Thursday, December 12, 2013

BHV diy Xmas


Who would expect dear BHV in the Marais and home of brass door pulls, shower curtains and other household bricabrac, to have the wittiest Christmas windows in town.
 
The everyday Clementine or Mandarine, a sure sign of winter's arrival, can happily adorn the most upscale holiday tables like these in BHV's windows. Films of chefs cooking up a storm lurk in the background. 
BHV has taken the spoon to new culinary heights with this spoony chandelier.
 
Inside spoons deck all the Christmas trees throughout the store.
This reindeer wears a collier/necklace of spoons.
 
Why not deck your halls with balls full of bubble bath (2.95€).
Take your best blender, turn it upside down and add a light bulb. Voila! A new hanging lamp. Why not?
 
Same thing with your potato graters. Add a bulb. Et voila lovely lanterns. Who knew?
 
Huge whips make festive lighting. This is a DIY Christmas indeed.
 
Another use for your whip is to give your nearest and dearest a good bash should they get out of line during the hols (as most relatives are inclined to do). Make sure they're wearing a colander please.
 
Bears swinging from the whip lights.
 
French kiddies thought this was a hoot!
 
Oh what to do with the knitted saucisson?
 
Or the pied de porc..?
 
Time to put one's nose deep in a cookbook.
 
Or bang a tarte pan (for inspiration).
 
The kugelhopf is a must on the traditional French Christmas table.
 
Miam Miam
 
Bund pans make fine lighting fixtures too.
 
Take a brush to your empty tins with a splash of bronze et voila, voila. Elegant vases for flowers your guests bring.
 
Will you have Christmas crackers? A much loved English tradition. Across the street from BHV pyramids of lights and a carrousel at Hotel de Ville. December 20th the skating rink opens. All very festive at BHV non?
 

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:59 PM

    I love these windows! This is one of my favorite shopping stops in Paris since my hotel is near by. I always load up on Jacquard Francais towels.

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  2. Hi Carol, Still interested in a watercolor of my son and his wife's new house! Please be in touch!

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    Replies
    1. How? No photo and no links.
      No can do.

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  3. That orange opening is a real grabber! Very nice color.
    Your series of window reflections is great, too.
    Excellent photos, Carol.

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  4. Love the cuisine windows..and your art:-)

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  5. This is great. I love the creativity going on there.

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  6. Super yum orange on that mandarine…
    I am head over heels in love with BHV! Will immediately start wiring all my kitchenware for lights. There will be nothing left to cook Christmas dinner in, but we will have crackers!

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  8. All the wit and perspicacity here do take the prize in my book! Thank you! Your delight is our delight!

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    Replies
    1. have to admit it took a 2nd and 3rf look to notice all the tricks BHV was up to in these vitrines. I'm going back for some bubble bath christmas balls - multi-tasking at a very high level IMHO

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  9. OMG, a knitted saucission! AMAZING!!!


    xoxo

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    1. Could br a wine bottle too...
      Get knitting D!

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  10. Formidable! I never thought of checking out the windows at BHV. Witty, elegant, creative, downright funny--what's not to like. Merci mille fois, Carol!

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  11. This is indeed astounding. BHV to me is so old and behind the times and now this! Cutting edge Christmas windows/decor! I'll have to go and check this out with the children.

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  12. Ah, Christmas crackers? I love them and it has always been our tradition - except every 2 yrs I bring them out for the French family and they look at me as if I'm mad. 'Tis not in their culture, boohoo.
    Cute post, Carol!

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  13. I love every single one of these. Every single one! But then, it's BHV, my fave store!

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  14. All very clever - & I don't blame you for getting some bubble bath. If I were there, I'd buy several of them.

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  15. Bonsoir!
    My French father used to take a tangerine, cut it in half through the middle, remove the fruit, use the pulp as a wick and make an orange candle with oil inside and a hole in the top. It was a tradition for Christmas and New Years and I carry on that tradition with my own children. It is just a little tangerine that makes our celebration a bit more magical!
    Suzanne@ Le Farm

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    Replies
    1. http://lefarmcountryfrenchproduce.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-french-traditionjoyeux-noel.html
      From my blog last year...my little French orange candle!

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  16. Use the pulp ss a wick?
    I'd love to see that!

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  17. Anonymous5:54 PM

    Bonjour, Carol! We will be headed to Paris for the holidays in a few days, and are excited to be staying quite near the BHV, in the Marais. The link you embedded is fantastic; however my French is quite rusty! I am very interested in reading the history- do you happen to know if the site has a version en anglais?

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    1. I didn't realize there was so much text...It does look interesting.
      I have Google Translate and you can directly translate to English simply by highlighting the French text but only works on the computer..

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  18. The only thing missing is your Bear!

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