golden glamour..........inspires

Gilt, Crystal. Glamour. Glowing. Gorgeous.

~ Ralph Lauren ~ Paris ~

Something that inspires me to wrap a gift of opulent beauty.

This week............

Photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

top photo at Ralph Lauren Paris/bottom photo at Maison et Objet

a frou frou type of gift box

Hidden away in my photos.............something glossy and pretty that I almost forgot to show you.  

Pastel confections of tiered boxes. 

Swags, ribbons, bows, scrolls, and sculptural Marie Antoinette embellishments.

They may look like wedding cakes, but are actually boxes of petite to grand dimensions and

are made of quartz and resin in Milan, Italy.

Frothy and frou frou for sure....... and undeniably feminine, but you can't deny that as a gift box they   would make a memorable impression. 

Top Maison et Objet Photo by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Photo 2 and 3 by Vicki Archer

High Colour Alert.............at Maison et Objet

It seems like weeks ago that I walked the aisles of the Maison et Objet show in Paris. Well, actually it was but when I downloaded a second set of photos from my smaller camera yesterday I felt like I was there again and having fun with Fabulous Vicki from French Essence as I personally refer to her now. If Paris is where the trends and colour direction start as claimed in the world of interior design then I would say there is a High Colour Alert headed our way................

Don"t you just love these decal-embellished and die-cut acrylic chairs?

The shoes are pretty good too. 

Gorgeous vases of brilliant colour were everywhere. A clever way to add sleek doses of high colour to more neutral environments and complement fresh floral arrangements. Look at that orange and pink together. Tell me that wouldn't be fun to set a party table with those colours?

 

Makes me want to have a colour party soon.

This chartreuse wall answered a question I have had for some time. What single colour to paint the long office wall I face each day. What colour will stimulate creativity for me and work with all the colours I work with each day? Read my original post here on Chartreuse here and why it will be my perfect paint colour choice. Think I should add one of those acrylic chairs in orange? Or chartreuse?

More vases and they make me want to design a high-ceiling room with matte black walls and ornate trim and mouldings painted high gloss black. I would line up masses of these vases on the huge stone mantel and let the exuberant colour mix and pattern take the room away. I have no idea where that thought came from but I like the room that just popped into my head.

Peeking through a display window and note how that coral orange wall sets off the more subdued taupe tones and weathered wood frames. Now this is what I came to Paris to see............ inspiration.

 Maison et Objet photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Photo 6 by Vicki Archer - French Essence

Do they wear scrubs in Paris?

Our son is far enough along in med school now to answer most of my silly medical based questions. Such as "If I sit next to a lady on an overseas flight and she is non-stop coughing what are my chances of getting sick when I get home?" Actually, I don't need him to answer this one and I have the kleenex box to prove it. Don't you hate it when that happens? Today our son will put on a pair of scrubs and officially starts his most demanding rotation which will answer his big question "do I want to be a surgeon?" I think this is a question that has been over his head for three years now, maybe longer, and as he starts those long days and on-call hours, I wanted him to know I was thinking of him. 

I was also thinking of our son when I saw this most interesting booth at the Maison et Objet show in Paris during my first week. The entire booth was filled with a fascinating collection of medical objects, dimensional slices of the body, drawings, charts, and yes........eyeball sockets. This booth was a medical students dream. I better find the booth card for this one. Just not today. 

This is where the perfect gift got away from me. At the charming bookseller stalls along the River Seine.  I was hoping to find an old medical book or print for my son and found the perfect print of a 17th century surgery operatory but in one regrettable move at the beginning of my trip when the days where stretched ahead of me and I thought I had lots of time, I did the unthinkable, something a tourist should never do. I clipped it back on to the hanger and said to myself " I will think about it overnight and can come back later". And I did go back on my last day but never did find that perfect surgical print. But I will one day. Maybe we will go together. 






Photos by Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life

Paris...........perfection

I know..............isn't this the most lovely of walls? We have finished up at the Maison et Objet show and it is when looking at the photo images that I see what my eyes couldn't take in fast enough. Occasionally in life, you experience a perfect day, rarely a perfect week. This has been my perfect week. 

I have had the pleasure of absolutely perfect company, fabulous and engaging conversation, beautiful restaurants, delicious meals, perfect weather, visual beauty, and today I am going to catch my breath. Sort out my sleep, my nails, my hair, my photos, my stories to tell you in the weeks ahead, the people I want you to meet. 

Tomorrow is going to be another perfect Paris day.

Photos by Vicki Archer ~ Maison et Objet, Paris