Sunday, October 19, 2008

Paris Post: A Shop Visit @ Mis en Demeure

One afternoon in Paris, while wandering along the lovely shopping street rue du Bac (which becomes rue Saint Placide just south of The Bon Marche), I walked down a busy street called rue du Cherche-Midi.   It was here that I stumbled upon a large and lovely store called "Mis en Demeure" (I do not know this phrase in French, but it translates literally as "put in your residence").
I had a fun time exploring this large two-story shop and found lots of things I'd love to put in my residence.  The shop was somewhat set up in the style of a house with its various  rooms.  As you can plainly see, I took lots of pictures (and even sneaked a couple of myself in front of a tall gilded mirror!). What a tourist!

The shop featured traditional french country furniture and some contemporary oversized wares.  I can envision having a grand home in the french countryside and shopping here for a few nice reproduction pieces, like this lovely linen chaise:I admired these silver sconces but they were a little over my budget (over 500 euros but I can't recall the exact figure).  Note the striped wallpaper:
This bed was done up in rather rustic lavender linen, which I found to be very pretty indeed.

These magnificent clocks speak for themselves...breathtaking, especially as a pair!
A pretty classic fauteuil (an armchair with open arms...), which I coveted.  One day I will have one of these!  Note the delightful painted floors:
A killer and utterly classic sofa in a dashing regal purple...

I loved this classically beautiful, soft, luxe sofa but would eliminate some pillows.  Wouldn't this sofa be stunning in a bedroom?
An elegant tufted slipper-style chair (a soft upholstered low chair without arms, for putting on your slippers).  Perhaps this style of chair has a proper name...does anyone know?  The walls in this area were varying shades of oh-so-soft bunny rabbit grey.
Like the other rooms in the store, this room had gorgeous windows.  I'd live with bare floors and empty rooms to have windows like this:
Just a few more light fixtures (to make choosing impossible):
A shot of another painted, and perfectly well-worn, floor:
P.S.  My first "History of Furniture class" was excellent.  We had a 5-hour class and I wasn't bored for a second, as we covered the periods from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome all the way up through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.   We covered up to the 18th century Neoclassical period in the first class, and as you can imagine, it is all a big, wonderful blur!  I adored the lecture and will share some learnings with you soon.

12 comments:

  1. Sigh! To be in PAris right now! I would do anything! Beautiful pics! I love your style! I'm dreaming of owning that slipper chair that I don't know the proper name for either! I think you got it right with slipper chair! Have fun!!!
    Judith

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  2. Thank you for including the sweet photo of yourself. You certainly look pleased to be in the middle of such beautiful surroundings.

    Yay for a wonderfully interesting class! About time, I say!

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  3. You visited the most beautiful shops! Did you bring anything home with you?

    My husband tolerated the flea market but he would have put his foot down at all these home decor stores. I need to do a girls trip back there to see all the wonderful things you're sharing with us.

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  4. Lovely store, and I am sure Paris was great. My trip to Budapest was wonderful to, even if they are building and renovating the city most everywhere. It was very nice with the spas and the termal baths from 18th century. U can see some of my pics on my blog, more to come later.

    Much love Kat

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  5. What a lovely shop! When I have bought my villa in the country, I will pop down to Paris and shop like crazy.
    Or I just have to dream on...

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  6. Anonymous12:46 pm

    "Mis en demeure" is a legal term meaning to "put on notice". The term is used in french-speaking jurisdictions to refer to a formal summons or demand letter.

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  7. Anonymous8:37 pm

    I love the huge clocks and the painted floors in that shop! The chairs are quite delicate and I can't get past that as a lot of our furniture gets broken by our big kid, so steady and sturdy in this house!

    I have wood floors and geez, wouldn't it look lovely to have them painted?

    You're in the right place if you loved that course as much as it sounds! I like taking your tours on your blog but don't have the passion for it that you do!

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