Last year at this time we were just returning from our wonderful 50th anniversary trip to Paris…Where love lives. A highlight of that trip for both of us was a visit to the little village of Giverny, the home of Monet. I have always loved the work of Monet. His paintings are soft and airy with a lot of pastel colors. They are easy on the eyes and quite lovely. Giverny is about an hour outside of Paris but it was an easy trip by bus. So early one morning we walked to the bus station and got our bus to visit the spiritual home and gardens of Monet and his Impressionism paintings.
We were on the first bus out and arrived just as the gates were opening. Because I wanted to see the gardens, hopefully without tons of people, I headed there first and then we enjoyed the inside of the house where we could take our time and really enjoy the flair of it. For this post, I’m only going to share the house with you. Both deserve as many photos as I can get up because the beauty is so overwhelming. I’m the kind of person that when I’m walking through a house or garden it takes me forever if it’s something I’m interested in. I’m inclined to daydream while walking, stopping and shooting about what it might have been like in the days of whoever lived there. So bare with me. There beauty was everywhere.
A little background and then we will go inside…Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. I will say I was so impressed by the bright and colorful settings inside the house. It is as it was in his day and I could honestly say that I would have loved living there.
Turn the knob and step into yesterday…let your mind wander and take in the ease of this home.
Above is the reading room and the living room. He very much liked flowered and pattern upholstery through the house. It was very French for sure with it’s bright colors but also very comfortable looking. Yea, for books and a reading room. This photo of him was hanging in a hallway.
There were three bedrooms in the house and a dressing room between them. The light in most of the rooms was lovely in the morning. My favorite is the pink bedroom.
This is a painting from his famous lily pond. It was hanging in one of the bedrooms. I think it was nice that he appreciated his own art. His paintings from the lily pond are some of my favorites. Beautiful colors but very subdued. They bring a sense of peace while viewing them.
All of the windows on the front of the house were beautifully lite by natural light in the morning. I loved the wide shelf of one window, the lace curtains in another and the beautifully draped pink flower curtains in the pink room. The cast iron radiator reminded me of my first apartment after getting married. Great heat.
This is the dining room with its bright yellow and blue color scheme. The tiles on the fireplace were extraordinary as were all the blue pots lining a few decorative shelves.
Look at the colors of those vases over the fireplace. The floor is an amazing design as is the color that was chosen. And it all goes together. Not only does he love color, he loves decorating. This room gives me a sense of happy times with lots of great meals and family and friend. Simple but inviting.
Each room had it’s own color and personality. The kitchen was many different shades of blue. Beautiful light again and lots of copper pans for contrast and texture. The blue kitchen tile reminded me of Holland. I’m guessing he carried the blue over from the dining room so it blended nicely.
How can you not fall in love with blue gingham. Since the time I was a young girl I love blue and white check in blouses and shirts. I remember buying my husband a blue and white check shirt one year for Christmas when we were dating so many years ago. To this day it still pulls me in. This was my favorite window in the house. It looks out to the front gardens. The blue tile wraps around the entire kitchen and hugs you in its welcome.
The man himself in a room that we did not visit. Maybe a room for his male friends to enjoy. You know a whiskey and a cigar man cave. That kind of room. Bright light and his most beloved lilies on the back wall. A man who knew what he wanted the first time he came to Giverny and a man who enjoyed his beautiful home for many years.
We will leave by the side door and head out to the gardens. If you are lucky enough to live long enough and love reading and travel you sometimes come across beautiful and interesting things and then one day you get to go over the pond and find yourself in the house of an artist that you have loved for many years. That is what travel has done for me in the last few years. Places I’ve read about, people whose work I’ve admired, authors I love and one day there they are. Giverny was like that for me. It was almost like sensory overload. It was magical and creative and artistic. Meditative in the moment. I will hold onto this memory forever and feel very blessed to have figured out how to get us there. Jim is a joy to travel with. Wherever I want to go, he says “yes dear”…that’s why we’ve last 51 years now LOL…
So, I’m off to the gardens now…please come back to visit those with me. They will knock your socks off. If only I could bring you the smells…
“Try to forget what objects you have before you - a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,’ and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you.
Claude Monet”
“My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.
Claude Monet”
All of the above photos were taken with the Fuji XT-2 and the Fuji 18-135 with natural light. Please visit often. I love seeing you all and I read and answer every comment…
