands classiques: for a more formal table

les naturels: ivories and dark browns

les amusants: '50's shakers for each guest

 l'insolite: for a homesick Parisian?

images unknown via flickr, kevin colombu and JADHny

au revoir.

BACK ON HOME SOIL

DE RETOUR...

I am back from my Franco-Moroccan trip with a head full of memories and memory cards full of images. 

Urban vistas and rural beauty 

Saturated color and subtle hues  

Rustic simplicity and total refinement 

 Once a week, I will share with you what made me gasp, what made me smile, what made me wonder and what made my eyes open a little wider and my heart beat a little faster. In short what has made me so grateful for the opportunity to visit places that are truly breathtaking.

I will tell my tale with images I hope will successfully translate the magnificence of the sceneries and the fun of the discoveries. 

I will call it...

 Un thé au Sahara.

A bientot, mes amis.

PIGEON TOWERS

LES PIGEONNIERS

Pigeonniers are one of the most interesting rural architectures in France.

 Pigeon towers can be the most elegant of farm buildings, sometimes more appealing than the houses to which they belong. Originally they were used for breeding and raising pigeons for food to the owners. They were placed high off the ground so as to stop rats, foxes and other vermin from entering the building and eating the pigeon eggs. The room is typically made from stone or brick  and sometimes colombages (half timber)and has a steep tiled roof. 

A variant on this architecture - many farms, although not having a separate pigeonnier, will have a tower adjacent to an existing building which serves the same purpose.

Pigeonniers are found elsewhere in the world as shown in the images below. 

Egypt

Greece

images germanangue, balade egyptienne, euroantiquemarket, fine-art, la depeche, tarambados

au revoir.

T.G.I.F.: CARDBOARD ART

C'est vendredi 

today's fun find

LE CARTON

These modes of transportation are ENTIRELY made of cardboard; 

I find it mind boggling!

period.

no commentaire (on my part) needed.

images via funforever.net

alors, amusant?

au revoir.

METAL RIBBON LAMPS

LES LAMPES EN RUBAN METALLIQUE

They are very industrial looking but with a whimsical edge. The symbiosis between design and architecture is evident;

One part architecture: Frank Gerhy 

One part domestic: the basket

One part technology: the car radiator

one part vegetable: the artichoke

All poetry.

images vincent emery, marc sauze, moderndesign, bon appetit, 1818auctioneers

au revoir.

CLEAR LUCITE

LE PERPEX

you can decorate with it

you can write on it

you can sit on it

you can bend it

you can pull on it

you can sleep on it

you can see by it.

you can accessorize with it

you can dance to it

you can dance on it

This last piece, an engraved vintage Lucite paperweight, I share with you

to celebrate

le premier jour de Printemps!

the 1st. day of Spring!

images stylehive, mkinteriordesigninc, design at 639, eclecticala, tina tarnoff, revivalhomeandgarden, modcats, vis this is glamorous, photobucket, ebay

au revoir.