Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

For the Love of French Antiques

For the love of French Antiques

French Husband had barely parked the car at the brocante when I jumped out.

Having the brocante bug is not easy to control.

Is there a cure?

As soon as my eyes fell upon the thickly painted, white-ish grey cupboard/buffet, I knew the brocante bug would begin to boil.

Why couldn't I have the shoe bug, or the candy bug, or the magazine bug, or the makeup bug? Why do I have the furniture sized brocante bug? 

Looking over the white-ish grey cupboard/buffet piece, I knew it would fit height and length wise in the kitchen. Fit against the wall perfectly, like a silk glove on a hand, IF only there wasn't already an armoire there that is.

Have you ever done that, mentally start moving things around in your house so the something you want will work? Usually I have an utter mental gymnastic of moving every thing right, left, up, down, inside out and backwards to make thing work. Today my mental gymnastics went like this: I could sell my armoire. That was the only option.

I stared at the one of a kind beauty and whispered, "Bad bad brocante bug!"

 

French Antique Kitchen

To make matters worse, next to the cupboard/buffet piece were six dining room chairs. Caned seats, grayish color, late 1800s perfect condition.

I do not need another chair.

Now here is the ticker… the chairs all six of them cost less than one chair at Ikea.

That is the biggest pain of all: When I find antiques in good condition, lovely patina, authentic, under price and DO NOT NEED THEM, nor have room.

Wait a minute… I could fix things to the ceiling?!

My name is Corey and I am a brocante o holic.

 

I kissed the cupboard/piece and the chairs goodbye, then wished I wasn't on a stupid diet otherwise I would have had some wine and every big salty delicious thing I could find.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

26 responses to “For the Love of French Antiques”

  1. Diogenes

    “My name is Corey and I am a brocante o holic.”
    That is too funny! I feel your pain, sista. And yes, I move stuff around in my head all the time to try and squeeze something new in. Like as recently as Monday when I bought something I had no place for.
    The fact that the six antique chairs cost less than one new chair at Ikea (as you know, it’s often the same here) really makes me wonder why people aren’t buying antiques now…
    By the way, I love that cherub statue in the corner of your kitchen. Also love the way you arranged the objets on top of your armoire. Like the armoire too.

    Reply
  2. kelleyn

    Yes, you have an expensivie hobby! At least yours doesn’t make you fat like my cooking bug! I love to bake and can’t seem to stop and on top of that I like to eat what I bake. Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  3. Paulette

    My name is Paulette, and I am a fabric o holic. Like you, I understand the compulsion to have and to hold beautiful possessions, of which there are no lack. I have come to know the talented designers by their names and styles, I read their blogs, I am bewitched.
    I love your posts, Corey, and the fact that you bring beautiful things into all our lives. Please know that you are not alone in having “the bug.”

    Reply
  4. BabsM

    I feel your pain for I am a chair-aholic. My husband says we could seat at least 75 people in our living room comfortably — he exaggerates, but if I pull some from another room…. The thought of the un-bought antique chairs is painful.

    Reply
  5. Zosia

    Oh, NO! I thought there was a happy ending to this story. I thought that you worked your charm on FH and he helped you to carry the chairs to the car and that you arranged for the delivery of the buffet at a later time and that you were writing the post to let us know that your kitchen armoire was for sale.

    Reply
  6. Jeannie

    My name is Jeannie and I am an estate sale junkie and unfortuately, I have other obsessions as well – fabric, art supplies, linens,……thankfully, we live in a shoebox. So, I have to be selective. Have a fabulous weekend!

    Reply
  7. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    My heart was in my throat during your story because, oddly, we’re bonded with that bitersweet/orange/rust/(what color is it?) armoire.
    But then again. It’s not ours. It’s yours. Do what you want.
    Hey, sometime would you take us for a tour of what you have inside that armoire? (How nosy a request is THAT!?)
    My name is Rebecca and I’m a Tongue-in-Cheek addict.

    Reply
  8. Barbara L

    I’m a chair-aholic and I have 7 in my little living/dining room combo and I used to have 2 more but I took them away.
    To have the brocante disease in France…how wonderful for you. I”m sure you could start a meeting,maybe-maybe not… 🙂

    Reply
  9. Cheri H.

    Dear Corey, What a beautiful kitchen… In the USA we just hang the extra chairs from the wall and store the rest in the attic (hopefully the ceiling will not fall in!!! True but humorous… Cheri H.

    Reply
  10. Jody

    It is good to have a sensible blog friend to listen to. But, you know the Shakers hung the chairs from the walls.
    Another thought, send a ship load over to the states. Others do and sell the goods, so why can’t you?
    I just sympathize with your having to turn these great finds down.
    But then again, I said it is a good thing to have sensible blog friend to listen to, in this case, one I need to learn from also.
    Blessings, Jody

    Reply
  11. diane – florida

    I am just an ‘aholic. Shiny things, dull things, things that sparkle. Things that feel nice to the touch. Things that make good noices, things that are nice colors. There is no more room and still I want more things.

    Reply
  12. TEXAS FRANCOPHILE

    My name is Franco and I’m a hopeless Francophile. All it has to say is made in France, French country, etc and I’m hard pressed to resist. You are one strong CHICA.

    Reply
  13. jend’isère

    A dilemma could arise with a “troc” or trade with those interested here. Once your trade for a new piece an even more appealing piece appears on the horizon of an early morn brocante and the cycle continues!

    Reply
  14. Ann

    I’ve been assessing what makes one a gatherer of stuff from brocantes, flea markets and estate sales. Looking back I started out with two watercolors that were rolled up in a corner cabinet at an estate sale $6. Then I took a yr off before grad school and traveled a little. I stumbled into an antique shop and it was loaded with Roseville pottery. I bought one for $65. And the rest is history. The bug hit. I’ve had to slam on the brakes and say no to many wonderful finds.
    Then I took it to the next level and opened an antique booth at a large mall. This is where the disease hit full swing because now I have a “license to buy.” I thought about it and drew boundaries – no furniture, just small items. Relief! But then the small stuff can take over a house and more boundaries were needed. It’s a constant battle between sensible, and antique-o-holic (madness). Group therapy anyone?

    Reply
  15. carol

    I’m afraid I have too many chairs as well. I have thought and thought (for you) of a way for you to take those chairs home with you! I mean, six antique chairs for the price of one new one!?! Maybe you could sell some of yours if you like these better! No, I’m sure they all have a special place in your heart. What a dilemma!

    Reply
  16. Debra

    and, why is it when you are searching for the right piece you can never find it.
    I just did the mental gym thing with my kitchen again cuz of the downturn here we stopped midstream w/the kitchen reno. So, I pretend I have a small Paris kitchen and move things constantly. Just kills me to walk by the six-burner prof stove & double ovens that are in the garage. one day . . .
    Oh, how I wish you could have packed up that cupboard and sent it to me.

    Reply
  17. maggie schneider

    Corey, your Brocantolism story was hilarious. I know exactly the feeling, the desire, the insanity…I once bought a beautiful lapstrake cedar boat which was out by the side of the road in New Hampshire and eventually dragged it back to Oregon. I remember my boyfriend’s look (we were both in our 50’s) , the incredulity, the impossibility of my desire to have this boat just because it was so beautiful, had history, and was a rare Old Town Canoe/Boat edition I just couldn’t live without….
    …yes, been there, done that and continue to do so!
    Maggie

    Reply
  18. Kiki

    Just back from a week in Switzerland and nodding along to your brocantolic tale… My husband once said in England: It’s a pity that Kiki can’t say NO to any chair screaming out ‘take me home’… Do I need say more?
    I DID have to let go quite a few of them however and at ridiculous prices because they became a serious matter of disagreement between Hero Husband and yours truly!!! So, I CAN indeed comiserate with you and then some more. Same thing with cupboards! Why oh why do we never find one when we look for one and then, when we’ve made our choice(s), the perfect piece turns up?! Is it to test our ability to say NO? Is it an endurance test to see just HOW FAR we stretch the understanding of our dearly beloved before they or we crack?! Who knows?
    You’re a good and strong woman – but then you might go back and still buy them 🙂 Especially the chairs!!!!
    Wishing you a happy 2nd Advent.

    Reply
  19. Casual Cottage Chic

    Like Carol commented, why is it when you’re looking for something specific, in my case a buffet table, that you can’t find it!! Oh how I wish you had taken pics of the armoire so we could all drool over it…lol!

    Reply
  20. La Contessa

    I KNOW I’m at that stage too!!!!!Just left a beautiful chair at the HOSPICE because I have NO ROOM for it at home or the shop for that matter!It killed me………I kept saying to myself..”CANT HAVE IT ALL MUST SHARE WITH OTHERS!”Brocante Bug is good….just keep doing your thing COREY!

    Reply
  21. Marilyn

    But we do enjoy your brocante bug so much! We share vicariously your JOY of the search and rescue. Enjoy! Love seeing peeks at your kitchen. The glass dome with towels I do believe I have seen before with plates stacked there. Love that every changing view.

    Reply
  22. Chris Wittmann

    Corey you and I could be twins because I have the same “brocante but” as you, and have a very hard time turning away beautiful things I don’t have room for 🙂

    Reply
  23. Chris Wittmann

    OOPS, boy what a typo..I meant “bug” of course, not but 🙂

    Reply
  24. 24/7 in France

    I’m a shoe-aholic and love antiques, so understand your dilemma 🙂 I recently had to sell an armoire that wouldn’t fit in our new kitchen nor any other space – a very difficult decision, to say the least.

    Reply
  25. Brenda, Walker, LA

    Corey: Hahahaaaa…How I enjoyed this post, I know what you are talking about! My solution was: The Opening Of Kindred Hearts Antiques and Gifts! I buy for me, the shop, for clients…some end up with me forever! But everybody is happy! I have an outlet for my bug! :o)

    Reply
  26. tanjakarst

    There is no cure for our brocante adiction, my husband wished he could cure me, but the more he holds me back, the more i go shop on brocantemarkets and fleamarkets, so he should just join in instead of holding me back. I am an addict to those markets because i like old stuff and not the stuff in a normal shop where you can find 2000 of the same stuff. With kind regards Tanja Karst from the Netherlands

    Reply

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