Category: Interior Design

Charlie McCormick's garden via belle vivir

Are you ready for the eclipse today…?  We aren’t since we couldn’t find one single special glasses available… Then I thought why not record the eclipse with my cellphone and look at the phenomenon on the screen while it’s happening…until I read somewhere that the rays can damage the phone?  So I gave up without hesitation.  Picture below, Charlie McCormick’s Garden.

Charlie McCormick's Garden dog looking out the gate with dahlias flowers belle vivir

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Who doesn’t love a good deal…? Especially those of very chic and glamorous items like these ones I have scored for you, below… From a Graphic Tray to a Tusk Table that can be either used as a dining table or an entry table..

belle vivir sale suggestions kelly behun studio square black and white tray

A very glamorous black and white striped tray by Kelly Behum Studio from $525 to $367 available here

Mepra 5pc Cutlery set in brass color from $156 to $99, Made in Italy available here.

Wooden Tusk dining table, it could also be used as a entry table from $1,998 to $1,599, here.

Leather Fur-Trim Gloves from $235 to $117 for those colder days ahead, here.

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Jean Louis Deniot's Chateau in Chantilly foyer via blle vivir blogWhen I saw Jean Louis Deniot‘s chateau in Chantilly, the first thought that came to mind was Neoclassical reference with a sense of drama and a dose of modern touches.  In Jean Louis Deniot’s hands, such modern touches are never boring or plain as it’s often found in modern design but instead are also rooted in the classics.  He usually emphasizes the classical details further by adding more molding and painting them in contrasting tones to make them more pronounced… Jean Louis Deniot’s Chateau in Chantilly is one of his first homes… when he purchased it, it was practically abandoned with only one bathroom and one bedroom.  The proximity to Paris was what interested him and prompted him to buy the country house.  Deniot redid everything converting the chateau in a seven-bedroom home over three floors.  ‘When you create something that is one hundred percent contemporary, it can feel quite soulless.  When you create something timeless, it’s because you don’t want it to feel out of fashion’  Deniot says.  A very similar statement to what I said when I posted about Interpreting Classic Style in Home Decor.  Of course, modern and contemporary design can also be inspired in the classics.

Jean Louis Deniot's Chateau in Chantilly living room via blle vivir blog

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Who hasn’t dreamed of owning a villa in the South of France… I know.  I have… Many. Times.  Or at least a modest home.  Frederik Fekkai’s vacation home in Provence is a paradise as he himself describes it to Architectural Digest where the home was featured last year.  The home, located in Aix-en-Provence where Fekkai was born and raised  is surrounded by olives trees, lavender bushes and cypress trees gracing the entrance… it also has an olive orchard on one side of the home.

Frederik Fekkai's vacation home in provence, via belle vivir

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Cece Barfield chic Gramercy Park Apartment was recently featured in House Beautiful magazine and One Kings Lane and no wonder why… Cece studied Interior Architecture at Pratt Institute and honed her chic style under the umbrella of Bunny Williams where she worked as Senior Designer… Cece also worked at Vogue Magazine.  Based in New York her style is traditional while at the same time very suitable for modern living… The apartment is located in one of the chicest neighborhood in Manhattan, Gramercy Park where neighbors share a charming private green space that only residents of the bordering blocks have keys.  The apartment is decorated with antiques and comfortable upholstered furniture, layered just enough as to not feel too cramped.  Here Cece lives with her husband and two daughters… “Working for Bunny is the equivalent of getting a Ph.D. in decorating,” Barfield Thompson said to House Beautiful.  A very stylish but livable home for a family of style…

cece barfield chic gramercy park apartment- living room belle vivir blog

The living room with soothing colors and antique pieces…

Cece Barfield chic gramercy park apartment belle vivir blog

A closer view of the herringbone floors…

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I understand when Betty Catroux says that all she likes to do in her home in Provence is ‘to drink wine and gaze at beauty’ because that’s must of what we did for the past two weeks during our vacation there… and there is little else I’d like to do more…  Elle Decor‘s current issue features Francois and Betty Catroux’s Provençal home, Les Ramades, in Lourmarin, in the Luberon region.  The 10 acres home has a stunning Provençal garden, swimming pool and tennis court… The couple goes to the property on the weekend to relax and break away from the daily routine…

Francois and Betty Catrux's Provencal home living room via belle vivir

Two of the many charming features are the vaulted ceilings and the unusual stone floor, which Francois had made of cement with embedded river stones. The courtyard garden is my favorite place in the house… I can only imagine the sublime experience of having my breakfast every day and drink my cafe con leche among the scent of fresh herb, cypress tree, and laurel… ah… revert…

Francois and Betty Catroux's Provençal, Betty Catroux, home Belle vivir blog

Another view of the living space with the fireplace in the background and a sculptural pendant that Catroux designed.  The costume stone floor seems to be used all throughout the home.  The floor that looks like a Moroccan rug is rather a cement floor with embedded river stones that Francois had custom made.

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