Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Inspiration ~ Château de Chenonceau


On my visit to France one of the most impressive places I visited was the Château de Chenonceau it has been marvelously restored. All of the rooms were beautiful and I will be returning to this on a later post, but right now I want to talk about the kitchen. As I understand it, during World War I this kitchen was remodeled and modernized to better provide meals for the multitudes of injured troops that were staying in the château. It is simply the most amazing space, divided into several rooms, one of them housing this incredible stove.



This worktable was in an adjoining room. I don't know why we don't have tables like this in our kitchens, they make so much sense...just think how much you could do on them...meal preparation, homework, crafting, eating. and the perfect height for kneading dough or rolling out a pie crust. I guess kitchen islands are our interpretation of this. But what  inspired me, and what I wanted to share with you, were the arrangements of Lady Apples in the glass pedestal containers...I thought, how beautiful in their simplicity and how easily I could do this in my kitchen.



Voila! Here we are, sadly I don't have the wonderful ambiance of the stone walls, the burnished wooden table, or all of those lovely copper pots, but I do have apples and glass containers, and I do like the effect ~ I think it adds a touch of french elegance to my kitchen table. The little birds, well just consider them a touch of whimsy.







I hope that you enjoyed a peek into this fabulous kitichen at the Château...do you bring home ideas from your trips?



This post has been linked to: http://romantichome.blogspot.com/, http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/, http://maleviksrosentradgard.blogspot.com/, http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

22 comments:

  1. I never thought about putting the apples in glass bowls like that...I tend to put them in wire and rustic wooden baskets...they look so pretty!!

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  2. You are so right...I would love to have that stove! In fact, I would be perfectly content with the entire kitchen, including the great apple arrangement. I can see why you were inspired by it!

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  3. What a beautiful place Adrienne. I suppose our farmhouse table in the breakfast room would qualify as a work table. It is used for all sorts of projects, besides meals.

    Love the apples in glass. Gorgeous!

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  4. the stove looks daunting... I might have to cook more if I had a kitchen like that. teasing!
    love the apple displays... yours every bit as French as the apples on your trip! so, will you be making an apple pi? or are the apples for display only?

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  5. I love all the apples. And wonderful footed compotes and bowls. Very nice.

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  6. I just couldn't take my eyes off of that amazing stove. Seriously so cool. Love it. I have never seen one like it especially not in person.

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  7. What a fabulous stove in that amazing Chateau - but then the French regard food as one of the most important things in life, and they are so very right :-)

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  8. So very beautiful and I am such a simple girl!
    Smiles,Dottie

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  9. What a wonderful place to visit. I will have to make a special trip to that Chateau next time I'm in France. I'd love to see all those copper post live and in person.
    Love the apple "decor".

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  10. I've been eager to see trip pictures. What a fabulous stove! Your apples are a beautiful touch. I can't wait to see more trip inspirations.

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  11. Oh I love the apple arrangements in glass containers, beautiful! I also love all that copper!

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  12. I visited the Châteaux de la Loire and they were fabulous, so big and so beautiful.I always visit the kitchens!

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  13. Oh beautiful Chateaux....and what a lovely touch of it you have added to your home that is beautiful with the green apples. My Grandparents are from Italy and my Grandfather was a carpenter and he built my Grandmother a very large table for doing her prep work on that is where the Gnocchi was made and pies were baked. It was my favorite place to be as a little girl next to my Nonna preparing food for the family at the big table....~Thanks for sharing I enjoyed your post Love Heather

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  14. Everything always looks better in a footed bowl. Looks like you had a wonderful time on your vacation. Mimi

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  15. I love the historic kitchen and how you brought a part of it to yours - you clever girl!

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  16. It's great how you saw an idea you liked and applied it to own own home, Adrienne. I don't think I've done that, but I do enjoy picking up pottery on my travels. I like it when each bowl or platter tells a story. Thank you for visiting my blog and your kind comments. You wondered about the slideshow; it was easy to create and free (for the 30 second type). If you wanted to try, here's the link: http://animoto.com/
    -Karen

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  17. I bring so many ideas home with me from travels. The Great Dane has learned that there WILL be furniture rearranging when we get home!
    One of my most memorable inspirations was the kitchen of a small castle in which we stayed in Denmark - I took so much from that stay!

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  18. This is so lovely. Those apples on your beautiful glass containers in the graduated heights. I know what you mean about bringing home ideas when we travel. For me it was from a garden tour of the Cotswolds in England. I came home and immediately ordered lots of David Austin Roses for my garden. And I planted more climbing roses and vines.

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  19. Adrienne,
    I do get lots of ideas on trips! This is a fabulous kitchen and I love the apples displayed like that. Thanks so much for linking it up!
    Sherry

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  20. What a gorgeous kitchen, and the apples are so wonderful, love your recreation! thanks for linking up with VIF, xo Debra

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  21. Your vignette is beautiful, Adrienne. I wouldn't change a thing - including the sweet little birdies. ;)

    Blessings,
    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

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  22. The Chateau kitchen is exquisite beyond words. I love how you have brought home the idea of the kitchen table and incorporated it in your own home. Beautiful!

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