MAY | European interiors, why you need to watch the film Passages & Detling Antiques

Second-hand interiors related inspiration, recommendations and maybe a purchase or two from the past month

*A quick apology that this newsletter is 3 days late. I was struck down with food poisoning over the weekend and am just about feeling like a normal human again.

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The theme of this end of the month round-up is loosely inspired by my love for European interiors. Partly because May is when everyone suddenly remembers UK summers are a myth and is either about to, or has already, embarked for the continent. But also because I watched - or should I say, was completely entranced by - the film Passages (more on that shortly) and thirdly because I accidentally stumbled across an old SD card with photos from a trip to Lisbon back in 2017 including the wonderful shop interior below, which feels very cobbled together and far from perfect but that’s exactly why I love it (and European interiors generally).

When I say ‘European interiors’, a broad term I know, what I’m specifically referring to are those spaces that just feel a little more undone and unfinished, very rustic and a little bit rough around the edges in that charming way that only Europeans know how. Spaces that just have that je ne sais quoi, if you will, but also united by a common theme of what I would class as ‘perfect imperfections’.

In the shop interior above, I love the surely accidental yet pretty perfect palette of light yellow, teal blue and red coming from the shelves, the door frame and that contraption in the corner whatever it may be. That lovely green table that’s just creeping into view stacked with sardines or maybe soap, the hessian thrown over the trolly, the chunky pine shelves, the wicker baskets.

It’s a space that feels as though it’s never been ripped out and fully re-furnished, it’s just been gently added to over the decades in a bit of a haphazard way that shouldn’t really work on paper but somehow in real life it just does. And that I think is my goal with all interiors, which let’s be honest is a lot easier said than done. But I do wish that when it comes to design and renovation, we weren’t all in such a hurry to rip the old out in order to start afresh.

The kitchen below is from the main apartment in Passages - I’ll get onto the rest of the interiors from the film in a moment - but again there are so many lessons in imperfection I want to take away, aside from the fact the shelf look as though it’s falling off the wall - even for me that’s too much. The light clipped onto the shelf, the photos stuck to the wall, the jars and jars of olive oil that have accumulated, the rustic wooden worktop, the fact the bottom of the sink is just sitting there exposed.

A reminder that there is beauty and charm to be found in spaces that feel truly inhabited.

I haven’t been so enamoured by a film’s aesthetic since Call Me By Your Name came out in 2017. If you haven’t already watched Passages, I urge you to do so, pronto. It’s available on Mubi or Amazon Prime and is both a beautiful and troubled exploration of what modern love looks like in the hands of complex characters. It follows creative duo Martin (played by Ben Whishaw) and Tomas (Franz Rogowski) whose frenetic open marriage is thrown into further disarray when Tomas meets Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos). As Brendon Holder outlines in his Substack ‘This is your sign to be in a throuple’, the film completes the trifecta of recently released films (alongside Past Lives and Challengers) that explore the dynamics of throuples or love triangles.

A heads up though, they don’t hold back on the sex scenes so maybe not one to watch with your parents on a Saturday night.

The film is set in Paris and mostly plays out indoors in a series of stylish apartments and houses, café-come-bars and studios. Martin and Tomas’s high-ceilinged, parquet-floored, art-filled apartment is a dream come true - complete with the bright pink sofa I didn’t know I needed until now and for some reason, doesn’t make me think of Barbie at all. As is their country house whose painted blue shutters just happen to match their vintage BMW and crumpled linen bedsheets.

My final offering to today’s theme, thanks to a timely suggestion from my friend Charlotte, was a spontaneous, riverside, alfresco dinner at Towpath London last Friday night - which fits the European brief perfectly, apart from the fact the sun definitely wasn’t shining. But, the delicious food and always welcoming service more than made up for the fact we were huddled in our jumpers and jackets. For anyone that has tried to go on a weekend, you’ll know Towpath is enormously popular (and for good reason) and as you can’t book a table it’s a turn up and hope you can grab a table without falling into the canal type situation. What I didn’t realise (until Charlotte mentioned), is that they also stays open late for dinner Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6.30pm - a great hack if you’re looking to visit but want to avoid the crowds.

I have visited two antique fairs this month, both in Kent. Faversham at the start of the month, which I have mentioned before in this piece and just last weekend Detling Antiques. Faversham, though small, is always lovely, however Detling, which is on the bigger side of things I was actually pretty disappointed by. Sometimes it’s hard to explain why exactly when you’re supposed to be rummaging anyway, but it was a struggle. I did see the Bargain Hunt crew filming there though which put a slightly more entertaining spin on things.

I almost walked away without a single purchase (aside from my cheese and tomato toastie) but fortunately as I was heading back to the car I stumbled upon this painting which I was slightly unsure of at the time but am now v. pleased with. And also…

this very lovely, very heavy alabaster lamp. Both of which took the edge off the early morning start.

Last but not least, I was so pleased to be asked by Nora of Thanks It’s eBay to be a guest curator this week. The newsletter is now live and you can view my nine selections here although a few visuals to whet your appetite below. Thank you to Nora for having me and please do check out her Substack, where as the name might suggest, you’ll find a whole host of bedazzling eBay finds awaiting you.

And that concludes this month’s round-up! If you’ve got to to the end, thank you and I really hope you enjoyed it. I can’t believe we’re almost half-way through the year now!! I send this free newsletter out at the end of every month and always try and cram as much as I can into it. If you enjoyed reading and have a minute, please do share it on your socials so that others can find it too. It can be accessed by everyone on Substack by sharing the link.

Until next time!

R x