Design Traveler: Si from French By Design

Bonjour, I am Si from the FrenchByDesign blog. France is my home country, so it�s only natural that when sweet Christina asked me to guest post in her �Design Traveler� series, I chose a bed and breakfast located in Southern France. Ready? Pack your bags, we�re heading to the beautiful Cathare country, a few miles away form the gorgeous village of Carcassonne. 

Welcome to Camellas-Lloret, a culmination of a love affair with France and a desire by a couple, Annie and Colin, to share it.

Located in Montr�al, a picturesque village, 15 minutes away from the gorgeous village of Carcassonne, and on the route of St Jacques de Compostelle, Camellas-Lloret is an 18th century family home fully renovated with two main focuses in mind: authenticity and comfort. Annie and Colin host this Maison d'H�te [BnB] with brio: from morning croissants and caf� au lait, to evening drinks on the terrace, they will make everything they can to make you feel at home. Bon voyage!

All Photos Courtesy of Annie Moore and Camellas-Lloret �

Design Traveler: Andrea of The French Basketeer

Design Traveler Visits: Le Domaine de Chantilly, France
When thinking of Paris and ch�teaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau and perhaps the Loire Valley come to mind. But just a short distance from central Paris lies a gem of a ch�teau that has been carefully restored and offers some serious eye candy of paintings, decorative arts, gardens and equestrian displays.

The Domaine de Chantilly passed from different parts of the same family without ever being sold, from 1386 to 1897. The Ch�teau first opened to the public in 1898, less than a year after the death of the final owner, Henri d�Orleans, Duke of Aumale. As with the Louvre, the Ch�teau de Chantilly was improved, expanded, destroyed and rebuilt over the course of centuries. Its long history is complex, fascinating and, well�very French...

 
Chantilly was at its peak in the 17^th century, when Andr� Le N�tre (who would be later become the head gardener at Versailles) created a Grand Canal, water features and parterres. Chantilly came alive with grand balls and fireworks displays, visits from Louis XV and plays by Moli�re.

The fun came to a halt during the French Revolution, when the collections of the Ch�teau were seized and carted off to the Louvre and the Ch�teau served first as a prison, then was partially demolished. The Ch�teau regained its glory in the 19th century when Henri d'Orl�ans, the fifth son of King Louis-Philippe, inherited the property (and great wealth) in 1830 at the age of eight.

 
Today, a visit to the Domaine includes the Renaissance-style Ch�teau, with grand entry hall and hunt theme, intimate chapel, a generous painting gallery, library with over 1,300 manuscripts and 12,500 books, private apartments and gardens. The collections are presented today just as they were in the 19^th century as Henri d�Orleans had arranged them. The collection can be considered a mini-Louvre, with representation by many great French and Italian masters such as Raphael, Corot, Watteau, Poussin, Delacroix and Clouet.

The private apartments have been undergoing extensive renovation since 2005, and the details behind that work are interesting from a design standpoint. The largest expense of restoration work on the Ch�teau is gold leaf. Pure, 24 karat gold leaf is used, not paint, and there is a lot of it. The walls and relief are cleaned, to uncover the original colors, and not completely repainted. The paint is made especially for the Domaine with a base of what is called colle de peau, or animal glue, which holds well for centuries and has been used since ancient times.

The Domaine de Chantilly is a marvelous and carefully restored ch�teau with its collection of period decorative arts, paintings, book & manuscripts. In addition to being beautiful, it is also fascinating in that it is the personal collection of one man, Henri d�Orleans. If you have visited the Louvre or Versailles, you will love this Ch�teau, for the intimate portrait it paints of the tastes and life of one of France�s royal sons after the monarchy. In the spring and summer, the Domaine also presents a series of live horse shows and dressage demonstrations in the Grand Stables.

 
For more information on the Ch�teau de Chantilly, visit www.chateaudechantilly.com

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Andrea Drexelius is a devoted Francophile and divides her time between Laguna Beach and various destinations in France. In addition to importing classic French market baskets, she writes extensively on France. The first of her e-book series R�ve will focus on Paris (including Chantilly) and will be published imminently.  Information on R�ve and her blog can be found HERE.

Design Traveler: Shari from Little Blue Deer

Greetings!  Shari from Little Blue Deer here!  I am so honored to have been asked by one of my very favorite clients, Christina, to guest post while she is in fabulous Paree!  I know she'll be chic'ing it up all over the 7th Arrondissement, while we're here slogging away stateside, right?! 

One of the many perks to my full-time job as a design blogger and blog and website designer to the stars (that's you guys!) is that I get to travel frequently.  All I need to work is my laptop and a wireless card, so I have the freedom to go wherever I want to when I want to.  It's a privilege and a luxury, and I try to make the most of it.  

The place I travel to most frequently is New York City.  As a former Manhattanite, I love to see all of my friends, and some of my favorite and best clients are there, so it's always fun to hook up face to face.  Since I go there so often, I wanted to share some of my fave NY picks with you!  

Hotels:  

Even though I usually stay with friends, that doesn't mean that I don't pay attention to what is hot and happenin'!  You can't go wrong with The Standard.  As far as I'm concerned, this hotel is the gold "standard" (get it?!)  in downtown accommodations (is this "Dirty"?  You be the judge.)

And the High Line location has floor to ceiling windows in every room, plus it's the home of the Standard Grill.  

If downtown hipster makes you turn up your nose, you can't go wrong with The Carlyle.   One of the Upper East Side's finest, last time I was there they served up Bulgari Green Tea-flavored toiletries, and I will be the first to say that I am not above stuffing a few of those babies in my bag!  

So, we've got the sleeping down, but a girl's gotta eat, right?!  Seriously, take the trip out to Sunnyside, Queens, and load up on Salt and Fat. 

For a quick lunch, grab the most fabulous grilled cheese you will ever experience at Little Muenster on Stanton Street.  Don't forget the tomato soup!

You guys thought I was going to talk about shopping, right?  While I DO love to shop while I'm in NYC, an even more fabulous, and longer-lasting, treat, is a haircut by the "dancing hairdresser" of the Lower East Side, Misin Shin.  I found Misin quite by accident, and what an amazing discovery.  One of his trims lasts for months, and honestly, my hair has never looked so, well, finnnne.  Also, uh, he dances.  Check it out.

Finally, one of my NY must-haves is my iTunes NYC playlist.  Load up with tunes by M83, LCD Soundsystem, CHVRCHES and Santigold and you'll retain your hipster street cred even while rocking Tory Burch. 

And...that's all, darlings!  Can't wait to hear all about Christina's fabulous trip, see you guys in NYC!

greige: {pinterest guest pinner gallery}

 

 I know you love pinterest as much as I do.. so I have asked some of the best in the business to be our guests on the greige guest pinner gallery.  Stop by and see what we have been up to.