Paris Apartment: La Vie en Rose

… and the pursuit of the perfect pink.

We were surprised and delighted that our favorite blog, Cote de Texas, featured the Paris Apartment Kitchen in a recent series on kitchen redos. And we were tickled pink with how many people commented on the pink chairs! Sure enough, that touch of pink is our favorite little exclamation point in the apartment. But it came about in a somewhat circuitous manner, with the help of many of our gallerinas. Here’s the story of pink:

As art gallery owners, it’s perhaps not unexpected that many of our interior decorating decisions first start with the art. It so happens that back in October, Linda and I, having one of the most fun flea marketing days of our lives (and no, this one didn’t involve bumping in to Catherine Deneuve …), found some paintings that we fell in love with and each had to have. The one I selected, whose provenance is unknown, jumped out at me so fast that I knew it belonged in the Paris apartment, and I knew it would have a significant role. I had it framed by our favorite Atlanta framer and for six months, it sat in a plastic bag in the bottom of a closet while I waited for the apartment to be finished, for the dust to settle and for its final destiny to be revealed.

Meanwhile, on another wonderful flea market excursion, this time in the South of France, I found six exquisite chairs that I just had to have. I loved the simple Louis XVI lines, the sturdiness of the frame, the patina of the wood and especially, the nubbly linen upholstery. They were a little pricey but worth it, and I decided to plan the Paris apartment around them.

I was very excited about the purchase and couldn’t wait to show them to Sam when she accompanied me on a trip to Les Murets, where I had decided to store the chairs until the apartment was ready.

And then the inevitable happened. We fell in love with the chairs all over again, but this time decided they had to stay at Les Murets, instead of Paris. We divided them up and spread them around the house, and no matter where we put them, they looked perfect:

Either as a desk chair in the office …

As an occasional chair in a bedroom:

As a pair, flanking a console or in a corner of the living room.

Who knew I needed so many chairs? (I didn’t!) But that left me scrambling to find some similar chairs for Paris, with the knowledge that, having already scoured all the antique markets, I’d have very little choice. In a leap of faith, I decided to order six chairs sight unseen, off of a prominent French website. I crossed my fingers and hoped they would be decent, especially since returning furniture in France is no easy feat.

When the chairs finally arrived, I was surprisingly pleased with the shape and structure and the pretty muted color, called “marron glace,” which means iced chestnut.

But when I grouped them around the kitchen table, and filled in around them with furniture and accessories in my favorite shades of grey, gold, taupe and beige, the room went flat. I knew that a pop of color was missing, but I couldn’t figure out which color. And of course, that is when art (and Sam!) came to the rescue.

The answer jumped out at me right from the canvas of that magical painting: it had to be pink! I went to bed that night dreaming of pink and woke up early to visit every flea market and fabric store I could find, for the right shade of pink. Have you ever tried to buy pink? It is a very tough color! I spent two days desperately scouring the French countryside only to come up with fuchsia, raspberry, melon, cranberry, and just about every fruit color on the planet but no perfect peony pink. I even called a Parisian antique store where I’d remembered seeing a gorgeous swath of antique pink silk fabric draped over a curtain rod in the back room, to ask if it was still available, to which the woman replied, “Of course not! It’s not for sale. It’s an original Louis XVI fabric.” My bad. It’s just that I thought if it was in a store, it might actually be for sale …

And then Sam came to the rescue. Three thousand miles away, she knew exactly what I was looking for, and found it buried in the sale rack of the silk remnants in a fancy Atlanta fabric store. When she sent me the picture of the pink and cream checked silk taffeta, I started jumping up and down. Although she apologized for the quality of the picture, I instantly remembered this fabric from having seen it years ago and wishing at the time that I had a room for it. It was 2 a.m. her time, but I frantically starting texting her: This is it! Buy it! Go get it! Break in! I’ll bail you out of jail!! Please don’t come without it!!

As luck would have it, she returned to the fabric store in the morning (having slept very little, since I’d kept her up with my frantic texting) and wouldn’t you know that out of the thousands of one-of-a-kind remnants in the store, a very pregnant woman was holding that particular swath, probably trying to figure out if it was enough to do her nursery. Sam kept her cool, walked around a little, and when the woman put the fabric down (probably just for a second to go get a measuring tape), Sam grabbed it and ran upstairs to pay for it. She didn’t check her bag on the plane and arrived safely, with fabric, the very next day in Paris. And that’s when our fun really began!

With the help of a thin backed spoon, Sam carefully lined the backs of the chairs in the silk taffeta and we’ve been holding our breaths ever since to make sure that it stays. (If not, there is a very nice upholsterer down the street in Paris, who assures me that for $400 per chair, he will back it properly! Ouch.)

With just a little touch of it, only on the backs of chairs (oh, and with a few peonies thrown in too), the pink has made all the difference in the kitchen, which instantly went from blah to ta dah! Just to add another touch of it in the living room we found a little lumbar pillow for the sofa.

We bought it in Paris but brought it back to Atlanta for the monogram, whose initials will be explained in the next (and final) blog on the Paris apartment.

And then of course the final piece de resistance, is the touch of pink in the geraniums on the window boxes!

This blog is dedicated to Linda, who helped me find the fabulous first painting that set the tone for the pink; to Sam, who knew how to make it all come together, and who climbed mountains and crossed oceans to deliver the perfect pink; and to Meg, whose unerring support through this whole process has been so generous and fun, and who coined the perfect phrase for the pink chairs when she responded to my fit of insecurity and wrote, “… Love em! They’re so sassy!”

Merci mesdames. Ma vie est en rose, thanks to you.

Ta ta,

AH

PS We’ll be issuing the final before-and-after blog on the Paris apartment next week, and with that, a little news of our own. Don’t go away!

Getting Sammied (Yes, it’s a verb!)

If you’ve been following this little blog, no doubt you’ve heard us mention Sam Jones. Sam works with us here at the gallery, and, more importantly works with many of our clients in their home doing what she does best: re-creating rooms and living spaces.

We say that sort of jokingly, but it’s really true. Sam can be called a number of lovely things: Renaissance woman (she knows more about everything than anyone we know); art expert (just throw out an artist’s name, any name, and she’ll rattle off style, period, influences and what he/she liked for lunch.)

Sam adores abstract expressionist art and Mark Rothko is one of her faves (Mark Rothko, No.10, oil on canvas, 1950) (We’re sure she knows every little detail about this ground-breaking artist – we’ll have to test her…)

She’s a tastemaker (she’s on top of every design trend out there); reader of design and art blogs…

There’s not an issue she misses.

It’s always about the mix with Sam…Atlanta’s own dame of decor, Suzanne Kasler, is the inspiration here.

Veranda and John Saladino: Sam’s in heaven.

She’s also a connoisseur of coffee table books; a movie goer; floral designer extraordinaire; and, best of all, furniture re-arranger.

You see, one of Sam’s greatest gifts (and it truly is a gift) is that she can walk into a room, cast an eye over what you’ve got and before you can say hey presto, she’s painted the walls, moved the sofa, re-positioned the chairs, re-hung Aunt Mildred’s rather dull landscape, and maybe recovered a sad and dusty love seat from one of her nameless haunts with nubbly Belgian linen – et voila! You are the proud possessor of a stylish, elegant room – without breaking the bank.

 With Sam’s help, you can go from here….

 …to here.

Her first love is art, art and more art so there’s nothing that makes her happier than placing a painting first and then redesigning a space to make that art shine beautifully. (For a sampling of what Sam’s capable of, click here to a blog we recently did that was all about finding the perfect painting for that tricky spot over the mantel.)

She’s terribly humble, so she never photographs befores or afters (for which we are constantly nagging at her), but one of us was in dire need of “Sammification” before an intimate and swanky benefit dinner – and remembered to take photos.

So, Sammy to the rescue! The bedroom, which has good bones and nice lines, really just need a little fluffing and Sam took care of that in a flash.

Before…

Of course, a couple paintings from the gallery had to spend the night and what a difference they made.

After…

A new duvet and a work by Jeffrey Terreson add a pop of color to the serene space.

Bedroom corner with Melissa Payne Baker’s Harvest I

In the master bedroom foyer, you’re greeted by Angie Renfro’s You Still Feel Like Home.

The next area screaming for attention was in the library where Sam had the brilliant idea of unfolding the drop-leaf table, adding a substantial and gorgeous lamp and spontaneously arranging baskets and jugs underneath. The coup de grace: an ironware bowl filled with fresh green apples and some sprigs of boxwood. So simple and yet so good.

Before…

And after…

Svetlana Shalygina’s Conspiracy is the perfect fit above the artful table vignette Sam arranged.

A sweet arrangement of flowers in front of Liz Barber’s Water Rings IV.

This Huffington had also begged Sam to help with floral arrangements and centerpieces for the dinner – and of course, she did not disappoint. She knows I love anything green and from the garden, so she created a mini potager for each table. Portobello mushrooms, eggplants, asparagus and artichokes all starred front and center and looked just perfect, fresh and natural.

The dinner party spilled over into the kitchen and living rooms, which have also been “Sammified” in the past. Remember this blog about searching for the perfect thing for over the mantel?

Sam’s not just our secret weapon – she actually stays incredibly busy with design jobs and floral work and she’s got a huge cadre of fans and clients. But we adore her and appreciate her enthusiastic passion for art and her unwavering love for all things beautiful. In fact, there’s just nothing better than getting “Sammied,” which has now become a verb at the gallery.

And, Sam’s favorite haunts? She won’t even tell us because we’d probably take one look and keep driving. But she’s got an eye for the diamond in the rough and her vivid imagination (and a can of some yummy Farrow and Ball paint color) works absolute miracles.

Farrow and Ball Colors (French Blue, Cooking Apple Green and Blackened) all at http://www.farrow-ball.com/

We’ll keep hounding her for befores and afters so we can share them with you. And, if you’re local in Atlanta and need a little “Sammification” of your own, just let us know.

Ta Ta…

M.

For the Artful Makeover, Sam’s fees are billed as follows: The first hour of consultation is complimentary, and she charges $50 per hour after that. We actually can’t count the number of our clients who have told us it was the best money they ever spent! We hope to have some Artful Makeover before and after photos to share with you soon.