broken chairs and pink chandeliers

bonjour mes amis! it was a long cold day but finally sunny day in paris as we trudged through vanves, clignancourt and the bastille once again. it was my client who noticed that i seem to gravitate toward broken down pieces who have seen lots of action and have a penchant for pink chandeliers.

chairs seem to have a particular life of their own, i can only imagine the action they’ve seen, sitting silently for ages in paris apartments through both wild soirees and  at desks while their owners wrote letters to lovers.

i know some of you share my passion for chairs so i just thought you’d enjoy some from this afternoon’s trek.

the abundance and variety is infinite, not to mention the condition, fabric, carvings and details.

i am dying for this 3 piece chaise and would love to bring it home.

there is so much to see in a day, my memory card is chock full of hundreds of lovely goodies but it’s getting late and tomorrow is sunday which means another full day of hunting. there’s no way a market can be happening and i can go someplace else. it’s like a drug.

every single stand and merchant has collected hundreds of pieces from the grand to the très petitte.

if you look  closely at this stand you’ll see the enormous feathers on the back wall. i have to wonder, where were they found and who was the grand dame who had them as her backdrop?

i was particularly fascinated by paintings and drawings today and would love to have a collection of my very own.

i guess blue eye shadow was all the rage in the 1780s

i don’t usually go for guys (being such a girly girl), but he seems to have a lot of personality

and her, well, i’m in just in love with her dog.

between all my longings i really am focusing on my clients and suggested this mirror for their entry since it’s a total steal at 450 euros. it’s in debate but the detail is fabulous.

they ended up with a few great purchases today including this antique japanese chest,

and they got this highly french polished table for between the two chairs in the salon. it’s all being delivered on monday so we’re about to see a big change.

we also picked up this table and lamp which claudia so graciously carried through the market. she said it was lighter than her purse so she sure didn’t mind.

and this little sweetie was delivered yesterday. madame has discovered a love of butcher’s wax so we spent yesterday cleaning the chandeliers with toothbrushes while she brought this and all the other pieces back to life.

this mirror is going in the little bathroom over the sink.

it may look like it’s going slow but truthfully we’ve gotten almost everything on the list and the pieces that are there all seem like they belong together. it’s a fun puzzle to figure out and madame client actually did the snoopy happy dance so that let me know we’re really getting there!

if you’ve been playing along you’ll recognize the new chairs and the mirror above. as soon as everything is in, the contractor is coming back to hang the mirrors and chandeliers, sconces and attend to little details.

and finally, these are the chandeliers in the kitchen that we scrubbed over and over yesterday, just waiting to be hung back in an apartment after being ripped out with such nonchalance by someone who preferred ikea. we hope their second life will be a long and happy one shining down on the new owners, their friends, parties and dinners. hopefully they’ll stay for a good long time. mostly cause our cuticles are broken from scrubbing and we want them to  live forever in a gorgeous apartment. it’s their birthright! ok, bonne nuit!