Friday, February 28, 2014

A BIG DEAL

Once considered old-fashioned and stodgy, antiques are now hip and en vogue. Designers are mixing antique furniture with modern and traditional interiors to create a look that appears as though it's evolved over time. They're often choosing antiques over mass produced furnishings, thanks to Karen Luisana and Amanda Lane Kinney, the visionaries behind the Antique and Design Center of High Point. Antiques aren't thought of as just brown wood anymore. They're actually très chic...and green, whether brown wood, painted or gilded. Karen and Amanda founded the Antique and Design Center of High Point in 2010 in an effort to create a central location for designers and buyers attending High Point Market to find beautiful, one of a kind pieces. TheHighBoy.com is taking their concept a step further. They're making the antiques we're so passionate about and fond of available to the masses. The HighBoy is a fabulous source for everyone, not just designers. 

Antique Louis XV Bureau Plat

As the newest competitor to online antiques and design mega-site 1stdibs, The HighBoy is not just "kind of a big deal," as it states on Instagram and Twitter, it is a BIG DEAL! Being included as an established dealer on their new website is also a BIG DEAL! We were thrilled to receive our dealer kit from them this week. 

The Highboy Dealer Kit

Lolo and I met The HighBoy founders, Douglas Scott and his wife, Olga Granda-Scott last fall in Round Top, Texas, during Antiques Week. When they asked us to be a part of their new venture, we were certain they were serious about refurbishing the antiques industry. According to Douglas in an article published by the Wall Street Journal this week, "he wants The HighBoy to be seen as 'a little raggedy, but sexy and fun and appeal to a broad audience.'" They want to change the way people think about antiques and art. They're bringing sexy back to the wonderful world of antiques! 

Art Deco Dining Table and Set of 6 Leather Chairs

The HighBoy's tagline, "Antiques simplified," is just that. The HighBoy is simplifying the process by finding vendors and dealers that are knowledgable and trusted, and offer a wide variety of curated antiques. Only established dealers are approved to sell on the site. There's no yard sale junk listed. Dealers sign an annual contract and every item is vetted by a committee before it's posted. The HighBoy's mission to make antiques more accessible to potential new consumers and easier for dealers to reach them is just what this business needs. The Wall Street Journal is betting on them, "The HighBoy is young, but you could say its odds of success get better every day: In the world of antiques, after all, value comes with age." Yep, The HighBoy is a BIG DEAL.

Country French Bassette
Antique French Empire Chest of Drawers
Pair of Louis XIV Fauteuils

Look for Lolo French Antiques et More on The Highboy next week! 

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

PREFERRED SEATING

Select your seat! Whether you prefer Art Deco leather club chairs with a wonderful aged patina or an Os de Mouton canapé, Lolo has found your preferred seating. Take a peek at a few of the fabulous seats that will be available in our shop soon.

Pair of Art Deco Leather Club Chairs
Nailhead Trim
Rolled Back

These classic club chairs exude luxury and character, evoking an era of gentlemen's clubs, when well-dressed men met and relaxed in a comfortable chair with a drink and perhaps a cigar. They are timeless, offering an instant sense of history. You can't go wrong with this seat selection!

Pair of Os de Mouton Armchairs with Set of 6 Dining Chairs
Pair of Os de Mouton Fauteuils
Side View of Os de Mouton Fauteuil with Nailhead Trim
Os de Mouton Canapé
Set of 6 Os de Mouton Dining Chairs
Sets of Os de Mouton Dining Chairs

 Os de Mouton chairs are the perfect dining chair. Solid frames and shapely legs give these chairs a classic, timeless appearance while graceful carvings, paired with upholstered backs and seats with nailhead trim, add elegance...and the Os de Mouton canapé would make a charming banquette. Everyone will prefer these seats at the dining table!

Set of 6 Louis XIII Rush Seat Chairs
Set of 6 Louis XV Rush Seat Chairs

These casual, country French chairs offer more traditional French styling. They work around the table and around the room. Select this seat for a variety of seating options.

Hand Carved Louis XIII Bench
Unusual Bench with Glass Front Cabinet Doors
Louis XIII Bench with Storage
Antique French Church Pew
Side View of Church pew

Benches like these are great for use in the foyer, mudroom, bedroom, kitchen and even dining room. They can be used in basically any room. With storage in cubbies and seats, they are ideal for hiding toys, linens and all kinds of clutter!

Louis XV Bergère à Oreilles (with Ears)
Crest Rail Detail
Leg Detail

These lovely bergère à oreilles (with ears) are both comfortable and decorative. They are a version of the wing chair with upholstered "wings" that shielded the face from fireplace heat or from draughts. Select them for their beautiful curved lines, carvings and upholstery. They also can be used in almost any room.

Pair of Leather Henri II Armchairs
Pair of Louis XIII Fauteuils
Pair of Carved Louis XVI Fauteuils

Any pair of these armchairs is a classic French chair. The tooled leather and graceful curves of the arms on the Henri II pair make a bold statement in a room. The upholstered seats of the Louis XIII and Louis XVI fauteuils make them a more comfortable choice, but all pairs are stately, classic French chairs.

Antique Prie-dieu

Prie-dieu are usually decorative but make great chairs for kids. Pull them up under the coffee table and they're great for playing games. They also make a good seat for kids to sit in while eating in front of the TV.

Lolo Found a Preferred Seat at Mont Saint-Michel!

Now sit back, relax and look over the seating. Be sure and "Let Lolo Know" when you've selected your seat!

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Sunday, February 23, 2014

LOLO TAKES A SIDE TRIP TO MONT SAINT-MICHEL: PART 2

I hope you're as thrilled as I am that Lolo took a little time off from his TRÈS busy schedule to have some fun and show us a bit of the beautiful area near his family home. Today we'll get a better look at the architecture that makes Mont Saint-Michel such a spectacular sight and the medieval village that grew up around the church.

Map of Mont Saint-Michel

Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to some of the fastest and highest tides in Europe, Mont-Saint-Michel is an almost circular (about 3,000 feet in circumference) granite outcrop rising 287 feet out of the sea in the Baie de Saint-Michel between Brittany and Normandy. 

Classic Facade of the Church Abbey Saint-Michel

Ramparts encircle the Mont Saint-Michel abbey and a three tiered unit of 13th century buildings known as La Merveille (Marvel). This terraced complex is one of the most remarkable examples of medieval architecture in the world. 

La Merveille 

 The local geography played a major role in the design of the Merveille. From the entrance of Mont Saint-Michel, a flight of steps leads up through the Belle Chaise into the Merveille. On the lowest floor is the Aumônerie, a large columned hall which was a dormitory for poor pilgrims. 

Pillar in One of the Lodging Rooms

The first floor consists of La Salle des Hôtes, a reception room for distinguished guests situated over the AumoPnerie, and the imposing Gothic Salle des Chevaliers (Knights' Hall, 1215-1220), later the working room of the Benedictine monks. 

La Salle des Chevaliers

The Salle des Chevaliers is one of Mont St-Michel's largest and most beautiful rooms. Built out of granite, the Salle des Chevaliers is very spacious with two oversized sized fireplaces. The large hoods of the fireplaces are supported by two long granite brackets which help the heat to radiate around the grand room. Next to the fireplaces are small windows which overlook the bay. The granite columns with their decorated tops and the cross vaulting of the ceiling make the Salle des Chevaliers an exceptional example of gothic Norman architecture.

Gothic Architecture
Granite Column
Cross Vaulting of the Ceiling

 On the second floor are the Refectory, later used as a dormitory (over the Salle des Hôtes), and the cloister, built from 1225-1228 (over the Knights' Hall), with 220 graceful columns in double alternating rows. The columns were originally made of limestone, but were later restored using puddingstone. The detail on the columns is incredible. Contrary to tradition, this cloister wasn't built at the center of the monastery and doesn't join together all the other buildings. Its function was purely spiritual, a place for the monks to meditate. Three arches of the cloister are open to the sea. A medieval garden is in the middle of the cloister with box trees in the center surrounded by thirteen Damascus roses. The squares of medicinal plants, aromatic herbs and flowers symbolize the daily needs of medieval monks. 

The Refectory
View From the Cloister
 Garden Seen From the Cloister 
Three Arches of the Cloister Open to the Sea

On the south side of the cloister is the abbey church, begun in 1020, with its Romanesque nave, a charming contrast to the 15th century Gothic architecture of the Merveille.

Interior of the Church Abbey Saint-Michel
Lolo Inside the Abbey
Abbey Architecture
Abbey 

From the abbey, the Escalier de Dentelle, a magnificent staircase supported on a buttress, leads up to an outside gallery that is 395 feet above the sea. The view is amazing.

What a Beautiful View!

Lolo visited the village that has been around since the Hundred Years' War on his way out. Mont Saint-Michel's only street, the Grande Rue, is lined with closely packed houses of the 15th and 16th centuries, now occupied by souvenir shops, snack bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels. Hope he remembered to bring me a souvenir!

The Grand Rue
15th and 16th Century Homes 
Former Homes (Now Restaurants, Shops, Hotels)

Mont Saint-Michel, rising out of the bay, is definitely something everyone should see! I hope Lolo takes more side trips like this and shows us more of the beautiful French countryside, don't you? It's back to the daily grind for him tomorrow.

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi