Wealden Times | WT185 | July 2017 | Interiors supplement inside
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
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Above left: In keeping with the grand, rich feeling of the whole apartment, Karen’s cooking utensils and cutlery are kept in a<br />
collection of pressed glass jugs and vases Above right: The long hallway is lined on one side with round mirrors of assorted sizes<br />
But while sources may vary from seriously grand<br />
to canny bargains, one theme that weaves through all<br />
Karen’s treasures is her love for European style.<br />
The formerly mentioned wire angel is by French artist<br />
Marie Cristophe, bought on a trip to Paris. “She does a lot<br />
of work for the big fashion houses,” says Karen. “I saw the<br />
angel in a gallery and knew I had to have her in my home.”<br />
The industrial-style dining table at the windowend<br />
of the room is also French, inspired by a<br />
Paris trip, although not bought there.<br />
“It’s a French army folding table. I saw one at Merci in<br />
Paris, then searched on line until I found one. It weighs 80<br />
kilos! I don’t know how it was ever thought of as portable…”<br />
The chairs round it, though, are modern design classics:<br />
Danish designer Verner Panton’s cantilevered plastic chair,<br />
designed in 1960, bought by Karen from The Conran Shop.<br />
The stuffed wild boar head – called Boris – mounted<br />
over the table, was a find at the famous annual Braderie<br />
flea market in Lille. He was wearing a bowler on the day of<br />
our visit, but, says Karen “…he changes his hat often.”<br />
The beautiful bird cage on the sideboard was also<br />
from Lille: “I brought it back on Eurostar.”<br />
The large armoire at the back of the room is more<br />
genuine French Provincial – but sourced in the very<br />
British West Sussex town of Arundel, an hour and a half<br />
to the west of St Leonards, in an emporium specialising in<br />
antiques from across the Channel, called French Loft.<br />
Another, even bigger, armoire from there is one of<br />
the major features of Karen’s bedroom. It’s so huge, I<br />
wonder how they got it in there. Karen explains:<br />
“Large antique French furniture like this can be<br />
dismantled and put back together again, flat pack<br />
<br />
73 wealdentimes.co.uk