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Text by Kim Ratcliff •
Styling by Kathy Curotto •
Photography by Rick Szczechowski
Provençal PERFECTION
Childhood summer trips to France helped Kaari develop
her flea-market finesse. She still travels to the South of France every
summer to handpick linens and quirky collectibles at markets, estate
sales, and secondhand brocantes. Tucked into a vintage '20s Hollywood
studio house where Cary Grant once cooled his jets between movie takes, the
shop is a general store of sorts, inspired by 19th-century French living.
Because of homey touches like the cozily-appointed living room
and heirloom roses growing in the back patio, "a lot of people ask if I
actually live here," Kaari says.
Kaari always includes a celebratory spot of red. "It draws the eye and
acts as a connecting link between rooms." Some French General fabrics are
reproductions of 19th-century florals and mattress ticking.
(a) But most,
including pillows with original 100-year-old patches, are vintage.
(b) Custom-embroidered napkins sport ticking-stripe ties. (c) Kaari
created the American flag beading kit, featuring vintage glass beads,
exclusively for HOME COMPANION readers. Find ordering information on French
General's website.
(d) Petite treats: red celluloid swans, fresh sweet peas, a
sequin embellished Eiffel Tower postcard, and lavender
heart
sachets create crisp vignettes on a shelf edged in pompom
trim.
(e) Red accents, from floral print pillows
to polka-dot tea cups, punch up the living room's back drop of soft,
natural colors. Club chairs are slipcovered in an old linen sheet, and the
curtains are made of vintage hemp. Red textiles became ubiquitous in
French households after a fade-resistant dye was perfected in the late 1700s.
(f) A memoir board encourages
the inner artiste; (g) an ironstone vase perched atop a metal washstand; (h) a
plant-pressing kit and sketchbooks.
Red, White & Sacre Blue page
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