Mystique in my French Attic

Before I begin this post let me thank everyone for your great comments/suggestions/advice 

on my last post "Is it Cozy or Cramped." 

So many amazing ideas. 

I wish you all could go to the cabin with me to help me move furniture!
Thanks so very much!

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Now on to this week's post "Mystique in my French Attic."

As I sit at my desk in a room I've always thought of as my tiny French attic,
it's raining and snowing outside.
Skies are painted Paris gray and gold leaves are tumbling down the street. 

But I'm snug and warm in my office,
a place that makes me think of the romance and allure of Paris.
Shall we rendezvous in my French attic?

Here's a wide shot of this tiny attic space.
You'll notice I've painted the bistro chair at my desk French blue.

The desk was six different primary colors when I bought it at an antique store. 

Looks completely different all white and pulls the room's French decor together. 

I love the warmth of a small lamp on my desk.
The shade is punched with tiny pinpricks reminding me of a magical starry night in Paris.

Note the wicker stand next to the red leather chair (estate sale bargain). 

The top holds decorating magazines and the bottom shelf stores large books.

I like to drape monogrammed linens over the front.
Don't you wonder who they were lovingly created for?

I found this pretty curvy gate in a neighborhood alley 

and it was the perfect size to frame my wicker flower stand.
I can imagine it on an ivy-draped French patio
where women were wooed and men were charmed.

Behind the red chair you'll notice the tall chippy post we rescued from a construction dumpster.

It adds age and patina to that French attic mood.

Tying my white sheers in the middle lets in light

and makes me imagine stepping outside onto an iron balcony
overlooking the rooftops of Paris.

I moved my vintage typewriter to the shelves above my desk, making room for a classic telephone.

This red mid-century modern cart complements the Paris apartment mood
and holds this enchanting vintage telephone.
 I wish it still worked.  I have to admit I like playing with the rotary dial!

You can't really see the top shelf in this room but it's lined with old black and white hat boxes. 

I wonder why we stopped wearing hats.
I loved the mystery behind the netting held with a black velvet bow.

It's fun to watch 1940s black and white movies to see how things have changed. 

Women were always dressed so beautifully and men looked so dashing in their fedoras!

It won't be long til the street below is dressed in white, a film noir just outside my window. 

So where are all the men in fedoras?

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What Goes Around Comes Around

Back in the days before Pinterest and Instagram, I used to tear pages from my favorite 

decorating magazines and file them away in notebooks, organizing them by room. 

Sometimes I'd save a magazine but often it was just a photo here and there that I wanted to keep.

It's amazing now when I look at pictures of things that caught my eye in the 1970s 

how much I still like them and have actually incorporated many of these looks into my home today.
My style hasn't changed that much.
Then there are other pictures that make me shake my head and say, "What was I thinking?" 

But who knew I liked French Country in 1982 when I saved this spread 

about author Peter Mayle's home in Provence? 

Funny how what goes around comes around. 

Guess I am an old French soul.

Take this 1984 cover of Country Living.
(note the price was only $1.95!)
See the shelf on the left side of the photo with the cups hanging under it?
I remember tearing this cover off and mailing it to my father with a sweet request: 

"I'd love to have a shelf like this, Dad. Do you think you could make one for me? Pretty please."

Well, not only did my Dad-who-could-make-anything create a perfect replica of this shelf 

but he made it so it could be disassembled easily (no nails, only hand-carved wedges) 

for shipping it off to me in a flat box.

I had used it in a previous home but when I moved to this little house
with so many doors and windows, I just didn't have room for it. 

So it was stored it in my attic for the last twenty years,
while all the time I was wishing I could find a space for it.

Then recently when Ron decided to sell his yard-sale desk in the guest room/office, 

I suddenly had a space for Dad's shelves.Yippee!

Like assembling a jigsaw puzzle when all the parts are the same color,
it took some time and concentration to put all the pieces and wedges back together.
We laid all the parts out on the floor, 

turning them this way and that until they all fit together beautifully. 

And, because the shelves were only seven inches deep, 

the shelving unit didn't take up much floor space in the guest room. Perfect!

I couldn't wait to style it with my vintage treasures and books.

So, thanks Dad! 

This beautiful piece of furniture means so much more to me
because you made it especially for me. 

I'm happy that it can finally take its place again in my home.

By the way, I still tear out pages in magazines of rooms I like and clip them into my old notebooks. And, yes, I do save pictures on Pinterest too. 

But there's just something about holding a picture in my hands and studying every detail. 

Old fashioned? Yes, I suppose so.
But I guess I'm just an old-fashioned girl.

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~~ The French Attic in Winter ~~

The second-floor space in my home isn't really an attic 
but it's always felt like one to me. 

I like to imagine it's one of those tiny Parisian attics like this one where the maid lived. 

I'm sure she'd never be able to afford it now!!

Today this room is my office where I write my blog, 

but if I had a hot plate, a mini-fridge and a daybed, I could live in this small space.

Filled with natural light from tall east-facing windows, 
the room continues to evolve as the scene outside changes. 
Today, as the temperature dips and a snowstorm blows down my street, 
the trees shiver and bare their bony limbs. 

Back inside, one of the recent changes we made in this room was cutting back the lower shelf 
above my refurbished desk by about three inches. 

I was always banging my head on the shelf every time I stood up. Merde!

(That's French for "Who put this stupid shelf here? Oh yeah, that would be me.") Ha!

The other changes are more temporary and easily changed when warm weather returns. 

I brought my vintage birdcage inside from the front porch for the winter.

I love the wiry lines of the cage backlit by the window.

I draped a lacy piano shawl over the stand for a soft look. 

Potted begonias and ferns that I wanted to winter-over inside 

have found a spot next to the sheer-draped windows, bringing a touch of spring to this room.

I've also moved this stained-glass window several times 

and think I've finally found a perfect home for it in front of the windows. 

It brings a bit of color to a mostly white room. 

A linen floral slipcover has been removed to show off the warm red leather 
of the deep club chair and ottoman. 

Here's the summer look . . . 

. . . and here's the winter version. 

I've tossed a white sheepskin over the back of the chair 
and added a chunky throw for a cozy feel. 

The white wicker planter has a new look filled with my favorite books 

and swathed with vintage linens. 

(Yes, it's the same stained-glass window. It moves around a lot.)

Some pretty white silk flowers in a copper flower bucket 

and an evocative Paris poster with my red heels add a sultry French mood to the room. 

This room may not be an attic in France but 

it feels cozy, a bit bohemian, and a perfect place to hibernate this winter.

Let it snow!

Only 58 days til Spring!!!

Linking with:  Shabby Fu Fu, Thoughts from Alice, Rustic & Refined, Dwellings, Karen's up on the Hill, Between Naps on the Porch, Cozy Little House, Coastal Charm, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, A Stroll Thru Life, Bella Rosa Antiques, Elizabeth and Co., Savvy Southern Style, Knick of Time, Maison de Pax, Ivy & Elephants, From my Front Porch to Yours, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, A Delightsome Life, The Vintage Nest, Adirondack Girl at Heart, Meadow Lake Road, Rooted in Thyme, Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Creative Country Mom, Shabby Art Boutique, My Romantic Home, The Cottage Market, DD's Cottage and Design, Our Southern Home