The Enchantment of Fireplaces

   Chers Amis de l’Ecole du Bon Gout!,     With the fall air promising winter is on its way, I would like to address the timely subject of fireplaces and their multiple uses and connotations.  Ever since the invention of the fireplace some 900 years ago, it has had a very central role in indoor human life.   It is where your eyes gravitate to first when entering a room and this alone gives you an idea of its importance!

   The area surrounding it, and particularly  its top shelf becomes a veritable family “altar” displaying family portraits as well as decorative objects communicating taste, wealth and social standing. ( All modern gods???)  The worship of fire is almost as old as the human race, so this “altar function” is just a modern continuation!!   It is also where magical things take place: remember Santa Claus only comes down the chimney!!

   I have often thought that the hypnotic spell TV holds for many, has its power rooted in the ancestral memories of humans watching for centuries, the flickering fireplace, long into the night!  Note that the proportions of the TV screen and that of a fireplace hearth opening are quite similar as well as the original placement of the TV set, at its outset, down close to the floor!   All this can be pondered, but to me the most important reality of a fireplace chimney is that it is THE most powerful opportunity to enliven and energize a room and your life in it with Bon Gout!!

   The first photo shown here is of a wall of a client’s salon before and then 1 month after the installation of a splendid Louis XIV style mantle and assorted decorative items from Au Vieux Paris Antiques.  The room went from being a totally boring blank box to what you see in the second photo, a salon fit for a lux Parisian town house!

   Following these are four photographs showing totally "new" installations, all sourced from Au Vieux Paris, followed by photographs of some of the nine fireplace mantles and many other related objects which are now in stock and ready to come together in your own personal creative installation.

   Please call with your questions ( 337 332 2852) or come for a visit and see for yourself in person,  or visit our website at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

Merci cordialement,  Robert Smith

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes Amities,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

Our light experiences

     Chers Amis de L'Ecole du Bon Gout., Bonjour d'Uzes!! Here in Provence, ( Where many of the impressionist painters chose to live with good reason!! ) the sun light has a unique quality which infuses everything it touches with a special richness and liveliness which is best experienced in person to be appreciated! For me, candle light, in its own unique way, gently infuses a special richness and lively glow to all it touches by night. Additional "bon gout" rewards are achieved as this candle light is reflecting off of the bronze dore surfaces of the fixtures themselves or when this light is transmuted by the crystal prisms.

     Today, in our modern daily life, we have many diverse and largely unpleasant artificial lighting experiences. ( I. E. florescent lights, TV and computer screens, auto head lights,.........!) Because we have to function in our modern world with these "realities", I think the best antidote is to enjoy the benefits of candle light and soft artificial lighting when one is at home. These more "nourishing" forms of lighting, can be further enhanced if the source is a beautiful antique fixture, which in itself is a work of art and a joy to look at by day or by night!

     Last week, I visited one of my top favorite museums, Musse Vouland in Avignon, to see a special summer exhibition of antique chandeliers and candlesticks. In this very tasty exhibit, which dated from Gothic to late 19th century, the fixtures were presented hanging at eye level like works of art, which of course they certainly are!!

     Find attached here four photos capturing light in Provence by day and night, as well as six photos showing only some of the extensive stock of antique lighting fixtures now at Au Vieux Paris Antiques in Breaux Bridge. Treat yourself to a visit in person or visit our web site at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com , now updated with videos svp!!

Merci Cordialement, Robert E Smith

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes Amities,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

A true "Chateau Piece"!!

Chers Amis de L'Ecole du Bon Gout, today, I am happy to show you a splendid "new" item just in at Au Vieux Paris Antiques! It was originally an "over door" containing an oil painting, in a truly luxurious Regence/Louis XV "boiserie" interior in Nimes. However because the local craftsman, who carved and gold leafed it, had access to design drawings, c 1737, by the noted interior architect Nicolas Pineau or another architect of similar standing, it is much more Parisian than Provencal! 

Similar models can be seen in the Musee Carnavalet in Paris and the justly famous Wrightsman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC svp!! Because it came to me without its original oil painting, which also must have been of the best quality, I chose to create a mirror with this exceptional inframement which measures 43.5" H by 64.5" W. 

Although this piece is now the most sensational mirror in the shop at this moment, we do have a diverse selection of approximately 65 mirrors, some even bigger, many smaller, some even older and many younger!

Find following, photos of the "new" treasure, followed by two photos related to it, then a selection of a few of the many mirrors in stock. Our website has been updated with movie tours of the shop, that I moderate, so please visit it at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com svp!

Cordialement, Robert

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes Amities,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

6th Year "anniversaire"!!!

        Chers Students of "L'Ecole du Bon Gout" , Today marks the 6th year "anniversaire" of the start of this e mailed "School of Good Taste"!! We have studied many specific details of "good taste" through the last six years, but today I address the central reason for the importance of utilizing "Bon Gout" !

       As time goes on, I feel that "Bon Gout" is not an optional luxury but a true requisite in daily living! Today, most of us live in a world where the general daily outer experiences of auto or air transit, shopping ,etc. are not sensorial treats but are actually abusive if not even painful to our senses!! Having a tastefully furnished and comfortable home ( and office !!) is for me a therapeutic essential for a happy daily life.

       The best antidote to me, is to have one's own personal environments in both the home and work world, be enclaves of beauty and taste as well as positive cultural and esthetic enhancements.

       To celebrate this "anniversaire" and my very successful spring buying trip in "la belle France", I have included here a "panaché" of photos of some of the antiques I acquired on this trip. Any of these would certainly brighten up your environments with some requisite "Bon Gout" and enhance your personal daily life.

       If you would like to see even more, visit the web site which was just updated.

http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

or come by for a visit at the shop svp, 337 332 2852!!


Mes Amities,
Robert E. Smith, professor "L'Ecole du Bon Gout"

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes Amities,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com