A Whole New Deux

Do you know Pierre Deux? The French Country decor stores and catalog? Since 1967, the company has imported, designed and reproduced furniture and accessories inspired by the colors, materials, traditions and culture of the French countryside.

I can't tell you how many hours I have been spent pouring over their catalogs, imagining a life in which my cozy chateau overflows with checked and toile setees, Aubusson pillows and rugs, beautifully detailed desks and chests and hand-painted Faience pottery.

The colors and styles of Provence have been favorite decor elements of mine since way back when in design school and Pierre Deux's retail catalogs and website have been an important source of inspiration. There is a showroom in the Pacific Design Center where exclusive, to-the-trade furnishings and fabrics are offered, but I have not yet had the occasion to visit. Always more popular in the South and East than here on the West Coast, retail stores there outnumber them here 5 to 1. Even so, I think it's safe for me to say that the name Pierre Deux has been synonymous with French Country decorating in America for decades.

Those who don't, shall we say appreciate the French Country look, liken it to stuffy, fluffy, too-traditional, grandma-style decorating. But those of us who love it, LOVE it. The colors, the patterns, the textures, oh my!

But now, there's this: FCLstyle.com, a brand-new, online-only division of Pierre Deux. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but it's definitely NOT your grandma's French Country. Oh my, indeed.

On its site, the company calls itself a "home furnishings boutique that combines the periods, patterns and pedigrees of the French design aesthetic... FCL blends the new with the old and the traditional with the modern...". New to the marketplace just a month or so ago, it will be interesting to see what becomes of it. Some of the merchandise bears a definite similarity to other retailers like Anthropologie, Wisteria and Ballard Designs. It's a Bohemian, eclectic look inspired by both found objects and flea markets as well as modern eco-chic.

These two tables, below, caught my eye... the Horn Side Table and Sleigh Tray and Stand. The painting at the top of this post is said to be FCL's homage to Magritte, the Belgian artist known for depicting ordinary objects in surreal context.

Go take a look and let me know... are you traditional French Country or new French Chic? A little bit of both? Neither? I'd really like to hear what you have to say.