la maison barjac (the barjac house): le coup de foudre (love at first sight)

It was a dream that became rooted in my bones so long ago, that it’s hard to know when it began. Probably right at the beginning - on my very first trip to France in the summer of 1994. I immediately felt like I was home, where I really belonged, as I started in Paris and travelled across the country - concentrated in the South for the majority of the trip. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but knew that I must do it. I must find a way to have a home in the South of France one day.

I carried that dream with me over the years, held it close to my heart and after many of life’s ups and downs, I thought I was getting closer. In the autumn of 2008, I left my native home of Los Angeles, California for London, England - and took the exciting and frightening leap to pack up all of my possessions into a massive container and bring them to the UK with me. My intention was not to stay in the UK forever. By packing everything I owned and moving it all across an ocean, I was declaring a very strong intention to find the house of my dreams in France and to move all of those possessions into it. I was going to manifest that house by hook or by crook. I could not fail - as there was no way that I could afford to move everything back to the States again!

All images from Provence Style: Landscapes Houses Interiors Details by Dr. Angelika Taschen (Editor)

For years before leaving Los Angeles, I had amassed a collection of Taschen’s beautiful books of houses in Provence and their interiors, which served as years of inspiration for the house I had yet to find. They were to form the basis of what I was to come to look for in a forever home. I also had the sage advice of one dear French friend in particular who laid out for me the main things I was to look for and not to compromise on:

1. Location: Far enough South to get the best weather and as much sunshine as possible.

2. Transportation: Close to at least one airport, preferably close to two or three to give you options; absolutely must be close to a stop on the TGV (France’s intercity high-speed rail service). Needs to be easy and affordable to get there from London.

3. Village: Small enough to not be too touristy, large enough to have all the amenities you need: some nice restaurants, a weekly market, a good pharmacy, a supermarket or mini-casino (as they’re called there - in the U.S. we’d call it an am/pm), at least a couple of good boulangeries, a hospital near by - and of course a glacerie (essential in the summertime). Amongst other things - but these were my key points. Most important: within an hour’s drive (or so) of a beach.

4. House: With a dream this special, you don’t want to spoil your opportunities by being too specific or closed-minded - you have your essentials and your deal-breakers, but being too rigid about what you want can often end in tears - as even once you find the place of your dreams, if it’s a fixer-upper (and the best deals are), there will inevitably be things that you adore that will need to change in order for the house to eventually be liveable. My absolutes: The house needed to have (1.) enough space for a pool, (2.) a viable space for the art studio of my dreams, (3.) a completely separate and independent space that could be rented out or for visitors to come stay in and (4.) be behind a big, private gate.

   There had been a period of time when I wanted acres of land and multiple outbuildings to restore, but the reality of what that would cost both to purchase as well as to restore was definitely cost prohibitive - so I decided to keep an open mind about what this future home could be. As long as the top essentials were present, it didn't have to be some massive chateau with acres attached.

   Little did I know, it would be the adventure of a lifetime. When I fell, I fell hard and madly in love. This kind of undertaking is not for the faint of heart…
   
   

5 Important Words

Happy New Year - and New Decade. Is it still possible to say that when you’re one month into the new year? I’m very excited to embrace this opportunity to start fresh again with renewed energy and optimism for what can (and will!) come next. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially when there are so many things that one wants to accomplish - but I’ve been working so hard and keeping my head down, manifesting this big dream forward, so I think it’s time to share more of the journey. The more I share, the more it allows other’s good thoughts and wishes manifest - and before you know it, we will have done it. We would have brought this big, beautiful beast to life!

The 5 important words? What. Are. You. Waiting. For?

As an artist, I find particular inspiration and unabashed joy in the images of Georgia O’Keefe in the book GEORGIA O’KEEFE AND HER HOUSES, GHOST RANCH AND ABIQUIU by Barbara Buhler Lynes and Agapita Judy Lopez. It’s about the clear vision and determination that Ms. O’Keefe had in restoring and building the two properties that she made into homes and lived and worked in for the rest of her life. I actually had the opportunity to visit her home in Abiquiu a number of years ago and was struck by how she reworked the space in order to suit her creative process. Her studio featured a massive window nearly the full length of the wall which looked out on the colorful Abiquiu canyons and mountains, with smooth river rocks of all sizes placed along the windowsill and covering tabletops and spaces all over the studio. But this book features the drawings, diagrams and images from when she was doing this restoration work - and I love all the similarities as I tackle the work on the Barjac house. It’s the big dream and the primary goal to push forward for this new year and decade.

I love these two photos of Ms. O’Keefe - as you feel in the first one that she’s discussing something that relates to the house, showing someone (perhaps the person who took the photograph) what she wants, what she loves, what has to be done with the house. The way her arm is raised and her fingers splayed out just so…

And the second image, taken on site as the work on the house was being done. She just looks so damn happy…and satisfied.

I can relate. I can relate to the gorgeous obsessions that make us climb over walls and fixate on doors or stones or a gate. But more than anything, I look forward to that feeling of happiness and satisfaction. I do feel it more and more with every visit…but I want it all, I want that look on her face.

And indeed, I feel that is coming very soon.

Rêver, Le rêve (Dream)

James Baldwin in his house in Saint-Paul de Vence

May 12, 1997 - The postmark on a postcard from me to my father and sister from Cannes, where I was working the film festival for the first time. It was my first declaration that I wanted to live in the South of France.

I had travelled in the region before, back in the summer of 1994, which was my first ever trip to France. I was taking two UCLA continuing education course for adults - one on the Belle Epoque and based in Paris for a month and the other on Modern Masters in the South of France, which would travel throughout Provence over three weeks and visit the towns and ateliers of artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, Chagall, Van Gogh, and Renoir, amongst others.  We were based in Vence and spent time in St. Remy, Antibes, Nice, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Vallauris, Avignon and other magical and wonderful spots - but most importantly for me, we also spent a day in Saint-Paul de Vence, which is where James Baldwin spent the last 17 years of his life.  It is said that Saint-Paul de Vence saved him, was his sanctuary, where he found peace and was able to write.  And within minutes of arriving there, I completely understood. I returned there a number of times over the years.

When I wrote that postcard to my dad, I was writing from my heart, from my truth - and it didn’t matter that at the time I had no idea how to make my dream come true. That I didn’t have a clue about how to get a house or how to start to build a life in another country.  All that mattered was that I could feel it.  Deep down in my core, I somehow knew what was meant for me. Little did I know that my strong belief was the first step towards my destiny.

What was once the patio in front of James Baldwin's study in his house in Saint-Paul de Vence, with his writing/reading table. Photo courtesy of Magdalena J. Zaborowska from her wonderful book Me and My House: James Baldwin's Last Decade in France  (no copyright infringement intended)

James Baldwin in the garden of his home in Saint-Paul de Vence