Discovering the Shop Antiques de Provence in the New Orleans French Quarter

I had the great pleasure of spending several days with the entire Annie Sloan Unfolded team in New Orleans last week, along with my North Carolina Unfolded Studio mate, Barb Skivington. We were in town to work and play. Barb taught a workshop for two days at Discoveries Furniture & Finds, a new Stockist shop, and when I was not with her assisting a bit on the Marketing side, I was working with Teryl Flettrich on blogging, and prepping for our December 13 Work Book Launch Party at Jane Drew’s shop Creative Finishes Studio. More on all in future posts.

On Saturday, Barb and I were free to take a three-hour tour to many points of interest in New Orleans. Then, we walked all afternoon, just wandering through the French Quarter and the French Market. And yes, we ate our way throughout our tour. Beignets, café au lait, Gumbo Ya Ya…

And then, we had a magic moment. Amongst all of the hustle and bustle of the Quarter, we were drawn immediately into a shop called Antiques de Provence, French Intérieurs & Jardins (French Interiors & Gardens). The lovely windows promised a glimpse from one of our favorite painting adventures to France in 2005, where we day-tripped to Provence. Stepping inside was immediate transformation from New Orleans to France. Quiet, earthy, classy. With authentic shop kitties. French-meowing, of course!

Ohhh the painted antique furniture! In the recent years that Barb and I have been connected to Annie Sloan, her books, her Chalk Paint® decorative paint, nothing quite spoke to us completely about Annie’s passion like seeing these pieces. Suddenly, we could see, feel, touch, smell what Annie fell in love with. Just look at these color combinations and finishes.

 

And then, when we could tear ourselves away from the front rooms we spied the garden. An entire secret garden. Full of ancient olive jars and pots.

 

 

Then up the mysterious winding staircase we went… to discover mirrors and more mirrors.

 

Charming chandeliers like this one.

And lamps like this one.

And in quiet spots throughout the shop, statues from Paris…

… pretty stone deer.

Dough bowls.

Confit jars.

And pretty books begging me to take them home.

Not to mention, this lovely vignette. My favorite.

Eventually we had to leave (sigh).

And no sooner than we exited onto Royal Street, we encountered Santa, all decked out in silver, on his way to work.

And this most gorgeous young girl with her equally gorgeous mother, checking him out.

Only in New Orleans.

Happy Holidays everyone. Hope you are planning to take a bit of time to paint something special with Chalk Paint® decorative paint. I am.

And when you find yourself in the French Quarter, be sure to stop into this most beautiful of shops and introduce yourself to proprietor Cynthia Nunez. Barb and I mentioned to her that many of our North American and European Stockists will be in town for Annie Sloan Unfolded’s annual meeting next April. She would love to meet you!

Antiques de Provence, French Intérieurs & Jardins, 623 Royal Street in the French Quarter, New Orleans

504.529.4342

AntiquesdeProvenceLLC.com

Cindy@AntiquesdeProvenceLLC.com