Chic Provence Design Tour: Where We Stayed in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue!

As villas in the Provence countryside go, ours for the Chic Provence Design Tour at Easter could not have been more stunning. Originally a two hundred year old farm, it has been restored and updated to a stylish and chic country retreat, a perfect haven for the twelve of us to spend our time after shopping the brocantes and antiques markets, exploring the villages, and having our art and culinary lessons. In such a gorgeous setting, the wine flowed freely as guests, originally strangers, bonded and became good friends with a shared adventure. As we scurried around getting everything ready on the day all my guests arrived for the tour, I paused and took a few (iPhone, of course!) photos to share with you.

Next year, join us for this wonderful, life-changing (as one guest described it) experience in the South of France!

the view from one of the upstairs bedrooms

the classical rusted iron bust of an 18th C lady

adorns a corner of one of the bedrooms

I love this bed; so curvy and feminine against the

stark angularity of the stone and plaster

***

etched glass French doors leading to one

of the salons look like they might

have been from a Parisian setting in the

Art Nouveau era

lovely grey bookcase with beautiful carvings and

classical pieces in the main living room

a two-hundred year old piano next to a window framing

the climbing white roses just outside

linen upholstery on this Louis XV settee; Vicky Archer's latest book,

French Essence is on the coffee table!

stunning old candelabra sits

proudly on the piano

***

the view into the small cozy kitchen where

we took our typical French breakfast of bread and butter,

yogurt and fruit, maybe a croissant or two!

and coffee each morning

the cozy kitchen features a La Cornue stove, a

gorgeous butcher block and beautiful

tommettes (hexagonal tiles...remind one of "le hexe", or

France herself) on the floor

simple open shelving for items used daily in

the small kitchen

these kitchen towels are quite elegant in their surroundings!

***

the grey and taupe walls of the central stairway

with a splash of sunshine

another view towards the entry gate through the

central courtyard from an upstairs bedroom

a cozy child's bedroom has its own crystal

chandelier and huge bathroom

one of the very charming bedrooms; all have lots of

light from windows and gorgeous bathrooms

one of my favorite spots is this very charming

outdoor dining setting in an alcove, complete

with stunning crystal chandelier

***

Lisa Tomasi of Pear and Pepper Fine Catering and Events

hurries around getting things ready for our guests' arrival

Lisa and her partner (in business and in life), Steven McCormick, of

Pear and Pepper Fine Catering and Events

are putting last minute touches on the menus in

the large, professional chef's kitchen

the hutch holds a great supply of local jams (confitures)

as well as wines and cutlery

two views of the sixteen-seat dining table next to

the chef's kitchen; here we are preparing gift

baskets for our guests using gorgeous baskets

donated by Andrea of The French Basketeer!

this is the perfect setting for the wonderful

dinners, including a Provençal Easter dinner

prepared by Pear and Pepper Fine Catering and

Events for our group

some of the beautiful French Basketeer

baskets ready and waiting

for the arrival of our guests

another lovely view from an upstairs bedroom

***

Let me know if you are interested in joining us on

a Chic Provence Design Tour in the coming year

...and thanks for visiting! Kit

Exclusive Tour Elle Decor SF Showhouse November 12

If you are in the Bay Area, you already know about the sensational Elle Decor San Francisco Showhouse in St. Francis' Woods that opened Thursday evening, November 4, presented by the Junior League of San Francisco. The Showhouse is open until November 21.

If you would like to tour the home and do something good for our four-legged furry friends at the same time, don't miss this event on Friday, November 12, 2010 from 6:30 - 8:30!

Co-sponsored by The Urban Electric Co. with scrumptious catering by Pear & Pepper Fine Catering and Events, this tour will give you a "paws-only" chance to see up close the amazing work of today's most talented designers.

Don't miss this great opportunity! Get tickets here: PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful) and come join us Friday, November 12, for an exclusive viewing of the stunning Showhouse.

Grant K. Gibson's sketch for children's bedroom

bedroom sketch by Suzanne Tucker

The Showhouse at 300 St. Francis Boulevard

in San Francisco's St. Francis Woods

How a Pair of Snowboarding Caterers Finally Got Some Sleep!

If you are the hottest catering team in San Francisco, and also live in a huge, light-filled loft facing south on a hill, you might have a little trouble sleeping in after those late-night weddings and soirees! These hip urbanites love where they live with one tiny exception..the bright daylight streaming into their bedroom was waking them up wa-a-a-y too early after pulling very late nighters.

Simple Fit to the rescue! When I was offered a chance to try this amazingly chic and utterly "instant-install" shade, I thought of my clients Lisa Tomasi and Steven McCormick of Pear & Pepper Fine Catering & Events. They live in a shade-challenged sun-drenched gorgeous loft facing south.

The whole process could not have been simpler: I measured the inside of their window, placed my order, and received the shade two days later. It took longer walking up the vast stairway in their glorious loft than it actually took to install the shade! 30 seconds, tops! I was ecstatic at the "no problem" attitude of this shade, and Lisa and Steven are thrilled to have a place to hibernate while the sun shines brightly outside.

Lisa loves succulents and poufs! she scored these

turquoise poufs blocks away at the Alemany Flea Market!

and the lucky succulents enjoy lots of natural light

in this sun-drenched loft

no one could sleep in a bedroom with this brilliant light shining in!

literally 30 seconds later, a block out shade clicked into place;

strong, sturdy shades these are, and why not? they are

made right up in Sonoma county!

up in the stratosphere of their gorgeous, two level, huge

loft home!

a deck that gets southern exposure is the perfect place for

gardening and cookouts

descending the stairway view over their living room: yep, those are

snowboards mounted on the wall..can you tell these two know to the

minute how long it takes to get to Tahoe when the snow reports come in?

their mid-century sensibilities show in the

chic dining area Lisa and Steven have created to serve

lucky family and friends their amazing culinary creations

another adorable and lucky little

succulent!

the entryway table where keys and mail are kept; they

love flea market finds and quirky signs

just in case you missed the snowboard wall, here's another

view; I love the graphic quality the boards create

Steven cleverly used these spring loaded twisting

fixtures to hold snowboards snugly to the wall

Check out this cool video on YouTube. Use them in your home, your guest cottage, your office, in houses that are staged for sale, your rented apartment..they offer a chic and sensible solution. Without a screwdriver in sight, these shades click into place, and can go with you when you move.

***

{I have not been paid by Simple Fit to endorse their product;

I was provided with a shade and asked to review it.

I am giving a great review because these shades are terrific!}

You can friend Redi Shade Simple Fit on Facebook!

A Simple Summer Backyard Wedding à la Chic Provence

The appeal of the backyard wedding is stronger than ever. Brides today want to have their weddings in unique, personalized and..yes, less expensive settings. So, rather than rent the magnificent hotel ballroom or the caves at the local winery, if the backyard has some nice features and lends itself to a little sprucing up and has enough elbowroom for guests, it’s the perfect solution!

Pear & Pepper Fine Events and Catering asked me to designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting for an upcoming bride to see an example of just how charming and effective a backyard wedding can be. She was enchanted, P&P was happy, and she booked us both for the wedding!

For an early evening wedding, nothing is more glamorous than

flickering tea lights casting a soft glow on crystal,

silver, shimmering table linens and beautiful flowers. Don't you agree?

The centerpiece is a simple and elegant arrangement of vintage bottles

on a footed silver tray with a different flower stem in each..

very effective, charming and doesn't cost the earth!

Pear and Pepper designed this pitch perfect menu of delicious

Provencal dishes for the small wedding. The amazing

Provencal wines they chose will accompany each course. Yum!

Because the wedding is small..24 guests..we used gorgeous

dishes, glassware and napkins from Anthropologie for the settings.

The bride is thrilled to keep these lovely items for

her new home. And with the money she saves by having

a backyard wedding, she can keep all 24 settings, or give as

gifts to her bridal party. Notice the plums from the tree?

It's a signature of Chic Provence event design to use things from

nature whenever the opportunity presents itself!

A richness is created by the textures and jewel tones of the

patterned champagne and small tumblers (here used for tea lights), the

Ikat patterned napkins, the rich tones of the flowers and

the plum color of the ..well, plums from the tree!

This version is a little different; the cloches are placed on each plate and

the ikat napkins are hanging to show off their lovely design. We tried this

version earlier in the afternoon and decided the look just didn't work.

That's the fun part of design..it's always a process!

Although I designed the center table only, we Photoshopped in two more

tables to give the bride a realistic view of

three 48" square tables, each seating eight people.

We think we like the

"Louis Ghost" chairs (not sure). Do you?

A sheer lavender layer over old French linen tablecloths

is the perfect color for anchoring our scheme.

***

inspiration pieces: the rich purple votives,

and the bottle arrangement centerpieces we are designing

for a large fundraiser in the fall

***

some photos by Kit and the better ones by

Chris Golson Photography!