interiors – Ann Street Studio

My Home in Provence

November 2, 2017November 2, 2017Posted in Lifestyle, ProvenceTagged apt, france, home, interiors, jamie beckj, jamiebeck, lifestyle, luberon, my home, myhome, pont julien, pontjulien, provence

Nestled among the vineyards of Provence I live in a humble apartment that was once part of a wealthy family’s mansion, located in a small valley town called Apt, in the heart of the Luberon. The town was built by the Romans and their fingerprints are still visible as part of everyday life. I live here, more than I’ve truly lived anywhere, and above all, I create with the life I’ve found:

(#MyEverydayProvenceObjects // #MyProvenceSelfPortraitSeries)

This approach to living caught the attention of Sophie Peyrard who interviewed me for Grazia. Being that it’s in French I have no idea what it says but that remains to be true for how I’ve been getting by in France this past year anyway. I talk about my home, the incredible hand painted plaster ceiling of a royal wedding crest I wake up under each morning. The evening fires that are a constant in the autumn and winter. My terrace and garden that is a daily reminder of the passage of time. Then, and perhaps most importantly, my Provencal kitchen and heart of life here. I told her about how much I love my bike rides on the Calavon bike trail away from cars and noise while leading you through vineyards, orchards, lavender fields and amazing historic sites such as Pont Julien, a 2,000 year old Roman bridge.

I shared with their readers some of my favorite spots I’ve discovered in the South of France for those of you who want to visit this place and taste the life of Provence. This includes Villa La Coste, Lac D’Esparron, La Chassagnette, La Bastide de Marie, my daily bakery Boulangerie au Pierrot Blanc, my favorite French antique shop La Maison D’Inés, and of course, the Saturday morning market of Apt.

Here are some of the images from the feature along with the interview for those of you lucky enough to read French for a small glimpse into #My_So_Called_French_Life…

Floral dress by fountain by Zimmerman with Loeffler Randall rope sandals // Blue dress in the vineyard by Vika Gazinskaya (no longer available) with hat by Jacquemus (no longer available) // Wrap dress in the kitchen by Christy Dawn // Dress on the terrace by TEIJA as well as the dress by the fireplace // Dress with bike in vineyard by SEA

Photographer Jamie Beck's home in Provence, in the South of France

Camellas-Lloret

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017Posted in TravelTagged accomadations, accomidations, b&b, bed & breakfast, bed and breakfast, bed&breakfast, bedandbreakfast, camellas lloret, camellaslloret, cathare, france, hotel, interiors, languedoc-roussillon, montréal, south of france, southoffrance, travel

Taking a break from Provence’s summer heat, I wanted some time to explore the Languedoc region in the South of France alongside the Pyrenees Mountains. What I found was a perfect little five bedroom- 18th-century bed and breakfast located in Cathare village of Montréal called Camellas-Lloret. It was so wonderful one day I didn’t even leave at all, just lounging in the communal living room, having rosé in the walled garden, soaking in my clawfoot tub, napping under a linen canopy. It was beautiful, peaceful, spacious… so wonderful I even stayed an extra night.

This place is the perfect example of French unrefined elegance. White washed walls, a play on textures, linen sofas, uneven terra-cotta tiles, antique sculptures next to modern photography art, stone fountains overgrown with ivy, with every door and window open letting the outside in and inside out. This place is the vision of Annie and Colin Moore, an American and a South African who fell in love on an overnight train from Paris to Rome and years later still dream and play with one another. Annie is one of those women who seems to be good at everything. Interior design, making clothing, creating the linen canopy you’ll see in photos below, making photographs, social media, and cooking. My god cooking. She was almost always in the kitchen. The “breakfast” part of bed and breakfast turned into two more home cooked meals for dinner and some plum cake for the road. I couldn’t help myself. Colin sent us off each day with a hand drawn map of the day’s destinations, to the perfect brewery, farm stand, castles, and restaurants. I felt so taken care of, it was hard to leave….

Camellaw-Lloret was featured in the new Wabi-Sabi Welcome book on organic beauty and entertaining with ease.

Camellas-Lloret is 5 bedroom, 18th-century bed and breakfast located in Cathare village of Montréal, Languedoc-Roussillon, France and offers environmentally-friendly accommodations near the historic city of Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi.

Le Bristol Hotel

September 23, 2015June 2, 2016Posted in TravelTagged 114 Faubourg, 114Faubourg, date, decor, Dining, europe, food, france, Getaway, hospitality, hotel, interior, interiors, le bristol, le bristol hotel, le bristol hotel paris, le bristol paris, lebristol, michelin, michelin star, paris, personal-favorite-hotel, travel, wanderlust, weekend getaway17 Comments

A child of the 90s I grew up with this fantasy of Paris I found in movies. The hotel suite that perfectly frames the Eiffel Tower in its windows, bouquets of flowers and white walled gardens where fluffy white cats come to lay in the sun before evenings in little chic black dresses and dinners where each course comes with a wine pairing. I found that glamorous Paris I so long ago dreamed about at Le Bristol Hotel.

I have been lucky enough to find myself in Paris quite often, and from time to time I can be caught in a daydream of what it would be like to live in this city that captures my soul. When I come to Paris I mostly just take my camera and walk. Walk for days. It never gets old to me, I never run out of things to photograph or be inspired by. Never, not even when I stayed in the most lovely apartment, have I desired to “stay in”… that is until I stayed at the Le Bristol. Already as I write this at Charles De Gaulle airport the memory of our suite feels more like lying half awake in a garden day dreaming all afternoon.

There is not a single detail of this hotel, which opened in 1925 in the heart of Paris’s fashion district, that isn’t wonderfully glamorous and idyllically French. From the dazzling array of chandeliers to the 18th century Toile de Jouy decor, it is unapologetically luxurious. It’s no wonder it attracts the stylish clientele to match from movie stars to entertainers and (to my pleasure) fashion photographers. It even had a place in Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris.

During World War II the Hotel Le Bristol became the American Embassy and even harbored a Jewish architect who would later design the stunning glass and wrought-iron elevator I described as what it must feel like to travel inside a diamond.

Of course they have a beautiful spa, wonderfully opulent bars and restaurants tucked here and there around the hotel corridors, but it was what we discovered on the 6th floor that really took our breath away. A pool designed in the likeness of a large sailboat as imagined by Professor Pinnau, who most notably designed the yachts for the Onassis family, wrapped in walls of windows with sweeping views of Paris and most beautifully, Sacre Coeur. While the pool was a popular spot in the afternoons, it was early in the morning alone with the sunrise I found it to be one of the most peaceful places in Paris.

But perhaps the most surprising feature of this incredible hotel are the two fluffy white cats that live amongst the marble and roses. There is nothing more charming than having afternoon tea in the hotel’s garden with company of a furry little friend at your feet.

90 years after her opening here she stands, a lovely as ever….

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La Residence

August 11, 2014February 8, 2016Posted in TravelTagged accomadations, decor, europe, france, hotel, interior design, interiors, la residence, lacoste, laresidence, privé, residence, savannah college of art and design, scad, the residence, travel8 Comments

Every corner you turn in this town has another surprise – streets strewn with bright purple lavender, stone archways glowing in the warm sunlight, vines creeping up the walls of ancient homes. But nowhere was there a better surprise than our incredible stay at SCAD‘s La Residence.

I knew from our previous trip with SCAD down to Savannah, GA that we were going to be put up in style, but La Residence is something else entirely. Encased in yellow-toned ancient Roman stone walls that glow in the damp early morning and cool peaceful evening, it beckons you inside to have a glass of wine by the courtyard pool, relax in the art-filled salon, until you finally lay your head to rest on the most beautiful, crisp, French linen sheets.

Lacoste is a fantasy come to life~ I never could believe my eyes each morning when I looked out my Provence pale blue shuttered window to a landscape of vineyards, cobble-stoned pathways, sunflower fields and lavender…and there’s nowhere better to stay and take it all in than La Residence, SCAD’s guest house for artists, parents, and acclaimed visitors…aren’t we so lucky…

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HUSK

May 16, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in TravelTagged charleston, charleston sc, comfort food, drink, food, food & drink, food and drink, food&drink, husk, interior, interiors, restaurant, south, south carolina, southcarolina, southern, southern food, theamericansouth, tibi6 Comments

Talk about COMFORT FOOD. Husk is Charleston’s perfect combination of modern day sophistication and down-home goodness. The second you walk onto the double-front porch and feel the coziness of being home, it’s like the whole experience has you wrapped in a cashmere blanket. The board on the foyer wall lists all the local farms, fishermen, growers who supply your food. It feels like one big Southern family here with roots that extend for generations. On the drink menu they serve things like cider made from the same recipe as its creation 100 years ago or house-made soda concoctions and old classics like Cheerwine Soda from Salisbury, NC, the old soft drink company still run by the same family. With a menu that changes twice daily, it’s so hard to decide what to order! As far as the classics on the menu go, I’m always a sucker for southern catfish, which is outstanding here, but word has it they are the best burger in town. So add it to your must-eats list and feel free to take me with you when you go….

PS- the pig ear lettuce wraps are DELICIOUS, the selection of Madeira wine is fantastic, and their pimento cheese crostini haunt my dreams…

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Cumberland Island

April 17, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in TravelTagged baptist church, boats, clawfoot bathtub, cocktails, cumberland, cumberland island, cumberlandisland, design, destination, eggs, first african baptist church, GA, georiga, getwaway, gogo, historic, horses, interior, interior design, interiors, island, jewelry, jfk jr, jfk jr wedding, jfk jr wedding chuch, JFK Jr's wedding reception, leisure, national seashore, nature, pamento cheese, picnic, romantic, southern, southern homes, southern hospitality, theamericansouth, travel, white house, wild horses7 Comments

I remember that photograph. It was instantly synonymous with American style, American royalty, and that fairytale wedding to Prince Charming. I never forgot that image, the beauty of the moment, the elegance and intimacy of the chosen venue. Such an interesting choice to make for such a famous last name. Fast forward nearly 18 years later, and I’m standing on the steps of the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island thinking about all the dreams that one photograph gave me as a child. I remember reading about how the guests stayed at the Greyfield Inn where the reception was held but as time passed these little details faded away, now those faded details are a part of my very personal memories. Cumberland became more than a dream, but a cherished experience.

The day is full of delight with the kind of youthful energy and discovery you find in a F. Scott Fitzgerald book. We went on hour long hikes, took bike rides to old cemeteries and rode around horses grazing beneath the ruins of the Dungeness mansion. We rode for hours down the seashore without ever seeing another person, finding seashells and chasing horses. One of the most charming rituals of the Inn is how they make their guests picnic baskets for lunch everyday you can take with you on your private adventures. On our second morning we rode with the house naturalist on a tour of the island where we visited that famous church, saw the house where President Jimmy Carter ate at multiple times, and discovered Plum Plantation which took my breath away. The history and nature, preservation and privateness is so far beyond anything I have ever experienced that I can only describe this stretch of land, twice the size of Manhattan, as magical.

If you ever need to find that corner of the world where things just are… where you can sit in the natural silence of the world alone and breathe in the sunlight, taste the salt of the sea and feel that life is just simply beautiful… then come to Cumberland Island. My heart will be there waiting for you.

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Greyfield Inn

April 16, 2014June 2, 2016Posted in TravelTagged clawfoot bathtub, cocktails, cumberland, cumberland island, cumberlandisland, design, destination, eggs, GA, georgia, georiga, getwaway, gogo, greyfield inn, greyfieldinn, historic, historic hotel, hotel, interior, interior design, interiors, island, jewelry, jfk jr, JFK Jr's wedding reception, john f kennedy jr, leisure, pamento cheese, personal-favorite-hotel, picnic, romantic, savannah, southern, southern homes, southern hospitality, theamericansouth, travel, vacation, white house17 Comments

While we were in California last year, spending the day photographing Lake Tahoe with our friends, Adam Katseff and his wife Amy, they told us about the Greyfield Inn…the magical place they stayed on their honeymoon, one that they knew I would LOVE (turned out to be a major understatement). I knew the name sounded familiar, and once they mentioned it was on Cumberland Island, it all came back to me…an enchanting wedding, an all-American couple…but more on that tomorrow…

After hearing about it, I knew I had to see Greyfield Inn for myself and with the trip down to visit SCAD, it was the perfect opportunity. I’m an extremely visual person and I’m sure it comes to no surprise to you that I quite often dream about the way life looked “back then”. I think walking through the doors of Greyfield will be as close as I will ever get to knowing the way it might have actually looked…

You leave your car on Amelia Island and Mitti, one of the four owners and inheritors of Greyfield and the Carnegie property, takes you by boat to Cumberland Island. Walking up from the dock the giant, old live oaks seem to wave at you with their long fingers of Spanish moss, diffusing the afternoon sun into a sparkling haze underneath their centuries-old canopy. Then, from behind the trees you catch the first glimpse of the four story white mansion they call Greyfield. Built in 1900 as a wedding gift to the Carnegie’s daughter, Margaret, this home is still furnished with many of the original pieces of that era but with exceptional modern day comforts (ummm…air-conditioning). As you walk up the grand staircase to the second floor porch lined with rocking chairs and swinging daybeds, you regret how short your stay is. Now, up in the canopy of live oaks, you overlook the property of white picketed fences and fields of grazing wild horses and as they offer you organic rosemary lemonade, if you’re like me, you think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

The house, grand as it is, still holds a very sweet intimacy. At night, sitting out by the waterway looking back on her, she stands a soft pearly white in the light of the moon, framed by Spanish moss draped trees with a golden light glowing out of every window, so warm and welcoming you would swear the evening was meant just for you. The charm extends to the inside with its historic clawfoot bathtubs, immaculate upkeep, full service bar, organic meals, classic high quality southern linens and L’Occitane toiletries. Every evening, men in dinner jackets and ladies in our sweet southern dresses snack on hors d’oeuvres and classic Southern cocktails (recipe for my favorite below!), awaiting a dinner bell around 7:30 where we all move into the formal dining room for that night’s seasonal meal which at times can harvest ingredients from Greyfield’s own impressive garden.

I know on busy New York days or times when I’m caught in a blizzard, I will think back on this memory and my soul will fill with the warmth of these sunny afternoons, lost on Cumberland Island in a dream called Greyfield…

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Meet Christina Graci

January 23, 2014January 27, 2014Posted in LifestyleTagged art, christina graci, christina graci art, christinagraci, decor, graci, graci interiors, graciinteriors, home, inspiring woman, inspiring women, inspiringwomen, interior design, interiors, new orleans, pandora, pandora essence collection, pandora jewelry, pandoraessencecollection, southern, southern hospitality7 Comments

Today is the last installment of our inspiring women series with Pandora Jewelry. From San Francisco with Courtney Klein to Charleston with Helen Rice, this has been an incredible experience for me, being personally inspired by these amazing women all over the country. I feel so lucky that our roles as women have become so open to any of our hearts’ desires and I have truly loved seeing what these women have chosen to do with their lives. What has been truly meaningful as well is to see the choices each of these women make within the Pandora Essence Collection, selecting charms that are chic and stylish, but also representative of their core tenets. Speaking to them about what beliefs they hold dear has told me so much about each woman, and I have treasured the friendships made through this lovely collection. And so here we are now with the beautiful Christina Graci…

Christina is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied in Baton Rouge and abroad in Denmark, worked for two major interior design firms in New York City, and then came back to New Orleans to live and work. What makes this the city to be in?

“New Orleans has a special place in my heart. The city is so rich in history and culture that you don’t find everywhere. It’s such a diverse city that is so full of life. The people here are also truly unique. Never a dull moment in this city to say the least!”

With her brother Chad, Christina runs Graci Interiors, an interior design firm known for having exquisite and classic tastes, mixing vintage and modern styles with ease. Christina said her passion for interior design showed before she even knew it could be a job: “Growing up my mother and I would re-decorate my bedroom yearly. We would get new draperies, bedding, change the wall color, etc. It was so much fun doing that with her that I guess it just grew on me. It wasn’t until I went off to college that I had the epiphany that I could do that for a living!”

Christina describes her personal style as “classic traditional but fresh and modern. Keeping with traditional interiors is important to me but bringing it into our era and how we live today makes is so interesting and fun.”

When I first heard this, I knew Christina and Pandora Jewelry made the perfect pair…classic jewelry with a fresh and modern perspective on the inspiring woman who wears it!

Christina on what her Pandora Essence Charms mean to her ~

“Hope and Confidence – I chose these because they primarily have a lot of meaning to me in reference to my career. I’ve had to have a lot of hope in my career along the way in order to keep moving forward. Also, in my career you’ve got to have confidence in yourself and in your work to be successful.
Health – A healthy lifestyle is so important to me. Being healthy is living life to the fullest for me – mind, body, and soul.
Loyalty, Stability, and Love – These all relate to me personally in my relationships with friends and family. I feel as though all three are interwoven. You can’t have one without the other and vice versa.“

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The Singular

January 13, 2014March 5, 2014Posted in TravelTagged accomodations, chile, design, frigorifico bories, hotel, Hotel Singular, interior, interior design, interiors, only in south america, onlyinsouthamerica, patagonia, puerto bories, singular, Singular hotel, south america, southamerica, The Singular, travel6 Comments

I love traveling the world, seeing all the places I dreamed of as a child. All my life I have wanted to adventure down to South America, but nothing could have prepared me for the natural beauty I was to find in Chile’s Patagonia. Way down south, the furthest I have ever been in the world, lies The Singular Patagonia, a stunning piece of living history.

Recently restored as a luxury hotel, the complex had previously been a cold storage plant built in the early twentieth century. The owners, descendants of the families who built their lives in this area, recognized the importance of the structure and made the decision to keep it alive. Now the Singular boasts not only one of the most sustainable five-star hotels in Chile, but also a private collection of machines, engines, and other artifacts from the original factory.

It was so fascinating to walk the grounds and see how the hotel and factory merged together, how wood and steel shipped over from England many years ago became something brand new. Come along on our tour, see what can be found #onlyinsouthamerica…

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The Aubrey Hotel

October 23, 2013October 24, 2013Posted in TravelTagged aubrey hotel, aubreyhotel, chile, decor, hotel, interior, interior design, interiordesign, interiors, jamie beck, jamiebeck, lan airlines, lanairlines, only in south america, onlyinsouthamerica, south america, southamerica, the aubrey hotel, travel9 Comments

Having just come off a plane from Paris, I had no idea what to expect from South American accommodations…As we know so well, hotel rooms in Europe are TINY (and this from a New Yorker! And you know we know small). By the time we got to Chile, all I knew was I wanted a good bed to rest in as we started our #onlyinsouthamerica grand tour of Chile.

At first I was so surprised – the exterior of The Aubrey Hotel looked German! How can this be? Come to find out from our Santiago Adventures tour guide, a couple of Australian men saved this building in Santiago from complete ruin from years of abandonment and turned it into one of the best boutique hotels I have ever experienced. The original facades, built in the 1920s for influential Chilean politicians and their families, have been kept and restored while the interiors have been brought up to modern times and modern luxury.

The fresh floral scent of the room, the spaciously designed but simple decor, the surprising pops of color in the art and textiles… it was a perfect balance. From hospitality to ambiance, location and room size – I never wanted to leave. Just scroll down to see what I mean…

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Safari Dreams

August 6, 2013June 2, 2016Posted in TravelTagged Africa, B&W, black and white, chalet, decor, film, honeymoon, interiors, lodge, Londolozi, personal-favorite-hotel, safari, south africa, southafrica, travel, varty camp17 Comments

Deep in the wilds of Africa we found our honeymoon chalet. Built over the riverine bush we would lie in bed at night and listen to the animal cries, feeling so small and so human in this world of other kings. When the sun was high on those lazy afternoons we’d hide out on the porch watching elephants herd by while we wrote in journals, sketched in notebooks, and read our novels. The romance of the mosquito net like a wedding veil fills my memory of this space in a soft glow of white light. Showers outside on the porch under monkeys swinging by and an endless view of the African vista felt so free and so naturally beautiful. Nights in long baths with old jazz playing its heartfelt tune take me back to this dreamy place, this homey place so rich in comfort so far from home.

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Bon Appetit!

April 9, 2013February 8, 2016Posted in TravelTagged ann street studio, annstreetstudio, drink, europe, food, france, interiors, paris, travel12 Comments

Every time we go to Paris I take a list of newly recommended places to try mixing them in with simple brasserie meals. As it turns out, a few weeks ago at a dinner for Lincoln Motor Co., I sat next to a lovely Frenchman and took great pleasure in picking his brain on must-eat places! I was not disappointed (I mean how could you be!). Here are a few of the highlights mixed in with foodie snapshots from our weekend in Paris….

New to the list was BON with their chic and modern interior and AMAZING Asian food. We basically went down the left side of the menu in an array of small plates because I couldn’t be tied down to one dish. Crazy highly recommended.

With an incredible view, and I’m quite sure this is embarrassingly famous, I had the best burger of my life. It was almost like I never knew what a burger could be until Cafe Marly.

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At Home With…

March 27, 2013April 26, 2013Posted in LifestyleTagged garden, home, home decor, interior design, interiors, lifestyle, local rose, natural beauty, organic, shiva, Shiva rose9 Comments

We walked into Shiva‘s home in California’s Santa Monica and the first thing The Local Rose did was offer us a latte made with raw Amish milk and introduced us to her cat Fig as we inquired about her personal style of vintage dressing. The air seemed to fill with warmth as she gave us a tour of her home where she lives with her two daughters, a roost of chickens, and bunnies. They actively grow their own produce, harvest eggs from their chickens, and make crafts out of what they find in nature. Shiva also posts her finds in terms of the best all-natural household products, medicines, and ways to de-stress.

I’m so inspired by her lifestyle – the true tranquility of walking through her garden and playing with the bunnies made me want to bring these elements home with me…but I don’t think my new landlord would be too keen if I set up a roost of chickens out back! Ah, someday the city mouse will scurry to the country. In the meantime, I’ll think of this…

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