Details of a French Village

               

A Provencal maison de Village (a house in the south of France, which is located in the center of town) has a distinct style. They are at least three stories high, they have long narrow windows with shutters that are painted in traditional colors, such as blue, green, burnt orange-red, gray, lavender... the roofs are tiled in terre cuite tiles and the houses are made of stone.

               

               

A maison de village has details that show if the house is upper class or of a simpler class. The fancier the house the more detailed the door, the window ledge and the cornice under the roof tiles are. The the upper class maison de village the doors are of solid walnut or oak wood. Though the simplier homes the doors are painted to match the shutters.

               

A painting from the museum in Arles, depicting a typical day in a simple working class Provencal village. Note the simple lines of the homes.

               

Classic yellow with blue gray doors in the Panier in Marseilles.

               

A rosette door knob usually in the middle of the door. A key is used to open the door and the handle is used merely to push the door open. Most door handles on French doors are used in this way.

               

Maison de village in Arles, note the detail, you know what that means... The round windows are called, "Bull"s Eye." I love the roundness of the corner of this building in Arles.

               

A yellow post office box in the center of my town. "La prochaine levee aura lieu...Mardi."

"The next pick up will take place: Tuesday." But that is questionable if you know what I mean.

               

The older man is wearing a traditional blue workman's jacket.

               

Layers upon layers of paint hide the details of this two hundred year old iron door handle.

               

The base of the tiled roof top's edging is made of baked clay. (Doesn't it look like the lace on a petticoat?) Though the edging along the roof is elaborate, the windows are not trimmed, and the sills are flat and plain. Exception to the rule n'est pas! Note: the window sits half way between the thick wall. Therefore there is a ledge on both sides of the window. The windows are about four feet high.

               

The shops in the center of the village, as well as the cities, have apartments above them. Often the old shops are turned into garages. A sad practicality.

               

The doors have letter slots to drop the mail.

               

I wish this was my doorway. Elegant, stone trimmed, amazing outdoor lamps, and wait what is that I notice... shockingly a door handle has been added! What's up with that!

               

A double delight, rosette and Fatima's hand.

               

An intricate hook for a shutter. When the shutter's are pulled closed (and they are every evening) they are locked from the inside.

               

Talk about blue in your face!

               

Patchwork.

               

Art Nouveau style, note the long fingers of this classic hand knocker. If you look at the other ones the fingers are small and round, they are older.

               

The beauty of a hand-cut iron lock and handle, from the 18th century.

               

A diamond shaped iron cut-out is standard fare for a lock cover.

               

A French door key, most keys are like this.

               

The lock part for the shutter's hook.

               

               

               

An 18th century window hinge.

               

               

I won't end this with a knock knock joke, but if you would like you may add one!

Photos: Mostly from my village in the south of France. If there is something you would like to see in my village please let me know. I am working on the requests made earlier on French Style.

Comments

[susan]

I love these shots. They're so unique, whimsical and vintage. I've a small collection of vintage keys and a couple of those hand door knockers and I love them.

[Suzanne]

Corey, i love the softness of these colors, though my favorite is that first one with the beautiful blue-ish tone!

[DesignFlute]

what a whirlwind opening tour of your village via handles and hinges!
enjoyed the post very much!

[susanna]

What a wonderful tour of your village, Corey. I absolutely enjoyed reading and looking at the photographs in this post.

[Ariane]

Love the photos and the colors. But I love doors and windows, especially old ones. I remember when I went to France when I was 18 that the windows had shutters that were closed each night. And that the windows were just opened without screens in them. That seemed so amazing to my 18 year old mind. Are the buildings air conditioned in the summer? (My guess is no, but I didn't know how much modernization has taken place.) And is there a problem with insects there, especially if the windows are left open to catch the breeze. (I can't remember from when I was there.) Also since the doors use those old skelton keys, is there a big problem with crime and break-ins? I just think about all the locks we seem to put on our doors in America.

Ariane

[stephanie]

Wow...what knockers!!....(ala Young Frankenstein)

[Linda]

I love those colors in Provence. They are so cheery.

[Karen C]

Corey, When we visited, I fell in love with all the doors in Paris and France but sadly none of my photos came out.

Like Dee I would also like to know the story of Fatima's hand.

(I hope it isn't a boring story because I don't know if I could trust you not to make something up that sounded more romantic and exciting :)

[Françoise]

hi corey
merci de parler si bien de mon cher pays, la Provence !
c'est mon paradis !!!

[TACE]

Oh I hope this is ok, I just remembered the joke we always said as a kid.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Madame!
Madame who?
Open up, Madame foot's caught in the door.
When I was a kid this was a riot. hahaha

[JanePoe (aka Deborah)]

Corey ... thank you for sharing all the pictures of your village, home and little piece of France during the past few posts. As usual, your artistic eye shines through in each photo. Peace & love, JP/deb

[Elizabeth Parsons]

I love that the shutters are actually closed each night instead of just hung for adornment! It appeals to me that the intended function is realized...not sure why!!
Elizabeth

[Betty @ She's Sew Pretty]

What gorgeous photographs! I am enjoying the tour of your town. I was imagining a French chateaus. Do you miss the green vineyards and orchards of California? Though I do envy you the chance to live among so much "history". We don't have that here.

[tommie]

very cool shots. The first classroom I ever taught in had keys like that. A new building was built before I left, so I kept the key! I hadn't thought of it in years.

[ginny]

Oh, these photos are so wonderful. You have really captured the essence of France. I used to stay in Biot each summer for a few weeks and it seemed we lived and shopped on an opera set. I loved it. Your photos brought me back there.

[tut-tut]

Such an eye you have, for the almost missed . . .

[Marva]

Corey - oh so beautiful!!! Love the colors and textures! The hand doorknockers are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing! Marva

[angela]

Oh my gosh, how much do I miss living in France?! Just looking at your pictures make me so sentimental for a place that I haven't visited in over 10 years...sigh, it's sad, I know.

I love the key and the 18th century hinge. Little details that are so appealing compared to today's mass produced items...

[Tamara Giselle]

Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keybooard so I can type! That last picture with the beautiful door with the wonderful patina has me mesmerized. Your photography is the next best thing. Truly fabulous!

[Dee/reddirtramblings]

Ah Corey, I think I learn more from your blog and French Word a Day than I've ever learned in school about France. And, I took three years in college, along with an honors course about The Revolution and Napoleon. I kept wanting to know about the individual, not political movements. C'est la vie.

Thank you for the architecture. Why are they called Fatima's hands?

[cd&m]

Our town in twinned with Arles so it was nice to see some pics. Thankyou.

[nel]

That gorgeous curved wall makes me want to walk around it slowly, trailing my fingers over every nook and cranny and taking in the history and life of those who have lived near it. Just beautiful!

[martina]

On an episode of This Old House I think they referred to those shutter catches as shutter dogs. How is the weather where you are? Do you get any ice/snow or is the weather usually mild?

[Lynda]

I love seeing everything! ~ Lynda xo

[Dee]

Corey...how beautiful...every detail...I love it!

I hope the weather is better in France than here in California...my oh my...we have snow in places we don't usually have snow!

Finally...my January-February issue of Victoria is here! The pictures of your home are beautiful ...exquisite ...gorgeous...and more!

[the farmers wife]

Details, I love to see the details. You have presented them with the artists eye. I'm really impressed with the French security system - a skeleton key!

[April]

Oh, lovely. All is white, white, white here. It's nice to see color.

Also -- I love the simple lines. One of the things that irritates me most about modern homes in the US is the offset lines and odd angles. I love to see architecture make sense. And I'm an ENFP!! :)

[marita]

authentic elements capturing the charms of southern france of days gone by.
peaceful french country living far away from hectic city lifes.
i just hope it stays that way...
lovely images corey de ton village...

[rochambeau]

Dear Corey,
Such beauty. The colors, the muted layers of paint and life. Makes me happy. You could never take too many photos of Door knockers! I adore Door knockers especially the hands. and beautiful doors, what a bonus. A welcome symbol.

xo
C
Sorry no Knock~Knock jokes today.

[Lorene]

Corey,

I am loving all of the pictures. I feel like I went on a tour. And thank you for the history and background you have shared about the images.

Wonderful!

[Shelley Noble]

It's so nice to have my friend Corey photograph all these perfect details for me to use you-know-where!

[Liz]

Wow. I've been a lurker for a while, but this post forced me to make a comment! This is eye candy at its zenith!

[stljoie]

Ohh this was sooo much fun. I wish I could walk with you!! I'd love to see some interiors also.

[Amy]

I love that curve on the building, too!! Older styles are so much more charming than new contruction...like my house. I mean, sure, it's nice and new and clean, etc...but the character? Meh.
The shutters are closed at night? So, no night time breeze?

[Lisa M.S. Oceandreamer]

I cannot tell you just how much I am enjoying this photo journey...it's a true feast for the eyes (and educational). G, my Mom and I went to Provence in late 1997 to the village of Mouries.(my brother& his family lived there at the time) Looking back we didn't see near enough but what we did see I will always remember as SO beautiful! (I also wish I'd had a digi cam back then)
Bicycles? Do people use them a lot there? I have a "movie" image of someone riding with a basket full of flowers and a baguette or two. ha!
I look forward to more photos!
XOXOXO

[Miss Sandy]

Ahhh! A veritable feast for the eyes that trickled down into my heart and satisfied my soul with the simple beauty of color, age, and form! I am full!

[My Melange]

Thanks so much for the tour. I think I have seen that bakery in Marseilles on a Samantha Brown episode..when she was there!!
I love the layers and layers...peeling away. I like that the builings sometimes have several different colors and surfaces. I don't why..I just do ;)
And not a KNOCK-KNOCK joke but.....

"Knock, Knock"
"Whose there?"
"It's me, open up I've come with a wad of cash to visit the flea markets...wanna come Corey?"

:)

[Rosemary]

Hi Corey,
Your photos are amazing. They look like they are right out of one of my french books.
I really love the hand doorknockers. I must look for one.
Thanks,
Rosemary

[~Kim]

Beautiful! I love the shutters! And the flowers and lace curtains(from yesterday). It is all so dreamy...

[Kim]

Corey,

Wonderful, beautiful, what stories they must have to tell have behind each door knocker & the key???????

[chelsea]

OMG OMG OMG doors handles, hand knockers... AhHa would they happen to be your favorite thing to take pictures of???? i knew it!! lol
love u, chelsea!!

[laura]

Ohhhh Corey, Corey, Corey - there are so many similarities in Deuil-la-Barre - makes me homesick.

Thank you for those lovely pictures!!!

hugs
laura

[Cheryl]

Corey, Oh, the exquisite ache of age old beauty! Thanks for the beautiful pictures. And did I hear on our local news that is snowed like crazy in your home town of Williams??

[martina]

You can almost smell the smell of older stone buildings, fresh bakery goods and a real latte!

[Pam Aries]

Oh...I am having the vapors! THis post sets my heart on fire! I feel as if I walked through the village! Merci,Corey! Yuo are the best. The colors are so pretty...I wish Americans were into more colorful homes..instead of varying shades of beige..accck. Do you know there are doors in Charleston with door knockers like those?! French influence. Again..thank you for this post !

[JCinCA]

Ohh Goodness Corey, such beauty. I started to humm "on the street where she lives!!" And today's images remind me abit of the movie "Lake House" as Sandra Bullock is being led on a tour of her fair city by Keanu Reeves.

[Julie Ann]

Those front doors are such a temptation to see what lies beyond. I love wandering residential streets and being treated to the odd peak at people’s interiors. Dusk is a great time in the UK as often the curtains are still open with the lights on and this gives a great view of the interior. Elsewhere in Mediterranean countries one is often treated to a peak through an open front door. It is very difficult in France with those divine shutters. What is the secret Corey ? Jx

[Mary]

Corey, I'm overwhelmed yet again - these past few posts having me sighing nonstop, I must get back to France this year. Today, your doors and windows, made me view similar photos I took in the villages and towns around Caunes - I was mesmerized by the colors and the hardware - the history of place depicted made my heart race.
Your interior shots are beautiful and I can now have more of a feel for your lovely home and the way you have decorated. Is this the same house that was so typically 'Provencal' (with bright colors)in that Victoria spread many years ago - or have you moved?

Bought 'Somerset Life' yesterday - read your article and all the great info. for shopping the brocantes etc. Watched 'La Vie en Rose' again last night and ended up feeling I'd spent a day en France!
Oops, I almost forgot, I'm English!!!!!!

Then, just this morning, a long e-mail from my family in Caunes - they are still decorating their village house - and one across the street which another family member from England has purchased. I fear more Brits than French in France some day!!

OK, pics of the markets, foods and fleas, please, please, please!

[Paula]

I am interested to see church interiors and churches in general. Large, small, plain and ornate. I an certain they are quite different from the old traditional ones we have here in New Mexico.

[Bonnie Buckingham]

My husband said "Music in the KEY of ??!"
Absolutely breathtaking. All of your
"mailboxes" feed my soul. There's that lost
art of letterwriting.

Bonnie