Provence is resplendent with home-wares….the côté sud kind….the grey/beige, linen, cotton look that has become a design style of the south. The natural hues work here and I think that is because the exteriors are powerful…the Provencal landscape is strong, beautiful and distinctive. Inside I seek calm away from this bold and arresting landscape.Glassware is the other decorative element that goes hand in hand with the côté sud look. I don’t think I thought much about glass before Provence but in the last twelve years I have become very fond of it in every shape and form. Very pretty glassware is sold in the local boutiques and there are many vintage pieces to be found in the weekly brocantes. Glassware dresses up our interiors….especially on table settings where the light bounces and plays with the surface.Glass is everywhere in our home….The entrance hall has four oversized glass cylinders that are always alight with candles in the evening…The sitting room has glass bell jars as a centrepiece on the coffee table…The dining room has a pair of glass vases that hold fruit from the orchard or mercury glass boules…. And as for Christmas…I think that is best described as glass fever…..I serve our summer salads in oversized glass bowls and we eat ice-cream from old champagne glasses….
It would seem that I have an obsession……xv
image – vicki archer
