Nissim de Camondo in Paris

Like i go every two months to Paris i was thinking to make some posts about my favourites places.
the "Musée Nissim de Camondo" is a fantastic place (were i go once a year :-) and big story that has a sad end.

Moïse de Camondo is a son of a Turkish bankersfamily that came to Paris in 1869
He opened a bank in Paris and lived the high life to get noticed, and they did that very well
The family became quickly very very popular, they bought land at the Parc Monceau (village of the rich and powerfull in Paris)
And Moïse builded a nice Hotel Particulier that is very very much inspired from the petit Trianon from Marie Antoinette. During his whole life he was always on the look for the nicest pieces of 18 century furniture.


The house is huge, it's like a dream, it feels like an 18th century house but it has every modern facility's.
The collection of furniture is enourmous, and the best is that this house was really a house that was lived in. Its not a reconstruction, its exactly how Moïse de Camondo left it. Because now come the sad part.
Moïse de Camondo had everything his hart wished, even two nice children, Nissim and Béatrice.
They had all a fantastic life traveling between their different properties. Moïse sold after a while his bank, so he didn't had to work anymore. He did everything so his house in Paris would be preserved like a museum even after his dead. But then dead came on to their door, Nissim got killed during the first world war, he was a pilot. Thats why the museum is called Musée Nissim de Camondo. Moïse never got over it, and closed himself out of society. The famous dinnerparty for the Paris high society were history.
He died in 1935, the last living person of that fantastic period was Béatrice. She was married with Leon Reinach. And they had two children Fanny and Bertrand. One thing i didn't told in the beginning is that the Camondo's where jewish, i suppose you can imagine the rest of the story. Her children and her husband died in 43 and Béatrice died in 45 far away of their beloved Paris property. She was the last of the Camondo's, the protectors of the french 18th century.
Luckely their work is still there to be admired.
So you have to visit this place not only for the nice interiors but also to pay them a tribut.

The Hallway

One of the staircaisses

the second hallway

Moïse bureau

A hallway

The English room

the silver and porcelain room, this is were Moïse took his dinner's alone

The fantastic dinnerroom




First floor landing

weekend after pill

If it excisted i would take it. After three days of fun back to reality.
Well i may not complain i suppose, but it's a bit hard to get on to track again.
Here is a shot of a corner of my bedroom. Because i wasn't at home sunday i couldn't buy my usual flowers at the sunday market so for the flower arragements, i got green branches from friends.

I can't live without green or flowers at my place. I hope you find it a nice picture.

Weekend at the Belgian Coast

Thursday, the last day of the week. For me anyway
The weekend begin's, will it be a quit one or a fun one???

Well the weather is allready grey when i look through my windows, but i don't care. I will make fun, that's the decision of the day.
One hour and one weekend bag later (Longchamp for ever :-)) i am at the coast in the appartment of a girlfriend.

It's a design disaster, but what do you expect, for free, for the whole weekend and propety of old people. We're here for the beach not the appartment.

Everyday on the beach, a fleamarket, drinks in the sun, and nice food between friends what do you need more for a nice weekend.



Saddly the weekend finished and it was midnight passed when i was back in my little appartment. Luckely i made a extra nice memory :-) and i bought a little souvenir like always.

The tradition is where ever i go, i always buy a little or a big object, by preferance an antique one.
The belgian coast weekend will be remembered by an louis XV copper chandelier.

My little salon

Another picture of my appartment taken a week or two ago.
In the middle of the photo you see one of my favourite pieces of furniture in the appartment.
Its a very simple mahogany chest of drawers, they are very lager inside :-)
Very practical for table cloths, silver ware etc.

And of course it would not be a favourite piece if there wasn't a big piece of marble on top of it.
I like a good piece of furniture with marble on top.
In this case it's not a marble but an sort of italian onyx.
Anyway i like it a lot, its super practical and the have fantastic copper keysystems inside.

Lazy me, in my new chair :-)

It's not that i am lazy, but i can't find the energy to fill my blog :-s

Yes, indeed its a stupid excuse so thats why i took all my courage and start to add some things.
This week i got a new chair delivered, and i am in heaven, it's a nice french regency armchair. I love it, sadly i had to move out of my little appartment my napoleon III armchair, but that found a new place in my room at the countryside. It fit's there also in the interior.

From now on i will make more pictures and share them with you, it's egoistic of me to keep everything for myself :-)
I hope you will enjoy this as much as i do.

Party at Vervoordt's castle

Oke, people will start to believe i am addicted to vervoordt. But i can't help it, his castle is just unbelievable. During the day and also during the night as you can see on the pictures.
The front exterior of 's-Gravewezel.



For the guy's and girl's who don't know Axel Vervoordt, well he's one of the most admired, indeed, even revered interior decorator/designers in the world.

The staff at Vervoordt's 's-Gravewezel, lay the buffet.

The buffet table.

The living room.

Another view of the living room (what a nice Fontana above the fireplace)

The Porcelain room. A fantastic room filled with porcelain from a ship that sunk hundred years ago full of porcelain.

The staircase leading to the first floor.

The Office.When Mr. Vervoordt bought the castle there was a pink formica bar in this room, can you believe that.

Looking into the Work room from the Office.

The fireplace in the library.

A reading room on the first floor. Sting slept already in this fantastic little room who has his own bathroom :-)

The Oriental Drawing room. That is nice minimalistic for me

The Billiard room.

Looking into the Billiard room.

A guest bedroom.

Another view of the guest bedroom.

And another ...

The guest bathroom.

So simple but just totally perfect :-)

The Work room. With mural paintings from the ateliers of Pieter Paul Rubbens

Guests start to fill the living room for dinner.

Dinner in full effect.

The Work room.

Looking into the office.

The Porcelain room during dinner. The white room full of that Ming dynasty porcelain, it's to die for.

The temporary bar, back on the ground floor.

Axel Vervoordt Timeless Interiors

Do i need to present him? I don't know if everybody know this guy, but frankly they should!

He's a visionairy person, i met him already in real, and he's just fascinating.
Axel is also one of my favourite's designer, Even if he don't like to be called like this.
And i think thats normal, he's much more than a designer.



Here is a link to one of his books, off course it's one that is next to my bed :-)

http://books.google.be/books?id=5dFe2o7qu58C&printsec=frontcover&dq=vervoordt&lr=&sig=ACfU3U3NhoZKoOz7MPikR9-NEjJsE6PXqw#PPP1,M2