The Delorme Gardens in the South of France

One of my favorite was the hostas in the pots!

The house sits high on a hill and looks out on the valley for miles all around.

The all glass in front is where the updated kitchen was located — looks out on the valley!

The front of the old farmhouse — note the espalier trees!

From the garden side.

A pond that has its own ducks!

Another view of the espalier trees that cling to the side of the house.

A close up of the espalier tree.

They still have a small area for hanging wet clothes and linens outside — and I loved the colored clothes pins!

Along side the house in the back.

The Real Thing — A French Country Farmhouse

Located in the countryside around Belmont, France, the old farmhouse of the DeLorme’s has been a part of their lives for over 40 years now. We visited their wonderful home about 12 years ago, so it was exciting to go back. Some spaces were the same, but many have been redone.  All new bathrooms, a new kitchen with a glass front looking out over the valley and mature plantings have taken over.  It is clear that Ann Marie’s passion is gardening — and although it was a light rain when we were there, this did not hamper me from taking the garden tour! First, I’ll cover parts of the house.

We were greeted by a nine year old lab and a 9 month old weimaraner!!!! 

Only in France would your dogs also be on Iosis pillows!!!

One of the areas where you can really tell this is an old farmhouse is the fireplace in the living room.

Another view of the living room — modern leather chairs are anchored by lovely old bookcases and a small table and chairs.

One of about 4 or 5 armoires through out the house.

A corner working desk in the living room.

Another antique drop down desk in a corner of the living room.

Behind the fireplace, (which floated in the room) was a daybed looking out the picture window to the valley below. It was adorned with pillows in old Pierre Frey fabrics!

I think this was an old jade tree in a wonderful large pot planted in front of a large picture window.

Check back tomorrow for more on this wonderful house!

French Food is Fabulous!!!!!!

It almost became a joke — my constantly taking pictures of the food before we ate it. But, we were served up some mighty good looking food throughout our 5 day visit and I thought I’d share some of the highlights!

On our first day, about 2:00 in the afternoon, we all declared that we could not walk another step without food.  We ducked into a little bistro not far from the Lover’s Bridge and had the best brunch ever!

This was what I ordered — an egg over easy on a hamburger with pomme frites!

And if you want to get served fast — always order the special of the day — in this case is was the roasted chicken!

Thanks to JB, each of us got this lovely dessert plate with a small sampling of a number of wonderful desserts — including a pistachio macaron and a cup of Cappucino!

All we took a picture of from Sunday night’s dinner was the dessert — and it was fabulous! I guess we were just too tired from our first day in Paris!

Following our wonderful visit at Evelyne’s Studio, we went to Versaille for lunch!

Our first course was this polenta salad layered with roasted red peppers and a french cheese — scrumptious!

And dessert was a beautiful apple tart.

The outside of the restaurant at Versaille.

It is a converted barn of some sort — notice the original stone flooring, the hay bins on the side wall, the contemporary glass hanging lamps and in the distance, a marble statue!  I highly recommend it and riding bicycles around the lakes at Versaille after lunch.

Monday night we had a wine tasting before dinner at a small bistro in our neighborhood.  It was a lesson all about Burgundy (or was it Bordeaux?)! Note the small slices of salami and the radishes — delish!

We traveled to Guy and Ann Marie DeLorme’s house between Paris and Lyon for cocktail hour!!!! Will be posting pics of her wonderful house and his great wine cellar next.

This was my neighbor’s salad — I wish I had taken a picture of my foie gras, which was served with toasted spice bread and a pear sauce!!!!

Dessert after dinner!

Another great appetizer — this time on a dinner cruise on the Seine!

Veal medallions and fresh vegetables — with a presentation that the sauce really makes!

My dessert trio is a little melted as we went to the upper deck to take pictures! But it was great none the less!

A Real Wine Cellar —

We were all the guests at the home of Guy and Ann Marie DeLorme located in the countryside in the middle of France.  This is the first in a series of photos of their lovely country home.  Guy’s wine cellar needs no side points — it shows the age of the house and how wonderful it is!

Although I will comment on the entrance to the wine cellar –which is down a few steps off the first floor. Look at the wonderful black and white photos on a dusty rose wall!

A Few More Shots in the Studio!

I just received a couple of pics from Melissa who took some good shots while I was video taping at Evelyne’s studio.  And thought I should share them with you.

Mimetisme — new for 2012 — is printed with thirteen colors (the maximum) all of which can be seen on the strike off above.

Evelyne walked us through how she got her inspiration for this pattern — which first started with the orchids of Marcel Lecoufle (with the orange tiger lily like orchid being the driving force). She then visited the taxidermy shop of Deyrolle of Paris to look for further inspiration — resulting in her purchase of the butterflies shown in the picture.

Evelyne maintains thousands of pictures on her computer which she also uses for inspiration and coloration.

The tools of her trade — along with the butterflies!

A potential pattern of the future — with yarns shown for towels.

All materials are archived for long term reference. Evelyne was kind enough to get a few of the old books out of storage for us to peruse.

A final piece of inspiration!

Evelyne’s Lovely Home

A modern structure, Evelyne’s home combines a contemporary structure full of light with a classic collection that is French to its core!  I could move in tomorrow if she’d let me!

A classic Yves DeLorme patterned tablecloth is on the table — called Vetiver (no longer available) — doesn’t it add spark to the room?

All of Evelyne’s children have a musical bent and the youngest one plays the harp.

A classic french juxtaposition!

One view of the house from the outside.

This is a new addition that was just finished — with classic slipcovered furniture all around. Some in light weight linen, some in classic white sheeting.

I love this settee!

Makes me want to go out and buy an ottoman and slip cover it in linen — I think I could even sew this.

Another view of the new addition with two bedrooms down. What a treat to be at this beautiful house!

Yves DeLorme Designer Evelyne’s Studio and Gardens

Living in the city of Versaille, Evelyne Julienne keeps her studio on premises amid lovely gardens and trees. She hosted us at her home during our Paris visit and we learned how she is inspired to develop her annual collection of prints for Yves DeLorme. Evelyne has been the designer for Yves DeLorme for 29 years. Her studio is housed in a glass house amid her gardens — giving her constant light and inspiration!

Evelyne walked us through the production of a collection, from the found objects that she develops into patterns to the hand colored water colors that the engravers then transfer to screens to print the strike off cloth.  Each strike off, once approved, then is printed in different color combinations until the right coloring is found.  Monthly design meetings in Paris review the collection and approve the patterns and colorways as they progress.

It was interesting to learn that there are maximums involved — no more then 13 different colors (as the design will be translated to no more than 13 rollers that print the fabric) and there are maximum and minimum repeats to the pattern. In an era of computer aided design (CAD) the only thing Evelyne uses the computer for is storage of pictures of her inspirations and copies of her final designs.  The process is largely creative and labor intensive — which is one of the reasons why Yves DeLorme stands out amongst the crowd!!!!

As Evelyne discussed her process, I videotaped her — hopefully I’ll be able to edit it and post it to you tube for all to see.

Walking Evelyne’s garden, it was easy to see some of the many flowers that she has created patterns around in the past — including the Lenten Rose “Hellebores”.

I think I could move into the studio!

Every one has a memo board!!!!

This peony (peonia) was the inspiration for a pattern two years ago that is currently on my bed — see the picture below!

Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of Evelyne’s lovely house!

The Doors of France

Those of you who follow me on Pinterest know that I have a thing for doors!  And some of the best in the world are in France! On our first day in Paris we traversed the back streets of Paris as we wound our way around the Seine river. It was door heaven!!!! I’ll be pinning these on my board!

And one final pair of doors — these were on our Chateau de la Frediere at Golf de Ceron!!!

Sunday in Paris

I arrived full of zest — as I slept well on the plane. We took a mini tour around 10:00 and then at 2:00 we met up at the Hotel Madeline to do the planned tour with JB from Yves DeLorme.  I thought I’d seen everything in Paris — but the bridge for lovers was new to me.  Located on several bridges across the Seine, lovers lock a padlock on the bridge and then throw the key in the Seine to signify eternal love.

Although I noticed this on more than one bridge, this is a walking only bridge — so no danger of getting hit as you look around.  You can bring your own lock or there is usually someone selling them on the bridge!

For me — this is a definite must.  But in talking with one of my clients, it appears these bridges are in Russia and Italy also.  Need to get out more!

My Special Gift has Arrived!!!!!!

On Friday, a very special gift arrived from Yves DeLorme — as always exquisitely wrapped and begging to be opened!

Someone in Charlottesville has beautiful handwriting!

The Yves DeLorme family of companies has been around for over 165 years!

My package contained a travel pillow in the 2012 Balade pattern, a water proofed lined cosmetic bag in the same pattern, a notebook for the trip, a Parisian map and ……..

A name tag for the trip — along with a folder containing our ……..

Agenda!!!! First class as always!