Bring on the Brocante

A brocante cherub with a makeshift rain hat  

I grew up in a household where antiques were the preferred decoration.  My parents, especially my mother, love attending auctions, flea markets, and browsing second hand stores.  The "thrill of the hunt", the excitement of finding something interesting, useful, or beautiful, is in my blood.  I also have a syndrome that goes hand in hand with the love of antiques, the tendency to be a pack rat.  It is so easy to accumulate "stuff" and it can be very difficult for me to get rid of things later.

When we first moved to Strasbourg I was determined not to clutter our space with too many things.  Our French apartment is smaller than our house was and I didn't want it to become stuffed to the gills with possessions.  We didn't take much with us when we moved.  Leaving things behind felt freeing and the empty space allowed me room to breathe again.

Now that we have been here for two years I am changing my mind about our living space.  We have been visiting friends whose apartments are beautifully decorated.  They feel warm, homey, and filled with lovely decorations collected from their experiences.  Our apartment, which is sparsely decorated, used to feel free to me.  Now, in comparison to our friends' places, it looks empty.  After experiencing my freedom of space, I am now inspired to make it feel homey.  I am ready to start... carefully... choosing items to decorate with.

It has just recently dawned on me that I live in France, the home of antiques.  My mom is a huge fan of decorating magazines.  These magazines regularly feature articles about collectibles found in France.  Why haven't I been searching out antique shops before?  What has been wrong with me?  After a conversation with a friend I have learned that what I am most interested in are brocante items.  Brocante are used goods that aren't especially old or especially valuable.  The French reserve the label of antiques for things more rare, expensive, or that have been around for a few hundred years.

This friend and I had planned to go to an outdoor brocante fair on Saturday morning.  (Picture an antique flea market like in the States.)  Unfortunately she had a family issue to take care of and was not able to go. It was rainy on Saturday and I waited until the storm stopped before wandering over to the brocante.  I was too late though.  The vendors had had enough of the bad weather.  Most of them had packed up and left already.  The ones who were still there were in the process of leaving.  I had a chance to check out a few tables while the sellers were busy putting other things away.  There were some really interesting items.  Now my curiosity has been sparked.  I can't wait to search for, find, and decorate with some French brocante.