Our new shopping cart website will be up soon at www.meuse.ca. We will update to let you know as soon as it is complete next week...meanwhile, please visit our Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/MeuseBoutique
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Construction Is Ending!
Road construction is nearly complete on the avenue..as of Monday evening you won't have any problems getting to us! A brand new road, lots of parking, no dust and noise pollution if you are walking! Come see us soon and see all of the great new things in stock.
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See you soon!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Vintage Country Wedding Rentals
Meuse Boutique offers beautiful vintage decor that can be rented for Weddings and other events.
If you are dreaming of a Country or Vintage inspired wedding, you will love some of our special pieces that are available for rent. Please come in and see our complete collection...
Whether you would love a mass of vintage milk glass to display your flowers...
Or would love a chalkboard to share your special message...
We have it! And so much more...
More photos available on our facebook page in the photos section "Wedding Rentals".
Hope to see you soon!
Veerle
If you are dreaming of a Country or Vintage inspired wedding, you will love some of our special pieces that are available for rent. Please come in and see our complete collection...
Whether you would love a mass of vintage milk glass to display your flowers...
Or need a number of grand urns...
Or you envision a plethora of romantic birdcages suspended from trees or as table centrepieces...
We have it! And so much more...
More photos available on our facebook page in the photos section "Wedding Rentals".
Hope to see you soon!
Veerle
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A Paris Retreat in Vancouver
I recently completed a redecoration of a condo in Kitsilano.
The ocean view suite is in a thirty-seven year old building...not a huge space, and a typical layout. I really wanted to focus on the view and lifestyle of the owner. She had previously viewed her suite as a hotel room/office as she spent most of her time travelling for business and had homes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She is now retiring and was asking herself where she wanted to spend her time.
She happened to walk in to my shop after a three month absence to Vancouver and tells us she fell in love with the look and feel of our space. Within the week I was repainting all of her furniture to help transform her 'hotel' looking space into a soft, inviting oasis.
One whole wall of the suite was completely mirrored. I suggested we remove it and happily she agreed to that. I wanted to incorporate as much as I could of her existing interior, which is one of the things I specialize in when decorating. I love to coax an existing look into a light and airy retreat with echoes of a Parisian or French Country home, or a romantic all white interior, or a Belgian inspired mix of greys and creams and antiques mixed with ultra modern.
I realized that my diminutive client would appreciate understated elegance more than anything else but she had a need of more storage for her collection of binders and office materials. I painted all of her oversize dark wood pieces to help them 'disappear' into the room a bit as they really chopped up the room as they were.
You can especially see how that helped in the bedroom as she had a big nine drawer dresser with mirror, an armoire, 2 large bedside tables and a desk in thaty one room. You wouldn't have thought it was a lot by the time we were done...
I showed my client two looks for her room, to show her how easy it is to have a fresh new look when you tire of the old one by decorating this way...
She chose the floral canvas room to start and plans to switch over to the other look in the dark days of autumn and winter. The green and blue look was inspired by two framed photos she already had, so by painting her furniture and adding luxurious (and washable!) Brunelli bedding in cream we created a fresh palette for the colours to pop.
She got to keep her lovely settee and Queen Anne chair, and her glass topped marble table. I added the antique refurbished toile covered chairs and a sideboard and mirror to the formerly all-mirrored wall. I used her silver collection for display and added a few floral and decorative elements to complete the Parisian feel...a glass cloche, a weathered birdcage, an elegant chandelier and lovely tapestry cushions made in France. I think the end result reflects my client perfectly...elegant, classic and unpretentious, with a nod to Europe. She showed me her collection of watercolours done by a friend throughout his travels of France many decades ago. They were utterly charming. He drove her around in his little convertible along steep curvy roads to take in breathtaking views of countryside and sea, and it seemed appropriate to incorporate that good memory into her home.
My favourite thing in this suite is something I cannot take credit for...she already had these heavy louvered shutters that swing open...how French is that? It gave the room a certain charm and it all worked together beautifully.
The best part of this project? My client tells me she has had her home redecorated three times in the past, and this was the first time she not only liked it...she loves it! Since the project ended she has decided to make this home her permanent home, where she will spend most of her time. She has fallen in love with a space that she formerly thought of as her office. Now she wants to throw open her shutters and drink in the view she previously had not time to admire in her fast-paced and hard working life, and enjoy her space that perfectly reflects her.
Unfortunately I recently lost my cell phone that had all of the 'Before' pictures of the suite and I had not yet uploaded them to my laptop, would have loved to show you those.
She was also amazed at the price...I did not ask her to rid her home of everything and start anew, painting ALL of her furniture cost her about as much as replacing just ONE of the pieces she owned. A few additions and Voile! A new home...
I love helping clients re-invent their spaces. Please come in for a complimentary consultation on how you can have the space you dream about! My first love is vintage and light Gustavian and Belgian colours, but my visions are not limited by them...rather they are inspired by you and how you live your life!
Cheers
Veerle
The ocean view suite is in a thirty-seven year old building...not a huge space, and a typical layout. I really wanted to focus on the view and lifestyle of the owner. She had previously viewed her suite as a hotel room/office as she spent most of her time travelling for business and had homes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She is now retiring and was asking herself where she wanted to spend her time.
One whole wall of the suite was completely mirrored. I suggested we remove it and happily she agreed to that. I wanted to incorporate as much as I could of her existing interior, which is one of the things I specialize in when decorating. I love to coax an existing look into a light and airy retreat with echoes of a Parisian or French Country home, or a romantic all white interior, or a Belgian inspired mix of greys and creams and antiques mixed with ultra modern.
I realized that my diminutive client would appreciate understated elegance more than anything else but she had a need of more storage for her collection of binders and office materials. I painted all of her oversize dark wood pieces to help them 'disappear' into the room a bit as they really chopped up the room as they were.
You can especially see how that helped in the bedroom as she had a big nine drawer dresser with mirror, an armoire, 2 large bedside tables and a desk in thaty one room. You wouldn't have thought it was a lot by the time we were done...
I showed my client two looks for her room, to show her how easy it is to have a fresh new look when you tire of the old one by decorating this way...
She chose the floral canvas room to start and plans to switch over to the other look in the dark days of autumn and winter. The green and blue look was inspired by two framed photos she already had, so by painting her furniture and adding luxurious (and washable!) Brunelli bedding in cream we created a fresh palette for the colours to pop.
She got to keep her lovely settee and Queen Anne chair, and her glass topped marble table. I added the antique refurbished toile covered chairs and a sideboard and mirror to the formerly all-mirrored wall. I used her silver collection for display and added a few floral and decorative elements to complete the Parisian feel...a glass cloche, a weathered birdcage, an elegant chandelier and lovely tapestry cushions made in France. I think the end result reflects my client perfectly...elegant, classic and unpretentious, with a nod to Europe. She showed me her collection of watercolours done by a friend throughout his travels of France many decades ago. They were utterly charming. He drove her around in his little convertible along steep curvy roads to take in breathtaking views of countryside and sea, and it seemed appropriate to incorporate that good memory into her home.
My favourite thing in this suite is something I cannot take credit for...she already had these heavy louvered shutters that swing open...how French is that? It gave the room a certain charm and it all worked together beautifully.
The best part of this project? My client tells me she has had her home redecorated three times in the past, and this was the first time she not only liked it...she loves it! Since the project ended she has decided to make this home her permanent home, where she will spend most of her time. She has fallen in love with a space that she formerly thought of as her office. Now she wants to throw open her shutters and drink in the view she previously had not time to admire in her fast-paced and hard working life, and enjoy her space that perfectly reflects her.
Unfortunately I recently lost my cell phone that had all of the 'Before' pictures of the suite and I had not yet uploaded them to my laptop, would have loved to show you those.
She was also amazed at the price...I did not ask her to rid her home of everything and start anew, painting ALL of her furniture cost her about as much as replacing just ONE of the pieces she owned. A few additions and Voile! A new home...
I love helping clients re-invent their spaces. Please come in for a complimentary consultation on how you can have the space you dream about! My first love is vintage and light Gustavian and Belgian colours, but my visions are not limited by them...rather they are inspired by you and how you live your life!
Cheers
Veerle
Monday, February 18, 2013
Toile
I love toile!
Always have.
I know that I always will. It's such a classic.
I have sold so much of it over the years in my shops...
I have always regarded it as the ultimate enduring classic; after all...if the French have been okay decorating with it for nearly three hundred years, we should feel confident it won't become outdated in our own homes for a few decades yet...perhaps even into the next century!
Perhaps it is because our home is a little drafty, or maybe because it is irresistibly and comfortably soft (as it has been washed countless times). And perhaps, just maybe, it reminds him of me...
Mom and Toile intertwined forever-more in his mind...
I think it is a combination of all, as there are four or five quilts and throws in that cupboard to choose from...but it is always the toile he pulls out.
I really got to indulge my love for toile at a museum in Jouy-en-Josas, near Versailles, France The museum is located in an 18th century chateau near the original site of the factory. The term toile de jouy comes from the place it was made - Jouy-en-Josas. It is now commonly used to loosely describe a style of toile but originally meant that the toile came from that French factory.
Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf, an engraver and colourist from Germany, established the factory for printed cottons in Jouy-en-Josas in 1760 and eventually employed up to fourteen hundred people in the area. Due to the very high quality of the cotton and its printing, the factory and area become famous for its toile. It began with block printing and soon after adapted copper plates and then copper rollers. I loved seeing all of the exhibits of old blocks, fabric swatches and rollers; I was quite captivated...I spent the whole day in that place...longer than I spent in the Versailles palace!
The painting below is from the museum's website and depicts the factory in 1807.
It was fascinating to me to see how the process worked. The rollers were gigantic! Some of them were 6 or 8 feet long and up to 3 feet in diameter! The larger the roller, the more distance there was between pattern repeats. Each roller was intricately carved with landscapes, people, and animals. Much of it, I learned, was influenced by the Indian cottons prints that had been imported previously, but the beautiful toiles soon replaced the Indian ones and France began exporting the fabrics around the world. The monochromatic toiles began at this factory and reigned as a luxury fabric for over a hundred and fifty years.
The factory closed down in the mid 1800s. It is pretty amazing to think that they are still influencing major design houses with their toiles over a hundred years after they closed down!
If you are travelling to Paris in the future, I have no doubt you will include the Palace du Versailles in your itinerary...be sure to make time to see this museum that is only ten minutes away from the palace...it is a definite Must See if you love toile...
Au revoir!
Veerle
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tribute to Belgium
Today I am paying tribute to my place of birth...
Belgium.
I love my heritage...Although I was raised here in Canada, you could say I was raised 'Belgian' .
I was very fortunate to have travelled there many times to visit family and get to know my home country thoroughly.
Flemish was my first language, but I would be hard pressed to carry a conversation in it now.
Must work on that this year!
My children have visited too...about 3 trips there for each. Vanessa also went to school there when she was 16 and my 18 year old son is in Uganda now but heading to Belgium for three months after that. My 12 year old has plans for living there too one day. They all love the Belgian life!
Flemish was my first language, but I would be hard pressed to carry a conversation in it now.
Must work on that this year!
My children have visited too...about 3 trips there for each. Vanessa also went to school there when she was 16 and my 18 year old son is in Uganda now but heading to Belgium for three months after that. My 12 year old has plans for living there too one day. They all love the Belgian life!
My heritage heavily influences my design esthetic and this may give you a bit of insight into some of the inspirations for my shop, Meuse Boutique (named for a river in Belgium). It was there I fell in love curvy antique furniture, toile and chippy flea market finds.
It's a country of perfectly preserved medieval cities and ultra modern design...
a study in contrasts! Visit Brugge and then Brussels and you will see what I mean.
Belgians are not boastful people and are the last ones to ever toot their own horns.
Perhaps that's why the world knows the fries they invented as 'French' fries!
Hmmm, don't know how France got the credit for it!
France is so well-known for its cuisine when in fact Belgium has more Michelin Star restaurants in its tiny country than all of France does!
There are over 500 varieties of beer! For connoisseurs, the complexity of Belgian beers are similiar to wines, from fruit-fermented lambics like Kriek (cherry - my favourite) to ales brewed by Monks for centuries. There is no way I can do justice to the topic of Belgium Beer!
There is a cold beer and wine store at the top of Arbutus in Kerrsidale about a block or two before you hit 41st Avenue that has the best selection of Belgian beer I have ever come across. This holiday season I even managed to get some of the coveted limited quantity Westvleteren 12 Trappist beer. What a treat.
And then there's the chocolate. Oh, the chocolate!
EVERYONE knows Belgian chocolate is the best in the world!
And beautiful linens and tapestries and handmade lace!
And design! Belgian design is a sophisticated mix of centuries-old architecture and a-second-ago-modern. It is the inspiration for all chic design today but the Belgians have always been effortlessly combining the two!
Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you about the waffles...
yes you guessed it, they are world famous too...
Lucky for us Vancouverites, there is an authentic Belgian Waffle Bar located on Robson St near Denman. The owners, Jan and Eilnaz are the loveliest couple ever and are from my hometown of Antwerp. They moved here last year and opened a wonderful place that has already made the Top Ten Places to Dine List on Urbanspoon! Nero Belgian waffle bar...my absolute favourite place to visit. For me it's as Belgian as it gets and it is simply delicious!
I can tell you these things and not be boasting because I have lived in Canada for nearly all of my life and can't claim any bragging rights...but I have visited enough times to know all of this firsthand,
...and to be so very proud of my heritage.
Tot ziens!
Veerle
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Plaisir Sucre
Well, you already know you can get a little bit of your French on when you walk into Meuse...whether it's the La Rochere glassware from France or the Art-dy-Lys Tapestry cushions...also made in France, you can find it here...
Perhaps it is the way we coax our vintage furnishings into their next life with French sensibility and warm vanilla-toned paint; my inspirations come from many places...my heritage (Belgian), my love of France, my love of vintage time-worn things and girly-girl stuff (with Edge, if-you-please) and that classic iconic image- La Tour Eiffel - well, even that NEVER gets cliche.
I will let you in on a little secret...there is a place I go to get my own French on! A hidden gem of a French Bakery in Kitsilano. Dare I share with you? Will it spoil my secret enjoyment if all of Vancouver comes to know it? I will take that risk and tell you that if you care to be impressed with authentic French pastries made on-site by French-born owners/bakers, make your way there soon. What is this place you ask?
Plaisir Sucre!
The pastries are the best I have had since my last visit to Belgium and France.
Fabrice calls out to his staff in French...a la Paris...and it is a melody to the ears!
Half of the patrons speak French (further proof of it's excellence!) it seems, so if you close your eyes you will be transported to the magic city itself!
The shop is unpretentious - the owners are charming and friendly, and I am In Love with every aspect of this darling bakery. Plus they call me Mademoiselle :) How can I not be charmed?
Do yourself a favour and discover it for yourself...at 2668 Arbutus St (between 10th and 11th Avenue).
It is right on the way to work for me. I drove by for two whole months not knowing it was there! But now I know...and you do too!
Au revoir!
Veerle
Baked goods images borrowed from Urbanspoon!
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