A Parisian Carriage House: An Extraordinary Before & After

Our life seems to have exploded at the moment, so while we wait for the dust to settle I thought I'd post a quick but cute story about a gorgeous Parisian carriage house that I spotted while browsing The New York Times' archives last month. Some of you may have already seen this, so my apologies if you have, but for those who haven't, it's worth a glance. If, like me, you've always wanted to have your own little Parisian pied-a-terre, a carriage house such as this could be the solution. More details of the project can be found here. {Photo credit: Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times.}

Designer: New York interior designer Kein Cross. Building: A two-storey, 18th-century courtyard house in Paris, a few steps from the Notre Dame. Dimensions: 19 feet wide by 6 feet deep.Design Challenges: The living room, minus the area taken up by a stairway, was less than 4 feet deep. The kitchen was so tiny there was no room to open the oven. Furthermore, the exterior featured a bricked-up window, and a facade that would have scared off most designers. Positive points: There was a courtyard. And the rent was half market rate. Budget:  $25,000.

Parisian carriage house exterior: Before

Parisian carriage house exterior: After

Design Solutions

Parisian carriage house kitchen: Before

Parisian carriage house kitchen: After

As the kitchen was too small for an oven, a two-burner cooktop was installed, along with a professional, Parisian-style coffeemaker, which was almost as big as a stove. 

Parisian carriage house living room: Before

Parisian carriage house living room: After

The living area was so small there wasn’t room for a couch or even a pair of chairs. So Mr. Cross created what he calls a pasha’s bed: the end of a modular sofa that cost about $1,000.

Parisian carriage house bedroom: Before

Parisian carriage house bedroom: After

The bedroom was another challenge. Hoping to evoke the romance of sleeping on a train, Mr. Cross bought a bunk bed with a futon that opened to a double bed on the bottom. But the futon was so uncomfortable he threw it out and bought a full-size mattress that doesn’t fold up. Even so, it is a cozy space, with the bottom of the upper berth covered in striped wallpaper and a cushion against the back wall.

Parisian carriage house bathroom: Before

Parisian carriage house bathroom: After

In the bathroom, he replaced the sink and mirror, regrouted the white tiles, installed $69 glass shower doors, added two rows of black tiles and striped the bathtub with black enamel paint.

The end result? A dream house in Paris.

Gardens, Fashion, Interiors & Glamour: A Botanical Extravaganza

Out of all the posts on this blog, one of the most popular continues to be Turning Over A New (Design) Leaf. (Found here). I'm constantly amazed that there are so many botanical devotees out there, but I'm also quietly thrilled to see it. It's wonderful to see that gardens, flowers and leaves are loved by so many. {Leaf image by Michel Tcherevkoff from his bestselling book, Shoe Fleur}

Lately I've become even more enamoured with the leaf motif, thanks to some beautiful new fabrics and wallpapers released by Sanderson and several other design houses. I've also noticed that the garden is creeping further and further into both fashion and the home, as our passion for horticulture grows. (Sorry for the terrible foliage pun.) Seeing Bunny Williams' extraordinary conservatory-style dining room at her Connecticut home last month made me realise that there is no end to what we can do with beautiful botanicals. Even Karl Lagerfeld seems to have been inspired by his love of gardens, judging by his Resort 2012 collection for Chanel that was staged among the topiaried glamour of Versailles last month.  {Leaf shoot photographed by Philip Newton for Red magazine.}

The Library may now have to take a brief break for a few days, while we move house. As I write this, I'm surrounded by 40 tea chests, most of them full of books, and tomorrow our computers will join the cardboard shuffle! In fact, the madness of life at the moment means I haven't been able to get on top of correspondence, and I sincerely apologise. I plan to get up early tomorrow and reply to everyone who's sent me the loveliest and most thoughtful notes these past 2 months. I've loved reading each and every one! {Image of beautiful topiary letterhead via Charlotte Moss' wonderful blog.}

Oh – and this post was actually designed by the 10 enormous pots sitting outside my study window that are awaiting their turn with the removalists tomorrow. We've already moved 40 huge urns / pots / planters and other assorted stoneware, and only have the lemon trees, lime trees and topiaries to go. But as tonight is the anniversary of the day RR and I first met, I'm going to try to put aside pots, posts, laptops, leaves and libraries in order to Seasol our relationship for a little while... (NB Thank goodness our pot collection doesn't look like the Orangerie at Versailles, above! Or – to paraphrase Roy Scheider in Jaws – "we'd need a bigger truck".)

In the meantime, here are some of the most enchanting leaf scenes I've seen over the past few years. I hope they inspire and delight you as much as they have inspired and delighted me.

Garden Grandeur
Karl Lagerfeld staged his Resort 2013 collection for Chanel at Versailles last month. In typical Chanel style, it was as grand as Versailles itself. Lagerfeld, a garden lover, also used parterres as the theme for his Chanel spring 2011 collection staged at Paris' Grand Palais in late 2010.

Sartorial Peas In A Pod (Or A Park)
Kristy Hume and Shalom Harlow photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue UK October 1994. {Via Vogue}

 Hedge Fun
Shalom Harlow photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue UK October 1994. {Via Vogue}

Let It Rain On My (Fashion) Parade
Another gorgeous, leaf-inspired shoot for Vogue. {Date unknown}

Avenue Of Elegance

The incredible genius of photographer Rodney Smith, a man who clearly loves gardens as much as he does photography. {Via Rodney Smith}

Greenhouse Glamour

A John Galliano design for Givenchy, photographed for Vogue December 1996. {Via Vogue}

Orchids And Antique Watering Cans

Photographed by Philip Newton for Red magazine.

A Haute Picnic In A Summer Park

 A Lacroix feast, photographed for Vogue 1998. {Via Vogue}

Frills and Spills

Leaf-inspired ballgowns, photographed for Vogue December 2006. {Via Vogue}

Skirting The Issue

A long, leaf-print skirt, perfect for the tropics. {Via Elle and Slim Paley}

Botanical Beauty

Sarah Jessica Parker in an acorn-topped headpiece designed by British milliner Philip Treacy at the premiere of Sex And The City: The Movie.

Leafy Loveliness

Leaf-print frock by Vera Wang.

Green With Envy 

Another leaf-print frock, this time by Badgley Mischka.

Pretty In A Palm Print

And another, by Kate Spade.

Just Add Water

Palm tree swimsuit, perfect for island hideaways. {Via Slim Paley}

Horticultural Heels And Handbags

Gorgeous for garden parties, although sadly, these aren't real. The illustrations are by Michel Tcherevkoff for his bestselling book, Shoe Fleur. {Via www.shoefleur.com}

Growth Spurt

Leaf design #1 by Manolo Blahnik

Ivy League

Leaf design #2 by Manolo Blahnik

Holly Heels

Leaf design #3 by Manolo Blahnik

Welly Whimsy

Oak leaf and acorn-print wellies by Hunter. 

Pine Delights

Pineapple fabric and wallpaper, by Studio Printworks.

Espalier Elegance

Espalier wallpaper, by Pierre Frey.

Topiary Lines

Linnaeus wallpaper, by Designers Guild.

Wandering In A Woodland Garden

Woodland Fern fabric from A Painter's Garden collection, by Sanderson.

I Couldn't Give A Fig (Well, Maybe A Few...)

Fig Leaf fabric, by Peter Dunham. {Via House Beautiful}

'A' For (A Great) Apron

The gorgeous, leaf-print gardening aprons worn by staff of this year's Trade Secrets Garden Fair in Connecticut. (And no, the public couldn't buy them. I asked. I wanted one too!)

A Sunday Afternoon

Leaf-print cushions and lettuce plates in the sunroom of Linden Hill Farm in Connecticut, open as part of the Trade Secrets Garden Fair Weekend.

A Garden On Fifth

A botanical display to showcase Carolina Herrera's collections in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. {Via Slim Paley}

Lettuce Have Some Lunch, Shall We? 

Potager-inspired plates designed by Anne Gordon {Via the fabulous Bumble at Home blog, at bumbleathome.blogspot.com.au}

Chic Kitchenalia

Leaf-inspired dinnerware and platters in the home of Sydney designer Cameron Kimber. {Via the fabulous Bumble at Home blog}

Sweet William

The Morris cafe at the V&A, designed by William Morris and inspired by being in a forest glade – complete with dappled light coming through the stained glass.

More William Morris-designed products: a leaf print and leaf wallpaper, at the V&A in London.

The Leaf As Lead

The lead image for the William Morris Exhibition at the V&A in the mid-nineties. The exhibition explored the relationship of Morris’ work with nature, so the symbol morphed one of his acanthus designs into a real leaf. (I went to this exhibition and adored it. I still have this leaf poster.)

Leaf Detail

And lastly, this was a vintage leaf poster from Belgium, bought from Izzi and Popo, which hung in our downstairs gardening hall. 

Goodbye to our beloved garden. We will miss you.