country chic at l’atelier du presbytère
Mille fois merci to Christine Sawyer for contributing this posting - article and photos by Christine.
L’Atelier du Presbytère is one of Montreal’s best kept secrets for lovers of interior design. A relative newcomer to rue Notre-Dame Ouest, the two-year-old shop is a wonderful addition to the street’s great antique shops and galleries.
The focus is French country, and everything in the store tells a story, starting with the window display. The long vitrine gives glimpses of glassware, vases, lamps, painted and unpainted furniture, and best of all, linens, that make me wonder about the items’ previous lives.
Françoise, the owner, buys antique fabrics in garage sales, estate sales and antique shops. She combines them with natural linens, and creates wonderful – and unique – pieces.
Sacs à mots doux (bags for kind words), sacs à bisous (bags for kisses), sacs à histoires (bags for stories), sacs à rêves (bags for dreams), sacs à promesses (for promises), sacs à gros mots (for swear words), sacs à bêtises (for silly things), sacs à bobos (for little scratches). Who could resist these little linen bags, with such words stiched on them?
The words bring to mind childhood innocence - and in fact Françoise created one of the first bags for her young son. It was a lovely container for his gros mots, an alternative for using them in public. Then came bags for kisses, secrets, and the like.
Most of the fabrics she chooses are in soft white, red and ochre, and the overall effect is delightful. Sometimes she integrates a lace pattern from one of those antique sheets, or turns someone’s initials, like a French grandmother had on her table napkins, into the centerpiece of a cushion.
The store has everything to create the country chic home: antique glasses, dishes, clocks, scales and lamps; huge square soaps and other bathroom accessories; beautiful tables, chairs and dressers; and lots and lots of linens - antique bed sheets, cushions, aprons, dish towels, tablecloths, little bags for bread, laundry, just for fun, and more.
Thierry, Francoise’s husband, renovates the furniture, and they work together to create the complete look. He likes the rustic sheens and finishes, the whites and the pale greens, and the harmony is perfect.
And what about the name L’Atelier du Presbytère? Françoise and Thierry have their own story to tell: owners of a very successful business in Provence, they had little time to enjoy life, so they moved to Montreal to start small all over again.
L’Atelier du Presbytère was the name of their old shop - located in a small town behind the presbytère, home of the priest, on rue du Presbytère.
L’Atelier du Presbytère
1810, rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Tel : (514) 448-1768
