Our Little Cherche-Midi Apartment

Old leather armchair, mid-century brass clad coffee table, 

zebra skin, vintage globe light, books galore!

B joined a Philippine business mission that spent 2 nights in Paris, and 1 night in Bordeaux. Of course I was going to tag along but it was going to be too short a trip for too long a flight, so I made a deal:  If you want a roommate, can we stay 3 more nights in Paris on the way home? (Although I wanted to say one-week more, I was being realistic and mindful of his business schedule).

 

Still, this was not going to be a quick fly-in, fly-out workaholic trip. That is being too disrespectful to Paris!

Black and white photographs on the walls

We decided on the trip rather late so I didn't know if I could still find a suitable apartment online for our 3 extra nights. And then I lucked out! An apartment right on Rue du Cherche-Midi, in the 6th, was available on the exact 3 nights we needed! Our host was squeezing us in between two other week-long bookings she had.

 Our host said almost all the furniture and tabletop decor came from fleamarkets and brocantes

It was a third floor walk-up, but I didn't think twice since we could use the exercise. It was also tiny at 36 m2, but compared to a hotel room in the same area, which is about 18m2, this was going to be luxurious.

Best of all, the price was right.

 Kartell Bourgie lamp and Philip Starck ghost chair

Rue du Cherche-Midi is an exciting street for me. There are the numerous home design stores,  brocante stores, the restaurant Chez Dumonet, the bakery Poilane, Le Bon Marche and Le Grand Epicerie down the road...you get the visual. (My heart is racing just typing this).

Bon Marche department store

Upon entering the tiny apartment, I was happy as  it was tastefully decorated with old flea market finds--wonderfully creative, homey, comfortable--just my type of place.  The one-bedroom apartment was expertly laid out and seemed much bigger than its actual 36m2.

It's always amazing to stay in 5-star luxurious hotels but I save that experience for places in Asia where one gets the most bang for the buck.  In Europe, luxurious hotels are so expensive that it hurts not only the pocketbook but also the conscience.

 iconic mid-century Nagel modular chrome candelabra 

(Ahem, notice the correct order of my adjectives--print these writing tips for you and your kids)

The cost of our three nights here was  going to be equivalent to one night at the  Sofitel Faubourg, where we were booked with the group (and I overheard that we were already given an extra special deal for those Sofitel nights!) I was pleased.

Then it just happened that it is decorated in a way that speaks directly to my soul?!  What a stroke of luck! I went from pleased to ecstatic.

It turns out that our host's boyfriend is a brocanteur and interior designer. No wonder the interior design is a deliberate mix of iconic finds. It is done up very confidently too--low key, practical and tasteful.  There were tons of French interior design magazines on the bookshelves of the apartment.

I was conflicted--should stay in and devour all the design magazines (it didn't stop raining all weekend)?  Or go out and rummage through the weekend brocantes? This is Paris... we have to go out--rain or rain!  In the end we did both.

This particular trip was filled with so many highlights for me; the people in the group were all wonderfully warm and gracious, and the events we attended were exceptionally special.

 I didn't take a photo of the opposite wall--she had lovely cookbooks and the pantry was stocked with high quality olive oil and balsamic, artisan sea salt.

Simple as it was, this well-located, tasteful little Cherche-Midi apartment was also a highlight for me and the perfect epilogue to a very memorable trip.

don't I look thrilled?

My Mirror is Here!!

Look what finally arrived today!

After years of desiring a mirror, and then another couple figuring out how to get one that I like...
Then many months of thinking whether to just order it or not.

Here is the progression of my mirror desire--here, here, here and here! (And it even started way before that first post)

If that's not obsession, here's one more last post before this glorious day!

From the time I've wanted a mirror to today, I probably could've given birth to four or five children. A big part of the satisfaction of having something worth owning and loving, is the waiting and the anticipation...

I think I've waited long enough and thought hard enough.

Here it is in my living room today!

B used to ask me, before we had our (what I'd like to call) stand-in headboard, "Don't you want a proper headboard?"  I used to answer "of course, but I haven't found one yet".

We've been married 13 years, and I still haven't found one I love. One thing at a time.

I think I'll stay home the whole day today and stare at my mirror.

I'm so Jealous!

Look at this blog post, and what this lady found on Craigs List!  OMG, what a find! And here I am, making all this effort to go to Betis to get my mirror done!

If hers looked like a "kingdom", mine looks a bit like barnacles. Okay, it is rococo, therefore the shell.  Here is what it looks like now. I visited it again a couple of weeks back to check on the finishing because once it's delivered, that's it!

Good thing I went to see it because I didn't like this "lahar" finish of theirs--which is white powder instead of dark stains in the crevices. Makes the mirror look new but dusty, instead of old and beat up.

But the wood carving is exquisite. Our carvers are very talented.

I'm excited to get it into the house...

Here is the proper finishing I'm having them duplicate. I think it will give the carving more emphasis instead of making them look like one big chunk.

Oh look, a nice small mirror.

Read that blogpost again, about the luckiest girl in the world who found her mirror on Craigs list. Waaaahhhhhh!

I doubt if her mirror is really from the 1890's, but who cares. It's not only the cost, but the thrill of finding it.  I love the way she describes how she pursues the mirror.

Oh well, I'm happy for her, and happy for myself too! I love how my mirror is coming along.

A Trip to JB Woodcraft in Betis, Pampanga

 

John of JB Woodcraft texted me as promised. "Your mirror is here already, do you want to check it before we do the finishing?"

Of course I have to see it. I even wanted to see them as they carved it. But this was good enough.

The NLEX highway from Manila to Pampanga is a joy to traverse. It's EDSA which is hell. But anyway there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow highway and I was excited.

We were welcomed into the unassuming compound of JB Woodcraft where they have two showrooms, a number of workshops, a guest house and guest pavilions in expansive grounds.

The workmanship of all the furniture on display is beautiful and elegant. If you use all these curly things together, it becomes too traditional for my taste.

 

Before going to the workshop to look at the mirror I ordered, I looked around with the hopes of finding a sample of a Victorian chair I've been wanting for a long time now. I'm picky with proportions and I didn't see any that I really liked.

And here is my mirror! Ack! It looks a bit too chunky!  I expected something finer, and more feminine.

Perhaps as fine as these easels here.

But as soon as they stood the mirror up, the proportions balanced out.

I like the details. They are expertly carved into the wood of the frame and not attached like embellishments. But it needs to look finer.

This mirror looks Italian rococo I tell John, I want it to look more French. And he agrees. "We'll send it back and tell them to make the carving deeper and finer."

My mirror is against the window on the far end

There's lots of furniture lying around so I go in search of a bergere that catches my eye.

 Look at that mirror, just leaning there...ready to be bought!

The workers are making pieces for well-known designers' shops in the city. Filipino woodwork is one of the world's best, pieces like these weren't available to us locals for many years unless you knew the owner of the factory. During the export boom, no one was even allowed to see the working area for fear of designs being copied and all that nasty stuff.

JB Woodcraft has been exporting since the early 80's. Their biggest clients used to come from the States, Europe and the Middle East. A lot of contracts come directly from big hotels and resorts.

And for companies like And So to Bed from the UK. Orders from the States have dropped dramatically, but orders from Europe are still coming in strong and so are those from the Middle East.

These pink bergeres are for a hotel in the Middle East. 

We are now walking through the air-conditioned showroom.  Wow, it was hot out there in the workshop!

My eyes are beginning to tire of all these curves and carvings. I must make sure my house doesn't end up looking like a curly showroom too.

This would look beautiful in contemporary fabric.
 

The other showroom is in this ancestral house, up these stairs.

Well hello again, this time in purple.  There is a shoe store chain in Paris that uses a statement chair similar to this in their shops. Look below how that Parisian store incorporates it into a contemporary hip setting.

Shoe shop in the 15th in Paris. The finishing makes the difference. 

This one is antiqued and not shiny gold like the ones in JB Woodcraft. 

Okay, back to the Philippines, and back to Pampanga.

JB Crafts is run by Alona, daughter of the original founders.  Her brothers have branched out into other companies that have different designs. More Than a Chair is run by a brother, and another sibling operates Triboa Bay Living. Each of these brands are also separate companies but offer the same high standard of workmanship.

JB Woodcraft also make contemporary furniture and other designs as specified by their clients.

My pictures are so bad because I only had my iPhone, but I want to show you the quality of their furniture and what they can make.

Out into the expansive garden we go.

They have a guest house here because some clients fly in to visit the factory and they don't like staying in a hotel in the city and traveling here by car. These clients are hosted on the premises.

Remember these sari-sari store jars? You don't see them anymore...because they are all here being used as candle holders!

This is the most massive sungca I've seen yet.

This fun treehouse is for the grandchildren who come over to play.

If my grandmother had a place like this, I'd move in with her.

Remember playground equipment that swings? This is a massive version too.

I was told that the rotary club holds events on the grounds, and they also host dinners prepared by Pampanga's famous chefs.

Back into the work area again, I try look around for other pieces of furniture I like. I take pictures of everything because years later I might discover a table base or a sofa among the junk just by scrutinizing my photos.

I can imagine this bedframe in my room! Nice!

Here is my mirror again. I get excited just passing in front of it. 

I looked over all their chair samples, but didn't find one I was looking for.

This below is ready to be delivered. I don't think these factories used to ever make just one piece of something from a client. But now, any business is business!

We've seen all we needed and we can head home, but we are offered Puto pao and pancit. How can we resist gracious Filipino hospitality.

While we were eating, I choose the finish of my mirror. 

 

I think I'll go with something gilt with white, to counter the heaviness of the wood. It's going to take a few more weeks, but I've waited for so long to even decide to order the mirror. What's a couple of more weeks?

I'll make another field trip to Pampanga with enough time to check out the roadside shops.

Here is the visual peg of the mirror being made.

I'm proud of the exquisite workmanship that comes out of the Philippines. It's too bad that exports to some countries have gone down. The only good thing about that is, selfish as it may sound, these companies are now giving equal attention to local clients. Everyone is happy.