There were three things my grandmother adored, libraries, castles, and trompe l'oeil. My grandmother bought herself a grand present when she turned 60. She bought herself a house. But this was not just any house. It was a splendid Manor House in the small town of Great Haseley in the suburbs of Oxford. The house was in great need of love and repair and La Jolie Grandmere was just the person to restore her to her former glory.
My grandfather had just been named head of MGM studios in London and the commute from Cannes was just a wee bit too long. A flat was purchased in London while my grandmother commenced her search for the perfect home in the British countryside. She was lucky as she did not look terribly long or hard for what would become her home for the next 30 or so years. She lovingly restored and renovated the old architecture. The master bedroom, just off of the kitchen, was the original kitchen. Her bed positioned squarely between two sunny windows, faced the front of the room where, on the large wall, she had painted the wonderful view of a castle as seen through her bedroom window. It was lovely and while it was sophisticated it had the whimsy and wonderment of childhood. Fifteen or so years later she would completely redo most of the rooms of her home and each would take on an enormously different feel.
The lovely scene with the castle was painted over. Forever gone. My grandmother would repaint her entire bedroom and bathroom in pink and orange sherbet. My grandfather was a saint as I am pretty certain that my husband would not ever allow me to paint my master bathroom pink and orange! My grandmother was a design perfectionist. The black television bothered her so much that she painted it the same pink as the walls! I did think it a bit much but the thought of it still makes me smile. I wish I had pictures of the wonderful wall with the castle and the pink painted television set!
Another room to get a total face-lift was the library, or the sitting room. It's where she entertained, where my grandparents took their tea and where we would just "hang out" when I came to visit. The shelves were all filled with books, and all the books were organized by color, of course... so when, let's say, you wanted to find The World According to Garp or War and Peace, you'd best know what color the book was you were looking for!
Now look to the wall behind the wicker settee. You will see more books. Look closely... very closely....
My grandfather had just been named head of MGM studios in London and the commute from Cannes was just a wee bit too long. A flat was purchased in London while my grandmother commenced her search for the perfect home in the British countryside. She was lucky as she did not look terribly long or hard for what would become her home for the next 30 or so years. She lovingly restored and renovated the old architecture. The master bedroom, just off of the kitchen, was the original kitchen. Her bed positioned squarely between two sunny windows, faced the front of the room where, on the large wall, she had painted the wonderful view of a castle as seen through her bedroom window. It was lovely and while it was sophisticated it had the whimsy and wonderment of childhood. Fifteen or so years later she would completely redo most of the rooms of her home and each would take on an enormously different feel.
The lovely scene with the castle was painted over. Forever gone. My grandmother would repaint her entire bedroom and bathroom in pink and orange sherbet. My grandfather was a saint as I am pretty certain that my husband would not ever allow me to paint my master bathroom pink and orange! My grandmother was a design perfectionist. The black television bothered her so much that she painted it the same pink as the walls! I did think it a bit much but the thought of it still makes me smile. I wish I had pictures of the wonderful wall with the castle and the pink painted television set!
Another room to get a total face-lift was the library, or the sitting room. It's where she entertained, where my grandparents took their tea and where we would just "hang out" when I came to visit. The shelves were all filled with books, and all the books were organized by color, of course... so when, let's say, you wanted to find The World According to Garp or War and Peace, you'd best know what color the book was you were looking for!
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
Now look to the wall behind the wicker settee. You will see more books. Look closely... very closely....
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
It's good, isn't it? It's clever... isn't it? How perfect for a book lover!
Did we trick you?
Did we trick you?
Look closely, can you tell it's all Trompe L'Oueil?
Those books on that wall,
They are not real at all!
Those books on that wall,
They are not real at all!
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
But the cleverest thing, in my opinion about the room where they did most of their entertaining, was the "hidden bar" which was cleverly tucked away in a closet!
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| Courtesy, ElleDecor |
The closet was not terribly deep, as you can see and was made to look deeper by the use of a full mirror. Shelves were added for glasses, assorted barware, liquor and mix-ins.
This was indeed a well stocked liquor cabinet!
This was indeed a well stocked liquor cabinet!
May I get you something?