My French Country Home by Sharon Santoni

Friday, 6 July 2012

a girlfriend's home - so french and feminine



A little way along our valley, is the home of a good friend.  I love her house and the way she decorates.  It is simple, country style, and most of all just so feminine.

She kindly gave me permission to show you around, I hope you enjoy these shots taken in her home and garden.






I just love her soft and comfortable colour scheme.   Her sense of space and proportion, and of course her sure eye for placing brocante pieces.

Even her cat blends in well!







The kitchen has two large windows let into the roof and is bathed in a soft and beautlful light.  It is a welcoming, and comfortable room.  The tall bar table, with its zinc top was custom made by a local carpenter.  I love her choice of bar stools in this picture; their transparent seats add a contemporary edge to the design of the room.











There is a wonderful continuity of colour through the ground floor, soft neutrals with touches of pink, pale yellow and green.











Outside the colour scheme is continued on the doors and windows.  The garden is carefully planted to echo the house.




One of the delightful features in the garden is the river running through.  Just a small stream really, but enough to add a visual interest and to enjoy from a well positioned chair and table.

 
I love visiting here, I love the soft and friendly atmosphere, I hope you get a feel for that through these pictures.









37 comments:

  1. Bellissimo ed adoro le case con un piccolo ruscello che gli scorre accanto... è rilassante il rumore dell'acqua .. ... Veramente incantevole

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  2. Gorgeous garden and setting. I could while away the hours at that table by the stream.

    Paul

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  3. Absolutely Beautiful - I just love this colour palette of pale colours - they remind me of sugared almonds! It goes particularly well with the touches of gilt - very elegant, feminine and SO serene.
    Paula x

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  4. Your girlfriend's home is so pretty Sharon... I love the way the colours inside echo the outside... xv

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  5. what a perfect place,- I love everything...the inside,the outside,- even the cat ;)
    Truly feminine and romantic and very,very beautiful!!!Lucky friend!Thanks for sharing with these beautiful pictures :)
    Tove

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  6. What a lovely little house! I love the colors!

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  7. Beautiful house, particularly love the kitchen. Your friend has a real eye for design.

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  8. What a gorgeous home! I love the piece on the wall for hanging the utensils - I want one!!! :)

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  9. How lovely--what I wouldn't give to have more femininity in my home. This is just a perfect example...

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  10. Lovely ... I enjoy soft and feminine homes.

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  11. Oh, Sharon...once again (as was the case when you recently posted about your garden), I've just looked at these pictures of your friend's garden, and I find myself unattractively jealous of your climate.

    I know....your winters are long and muddy and wet....but it's obvious that your springs and summers are commensurately gorgeous.

    Here in the North Carolina Piedmont, I'm as likely to successfully grow delphiniums, lupines, and healthy roses as I am to sprout wings or be elected as a Republican senator.

    I should add that one can, indeed, have healthy roses hereabouts, but that requires dosing them with so many chemicals that I expect the next litter of puppies would all be born with three or six legs.

    ...and your friend does have a markedly wonderful sense of color/palette.

    Jealously as ever,

    David Terry
    www.davidterryart.com

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  12. What a wonderful, and magical space. The garden looks to be from a fairy tale. I love it!

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  13. Dear Sharon,
    an incredibly beautiful garden and house....Ilove it very mutch.Please show us more of them necessarily or another houses and gardens...
    Sincerely Flori

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  14. The house is so lovely, and your photography is beautiful. Makes me miss France, it's been too long since we've been there! Helena xx

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  15. So pretty..what a charmer even down to the darling cat. Thanks for giving us a peek!

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  16. What a beautiful, beautiful place. I love her unapologetic use of PINK (the best color in the world) in her decor. I save pink for my bedroom...but maybe I just need a little courage to bring it into the rest of the house.

    And I want a river like that running through my property...

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  17. I just loved seeing the photos of your friend. No wonder you like it. It is so soft and pretty.

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  18. This is why we all love French decor, Sharon! Beautiful home with gorgeous garden....so effortless and stylish. I love your friend's collections: wirework baskets, painted furniture, pottery jugs, etc. Very pretty color palette!
    Cheers from DC,
    Loi

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  19. Sharon,

    Your friend does indeed have a beautiful home. I love the simplicity and color scheme throughout her house. Her gardens are gorgeous. I don't believe I've ever seen such lovely gardens as the ones I see throughout France. Your garden is one of these! :)

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  20. How truly beautiful and I can see why you love to visit with this friend. Thank you so much to your friend for allowing us to visit too! I read this as I was enjoying a cup of coffee and so long to be sitting by the river in the coolness of the shade of the trees! It is sooooo hot here today, I think somewhere around 38 degrees Celsius and around 43 with the humidity factored in!

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  21. This home will go in my list of Homes I Love. I will be moving sooner or later and we will be living in a House in the countryside. I can't wait to start decorating :)
    I love the stools in the kitchen. Being clear/Lucite, they don't block the view, the room doesn't look cluttered. I love the soft colors and that clock !
    besitos, C

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  22. I adore her long striped curtains. Lovely! xo

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  23. Hi Sharon, Thanks for calling the other day. I just wondered if you'd had a chance to cost out a possible trip for my mother and I to come to see you and the brocantes. I think you suggested 18/19/20th September. I would need to confirm asap as I have some requests for jobs around that time and would like to confirm if I will be away or not. Perhaps you could drop me an email kate@vintagestylehire.co.uk Thanks - look at the gorgeous loot from that lucky couple in the previous post!

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  24. I do love how thoughtfully and mindfully the home is decorated inside and out to reflect the soft rose color scheme. I think it's do-able for most people (even me!). It just takes some planning, for the lovely results. What strikes me is the collection of loved objects in a quiet sea of simplicity. I am getting very, very weary of my cluttered, small, vintage bungalow, with too many collections which I absolutely MUST go through and pare down because it's becoming stressful rather than comforting and enjoyable. I've begun to feel swallowed up by my "things."

    On an entirely different note, yet related in terms of French country homes, could you please some time reveal to us the name of the plant/bush you're training to frame the windows and contours of your own house's exterior? Have I missed it somehow in color, or does it always stay green, I assume except in winter. Is there any concern about a living plant attaching to the siding/composition (stucco, wood, brick, ?) and destroying or causing damage (I'd think not, or you wouldn't be coaxing it). I saw a home near mine in California/USA, nestled in a river valley amid orchards, completely encased in some kind of ivy or vine; otherworldly, a fantasy in the "forest" and have always wondered about a home that becomes such a part of the landscape/garden to where it almost no longer resembles a hard structure. Art, if you will.

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  25. I'd like to curl up in that wing chair or sit out by the stream with a good book.

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  26. So pretty; this home is just my style! I love the exterior window trim color & how the hues outside are continued inside. This post gives great inspiration!

    Keri

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  27. I just love your blog it always makes me happy! Keep up the wonderful work... Much appreciated... Penelope

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  28. So lovely and charming! I'm afraid I'd never get any work done!

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  29. Love it all! Thanks for sharing.

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  30. Wow what a lovely home she has.
    Maybe she would like to change houses I would move in at the same moment :-)

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  31. Stunning home + the kitty! xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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  32. AMAZING POST:) the roses are so beautiful and the cat is so cute haha:) I have two cats myself and they really make my life more fun every day:)Animals give love without expecting something in return,

    have a great day and come visit me soon:)

    LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
    (sweden)

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  33. This is just beautiful - so gentle and so romantic - lovely photos of a magical home. Thank you for sharing. F

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  34. THAT' WILL DO ME THANK YOU! SEEMS LIKE A NICE NEIGHBOURHOOD
    BEE X

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  35. Such a spectacular garden! The flowers, the river, her kitty :-)

    ~ Clare x

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