Meanderings of Our Authentic Life

French reclaimed terra cotta tiles create a French provincial ambiance that is as authentic as it's beautiful. Over 150 years old, we can thank the craftsmen who hand-molded and high fired their terra cotta tiles in wood burning kilns with exactitude for them to exist in all their splendor today.

Monet was not one to follow trends and designed his historic and magnificent house with colors going against the dark woods of the Victorian age.  His home became a phenomenon across time and the question asked is how can we view this in today's design world? Perhaps the colors are too saturated...but can there be a compromise between white subway tile and overzealous, over colored decorative tile for today's kitchens?

Questioning my love for Delft tiles brought me back to childhood, a visit to Amsterdam this past summer and a psychological perspective for the color blue. Historically undeniable, antique Delft tiles have graced rooms in the grandest châteaux to the most humble countryside farmhouses - not without it's 17th century charm of idyllic Amsterdam living during it's Golden Age. Rethink that ubiquitous white subway tile - and give art and history a chance in your home.

Returning home to his parent's country home in Provence this past summer, François and I spent time enjoying the lavender fields and miniature oak trees in the woods surrounding his parents home in Viens. Walking for hours in small villages around Provence was our "loisir de préférence", of course the market in Apt...and for me...trying to understand how to cut an irregular shaped cake.