Where High-Gloss Blue finds inspirations!

Hi All,

I hope you all give Claire a warm welcome! I love any gal that loves her color and Claire does not disappoint! If you haven't already head on over and check out her blog. It is a constant source of inspiration for me.

xo,

Camila

PS: Don't forget to enter the Homegoods Give-away!">Homegoods Give-away!
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Hi there! My name is Claire Watkins and I am an interior designer in Atlanta. Last summer when I started my blog, High Gloss Blue, Camila was the very first person to add me to her blog roll. As you can imagine, I am more than honored to guest post for her today. Like many of you, I am in constant search of inspiration. No matter where my search takes me, I always return to pictures of Paris: snapshots of a trip I took with my family, endless Parisian apartment websites, magazines, movies, you name it.


Paris. What is it that makes Paris so cool? Ask me to describe Paris to you and I will tell you it is like New York on cocaine.

I took this image at night in March 2008 hanging out the window looking down at the street towards the Seine. You can find this image in the slide show for the Montorgueil apartment on Time and Places Homes' website. It was my first published image, so I still get excited. Apologies.

The City of Lights moves just as fast as the one that never sleeps, but it's wide awake, brash and much more crowded. The week I spent in Paris last March was one full of grey skies, cold air, roaring wind and no sun. Its weather left my fingers so cold they were warm only in comparison to temperature of many of my social encounters. Hesitate to speak in Paris and you will be interrupted without apology, whereas a rushed New Yorker would have at least thrown you a quick sorry hon. When I arrived in Paris last year for the first time, I wanted desperately to pick up smoking so that I could be just as thin as the Parisian girls, the French's size 6 is a New York 2.

So why is it that I loved every second I spent in this city? What made me want to stand up and cheer (yes, really) during that scene in The Devil Wears Prada where the limo carrying ambitious young Andrea Sacks (played by Anne Hathaway) passes by the sparkling Tour Eiffel. Why did I attend premier showing of Julie and Julia , the story of blogger Julie Powell and her year long quest to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking, just to relive each and every moment of my time in that chic, chic city?

L'answer est dans les interiors de Paris.

Paris has soul.

Her grand satin curtains billow and co-mingle

with minimalist granite and glass.

Her art work is bold

and her white walls are vast.

this is the room I stayed in while I was there

Contemporary rectangles glow in classical wardrobes provenance,

I knew I was in heaven when I saw this bathroom. It was mine to share...with a few others, but mine still...

and plenty of Carrara marble

enough for you to get lost.

Poem over. What I mean is...

Paris is BOLD.

She doesn't apologize.

A Saarinen looks right at home under a Michelangelo style tromp oeil.

History does not limit herself to the past.

She dines with the future. This is 24k gold gilt paired with black fixtures.

Lavish? Yes. Tacky? No.

Instead ancient wood beams & classical wainscoting envelope Le Corbusier's International style's black leather and hide on hair. Mix. mix. mix.

MASH. Youthful yellow stripes push classical crown molding.

Yum.

Laughing in the face of stylistic labels,

Paris interiors reject contemplation and hesitation,

for plain old STYLE that is not plain

or old

at all. Purple Platner parodies primary yellow satin panels.

Use what you got, forget the rules and have fun.

Once I got over myself and my French, I blurted out my words without regard. And Paris was fun and everyone was nice. Paris rejects timidity.

This is what young Andrea liked, this is what middle aged Julia liked and this is what I like.

*Note all of these apartments are available for vacation rental via Time and Place Homes. I stayed with them while I was in Paris and would accept a job with them taking out the trash just to stare at their exquisite interiors. Even if no travel is in sight, go gaze at their properties. Eye candy and inspiration. Seriously, awesome.

**All images via Time and Place Homes, except well, mine.

Thank you Camila for this wonderful opportunity! I hope you all have a fabulous, inspired day; it's been a pleasure!
C