The L’Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue antique market is like WOW.
Okay, OKAY, I know I’ve been beating all of you over the head on Instagram with the fact that I was at the antiques market in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Provence last week – but it was all so freaking exciting (and sizzlingly hot, oh my GODDESS)! So, please bear with me…
Okay, OKAY, I know I’ve been beating all of you over the head on Instagram with the fact that I was at the antiques market in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Provence last week – but it was all so freaking exciting (and sizzlingly hot, oh my GODDESS)! So, please bear with me today as I share oooh…a few dozen more photos that I took there. For those of you not in the know, the southern French village of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (what a mouthful) is home to what I’m sure is the largest number of antique stores in Europe. Believe me, it’s a lot to take in. But twice a year, the visual overload gets even bigger when about 300 more dealers descend on its streets for the Foire.
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue / Antiques Art and You
Yep, that’s the official name of the antiques market. Okay, let me show you what I saw there.
Don’t worry about finding the market when you arrive – the first antiques store, aptly called Le Quai de la Gare, beckons you the moment you leave the train. L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is about half an hour from the beautiful tourist trap that is Avignon. There was also plenty of space to park your car, by the way.
If you ever needed a reason the world does not need MORE furniture, here it is! L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a veritable cornucopia of all things vintage.
No, things do not need to match in a great interior. Au contraire!
Mid-modern, Shmid-modern! Scandinavian shelving systems were all the rage ten years ago – but now they’re just really boring, if you ask my opinion. That being said, the warm wood of this particular specimen does look great combined with the cool blue paint.
Those two paintings would look just plain awful in most interiors, but here they really work. Must be the dark grey wall and the antique furniture.
Stick a fork in me, I’m done with Hollywood Regency for a while. Sorry. That travertine table in the back is quite nice, though.
Now, THIS is fun! One of the dealers had a room filled with amazing ceramics.
I really wouldn’t know which one I’d buy, would you?
Ah yes, the mirrored cabinet that was such a hit when I posted it on Instagram.
TOTALLY DIGGING the light blue fabric on these otherwise quite mundane chairs.
This chair looks like it offers endless possibilities for out of this world sex positions. How many can you think of?
Okay, it’s a lamp. It’s made of travertine. And it’s a rhinoceros. All I had to do find out who designed it was to Google “Rhinoceros Travertin Lamp”. Fratelli Mannelli, of course!
OMG – and all this time I thought the Yves Klein blue Roman head in my living room was big!
Talking about which…what do you think of this Yves Klein blue chair? It sure has a lot going on!
As I said on Instagram the other day, this Togo sofa is getting a tad clichéd. That shade of purple is quite nice, though – especially combined with the Victor Vasarely-ish painting on the wall.
What an unusual shape for an armrest! Drop me a line if you know more about this chair.
This circular cabinet might just be the missing link in my kitchen. Lovely shade of orange!
Come to papa! It’s not the best photo I’ve ever taken, but this Seventies black lacquered brass shelving system sure looks pretty.
It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed there were two giant gold columns in this photo. Sometimes you just don’t know where to look, right?
I loved, loved, LOVED Chipie in the Eighties – that brand is definitely due for a comeback.
If you’re into Fornasetti, but are tired of the Giulia plates then this framed poster might be a good alternative.
Oh wow, those rough stone walls are definitely a surprising backdrop for these glossy wooden cabinets. Not really feeling the lamp, though.
I once lived in this rickety old pijpenla apartment in Amsterdam with a wooden floor that I painted white just like this one. My furniture wasn’t quite as fancy as all the stuff you see here, I can tell you though.
Anyone for takeaway Chinese? This ceramic Chinese had wasn’t too expensive at €100 – but it was a bit too heavy for me to take back to my hotel in Marseille.
I had never seen this type of shell lamp before, but at the L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue market I saw at least five of them. Must be French thing. Most of them were about €120 – a bit much, but there you have it.
When I took this photo, it was getting really, really hot outside. Still, I soldiered on.
I always make a sport out of finding rare items like this candle holder on Google. ‘Victorian candle lamp’ was the closest I got.
A never-ending parade of vintage furniture in the sweltering heat – my kind of afternoon!
If you ever need a giant propeller or a rocket for that matter, here it is! Can you believe all the weird and wonderful items that you can find at the L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Antiques market?
I’d probably spill my coffee all over me drinking from these square cups! But hey, at least I’d look terribly cool in the process.
Cute doggies are all the rage with French antiques dealers – but I already knew that from my visit to Les Puces in Paris a few years ago. Check out the photos I took when I was there – I even ran into Rod Stewart. Ha!