The home gets a bit better every year, as old fixtures give way to modern comforts, like hot water. Outside, the mill pond glistens, the choking vegetation removed, the mill races restored, even though there’s no mill. But… maybe it could be even better… This concept blocks access to the pond from the street, orContinue reading “Possibilities in the Vosges, France”
Tag Archives: France
Pétanque!
Italians play bocce. The French play Pétanque, with metal boules (balls), smaller than bocce balls so they fit well in your hand, making it easier to throw hard and blast your opponent’s balls out of the court. Or you can lob your boule with backspin so it lands to gently roll up and kiss the small,Continue reading “Pétanque!”
Paysages de France
A series of photos of the French countryside in the Parc naturel regional du Gâtinais
France | winter scenes
Where summer is lush and leafy, winter brings out the bones. Buildings reemerge behind trees, objects are stripped to their base elements, and weather can surprise, transforming everything it touches to an alternate version of itself. Winter’s design elements are likewise skeletal: frosty twigs, ice and stone, silhouettes and fog. There’s mystery too, beyond what’sContinue reading “France | winter scenes”
Landscape amenities, France
Landscape elements around France: walls, planters, benches, water features
Staring at the ground in France: paving surfaces
Although this wasn’t the main goal of our sabbatical in France, it was definitely part of our explorations. France has a lot of public spaces and often budgets that allow interesting work to be done using native stone and other materials. The goal was to find patterns and materials we can adapt to our designsContinue reading “Staring at the ground in France: paving surfaces”
French Country Inn, Castelnau sur l’Auvignon, Gers
In France, what we might call a bed & breakfast is a chambre d’hôtes. These places are more adventurous than hotels, since you typically interact with the host, stay in a place not originally designed to be a hotel, and typically eat dinner with other guests and the host. If there’s a dinner, it’s homeContinue reading “French Country Inn, Castelnau sur l’Auvignon, Gers”
French wrought iron, Annecy
Wrought iron in Annecy, France
Gatinais landscapes, France
Small villages perch atop low hills, surrounded by rolling fields of sunflowers, wheat and beets punctuated with blue flax and other crops. This is the Gatinais region, not too far south of Paris. Nestled among the fields are river valleys, punctuated by pine and heather forests growing in almost pure sand interspersed with rounded, weatheredContinue reading “Gatinais landscapes, France”
Mechoui – the big grill event
Summer in France is mechoui time. The word comes from North Africa, and used to mean an entire barbecued lamb cooked over coals on a spit, constantly basted with flavored butter until it develops a crispy exterior and is moist and tender. The technique works well for chicken, or anything else that’s grilled and bastedContinue reading “Mechoui – the big grill event”