a good phone call

Yesterday evening I received a phone call that made my heart beat just a little faster.  A lady had heard from  a friend  that an English woman (me!) might be interested in old house linen.....  Would I mind stopping by to take a look?.... Would I mind ?!!  Wild horses couldn't keep me away!

So this morning, after rather unceremoniously dumping the children outside their respective schools, "bye darling, have a good day", I put my foot down on the accelerator, and clutching the ladies instructions for finding the house, set off on my adventure.

It was a beautiful morning and a lovely drive, past sheep, well OK a sheep, through pretty sun-speckled woods until finally I found the address.

 

The lady was emptying the house ready for sale.  She has no emotional attachment to the property and zero interest in the contents - just kept encouraging me to help myself!

Antique dealers had already been in for furniture and books, most of the rooms in the house were completely empty.  Madame steered me into a small salon beside the kitchen, filled with boxes, crates and a few small tables and chairs.

To begin with I thought that all the boxes were full of linen, but in fact most of the stuff left was crockery and kitchen equipment, none of which I wanted.

The linen she had called me out for, was already neatly folded and  appropriately piled up in two large laundry baskets.  So I did my shopping and came away with the linen,  some embroidery revues, the two beautiful old baskets and a sweet chair.  The chair and the baskets are for me, but the linen will be going into the shop., I have started listing them here  The good thing is that her prices were low, so mine will  be too!

 I'm afraid I didn't take my camera inside,  but here are the pictures of the booty I brought back with me.

don't you love the detail on the chair?

Most of the bed linen is cotton sheets, with various monograms and different sizes.

 

These embroidery revues are great, showing how to create the  monograms. 

I think they'd look wonderful framed.

There are also a load of 'traversin' or bolster cases, like the embroidered one below.  I had forgotten how elegant a bolster can be.  I 've decided  to dig out my old bolsters and start using them again, especially in the guest cottage. They'll add a very French touch.  Some of the  bolster shams are plain, some finished with lace and ready to be tightened with a pretty ribbon at each end.

I hope you're enjoying beautiful sunshine, as we have here in Normandy, 

and that your weekend gets off to a great start!.

PS  A big thank you to everyone who popped over to Ella's blog yesterday, you are a great crowd of bloggers !!  Today she's continuing the Paris series with an account of her first Paris street interview!

A fine linen cupboard

This is a good time of year to put my linen cupboards straight.  I love good bed linen, I adore slipping between well-pressed sheets.  I have to iron my bed linen, or else my dreams get wrinkled.  No seriously, I have to iron my sheets, full stop.  My particular weakness is for antique french sheets, monogrammed or not.  They are heavy, smooth, cool in the summer and warm in winter.  Nothing can compare. 

Luckily for me, not many people have the patience or the equipment to deal with ironing these monster sheets, and I often find them in our local brocante and antique fairs.  I have such fun ferreting around these places, bargaining, chatting to the vendors. 

I'm really pretty lazy, but using beautiful linen sort of makes me a better person.  I know that, with just two minutes effort, it could look like this.

or this

Snow in summer

No, we are not having some crazy global warming weather phenomenon. I'm talking about snowy white bedlinen. I simply love classic, crisp, snowy white bedlinen! Give me any bedlinen as long as it is white.


I have had my white quilt/duvet cover for over eleven years now. Yes that's right, eleven years. And I still love it. It is pure white in a damask material, which gives it a bit of interest. I've found that buying classic, quality basics for my house in neutral colours always works best for me - timeless pieces that last for years that I can update with new accessories if I want. For this same reason I have white couches (with washable covers, of course).

The only problem with my quilt/duvet cover is that, after many washes, it has worn threadbare in the top right hand corner (the side where I sleep!).

So sadly, reluctantly, I went on a search for new quality bedlinen, in what else, but white. I searched high and low and found some lovely products, but all oh so expensive. I like to buy quality, but price is always a factor too. I like to buy well, but carefully. Then I stumbled on this fabulous company on the Internet.

This is a New Zealand company selling classic, high quality bedding products, for very reasonable prices. And available to Australians via the Internet!

Here's a sample of their wares

Below is the quilt/duvet cover I bought. It is made of thick matelasse cotton with a paisley floral design, for some textural interest.

Having never bought homewares off the Internet before, I was rather nervous, as I like to see and feel something before I buy (that's half the fun!), but nevertheless I took the plunge.

It was delivered promptly, in a lovely, free drawstring laundry bag. So far so good.

I took it out and noticed the quality is good, and the pattern is lovely.

And the end result was one happy me! Here you see it with my silver velvet cushions. Ok, I know you can hardly notice any difference to my last quilt cover, but hey, if you are on to a good thing, stick to it!

Snowy white perfection

Here it is with my raw silk pink cushions. That's the beauty of neutral bedlinen - you can add all sorts of accessories according to your mood. I will never get sick of this cover. Like my old one, I'm sure it will wear out through years of use.

So - new year, new bedlinen!