If you’ve been following the blog for some time, you will know all about my love of Paris. Up until several years before the pandemic, I travelled to Paris almost annually…and I miss it. I’m not going this year, and for sure not next year (the Olympics), so Paris is coming to me!
What started as a summer outdoor dining area, a place to avoid the wasps and mosquitos, has become my take on a Paris bistro…I’m calling it “Le Bar Glasserie“.
***Meghann's suggestion, and I loved it!
Decorating the interior was the easy part…I already had everything I needed.
***I’m not suggesting this is a replica of a real Paris bistro…it’s just a collection of decor pieces that remind me of the special moments I’ve experienced.
I have repurposed the island I had in my kitchen before I replaced it with the banquette. A fresh coat of paint and voila…it’s now the bar. The drawers are convenient for placements and napkins, and the cupboards hold candles and candleholders.
The gold and black mirror was tucked away in my closet. Before the bathroom renovation, it was the mirror over the sink.
***Sitting in one of Paris’s iconic green garden chairs around a pond in the Tuileries Gardens around 5 PM is one of my favourite pastimes…ever! It’s a beautiful place to relax after hours of walking the city streets, to read a book, or watch children play with toy sailboats, and see the world go by.
This hurricane candleholder and candle are past CC on Whyte finds. The glass is etched with “Cafe Brasserie Colbert”, as is the candle. The Le Grand Colbert restaurant is a must-go-to when in Paris. If you saw the movie “Somethings Gotta Give”, you will remember it as the location of the last scenes in the movie. Now if I could only cook the roast chicken half as well as the one on the menu, I would be all set!
This anduze pot from Provence is also from CC on Whyte...many years ago. It had been hidden in the garage holding the hedge clippers and leaf blower. Unfortunately, it was left outside over a winter long ago and had cracked badly. I was ready to dispose of it, but my mom meticulously glued it back together. Now it holds a palm…another nod to Le Grand Colbert.
The marble table, until recently, was my kitchen table. When I did the “table shuffle, (blog post, “The Snowball Effect, Jan. 26), I knew it would be perfect for this room. The bistro chairs I’ve had for several years.
This side table was originally a plant stand. I spray-painted the base black and topped it with a couple of old marble cutting boards that have been cluttering up the pantry. The ice bucket is an extra and has been collecting dust in the dining room, and the Glittery Eiffel Tower, a Christmas ornament, has always been central to my Eiffel Tower collection.
The “34” vase is actually an empty Diptyque candle holder of the combined scent (from the all the scented candles) in their boutique at 34 Blvd. St. Germain, in the 6th arrondissement, the area I stay when I’m in Paris.
This oversized canvas of the Eiffel Tower was a gift from my son on one of those milestone birthdays. It has always hung outside on the brick wall because it was too big for the inside. Now it hangs in “Le Bar Glasserie“, and who wouldn’t want a view of the Eiffel Tower when they’re having dinner?
I’m signing off for the summer. I’ll have the drone photos of the garden for the spring season soon, and I will share them with you, but truthfully, I’m all talked out. I can talk all day long about gardening, but I also know many of you are not gardeners, so I’ll give you a break!
Wishing you sunny days ahead, although the rain today is glorious…see you in September.
xox Judy❤️
Special thanks to those who contributed to my “Ode to Paris”
Jesse (Forge 53), who took my thoughts (and his) and designed the room. Adam (Forge 53), who built the structure. Meghann (Re-Plenish), who designed the computer program for the floor pattern. Xi (Re-Plenish), who started painting the floor and laid out the pattern so I could finish it.