Zircons and Diamonds

We are knee deep in dust. The contractors and building craftspeople are working around the clock so that the furnishings can be moved in TOMORROW to my old, but now new, apartment. They are busting their buns to have it ready and I am one lucky girl to have such support. Designer, Martine di Mattéo, is my savior! Without her and her amazing crew, I’d be out on the street as of this coming Saturday when the keys must be handed over to my rental apartment.

Daily we visit the apartment to see what they need and what we can do to help. As anyone who does renovation knows, the devil is in the details, and daily there are more and more details with which to deal. I’m a detail-oriented kind of gal and I want what I want, so it’s likely Martine has been driven nuts with all of my demands…but she handles them and me like a pro.

One of my goals was to recreate my apartment as closely as possible without it costing an arm-and-a-leg. She and I agreed from the beginning that we’d marry Zircons and diamonds—go for the cheap solution in most situations, while going “haut de gamme” in others—so that you can’t tell the fake from the real thing. It’s a trick that works well.

For example, a lot of the furniture and cabinetry comes from IKEA, but if you change the knobs and handles, suddenly the IKEA dresser looks more like Roche Bobois. So, we set out to find new knobs and handles. In the interest of saving money, we first went to Leroy Merlin, where I knew the prices would be good. Leroy Merlin is a French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, owned by the Mulliez family, which also owns Auchan. It’s France’s answer to Home Depot.

After all these years I know every inch of the rue Beaubourg store that spans approximately 5,000 m² over two levels (in a kind of maze). With a catalog that boasts around 135,000 product references, we were able to find suitable lighting, knobs and handles, window shades, etc., including a kitchen sink, and headed home in an Uber with the goods. We were satisfied.

Then, I made the mistake of visiting The Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV) the next day, by chance…

THE BHV CACHE

A friend made a dinner date at La table Cachée by Michel Roth on the 5th floor of the BHV. I’d never heard of it, nor ever dined there and when she asked, I immediately said, “Sure!”

The Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville is a Paris landmark, but no one calls it that. Everyone knows it as the “BHV.” And it’s “sous-sol” is a wonderland for the DIY. I used to know every inch of it, too, but it seems like it’s always under changes and I didn’t have any projects…until now. So, I allowed 45 minutes to wander in the store before dinner.

This is when it hit me that I had been missing one of Paris’ greatest assets. We always used to joke that the only thing missing from the BHV was the kitchen sink…and that IS the only thing missing, because there are plenty of bathroom sinks, but none for the kitchen (I don’t know why).

What struck me more than the diversity or quantity of every imaginable thing, was the sheer quality and taste of just about every item on display in every corner of the store. There were thousands of knobs from which to choose, hundreds of different shower heads and a cornucopia of bathroom accessories. I was like a kid in a candy store and almost regretted settling for Leroy Merlin’s less expensive, lower quality choices. Then, I remembered my basic budget and that the BHV prices fit their quality. Still, I was drooling over everything I saw and wanted to start over.

The solution to satisfy my urges will come soon, once moved in with all the old stuff that will surely look tired in their brand spanking new environment…so a trip to the BHV is on the horizon to change the old Zircons for real diamonds.

La Table Cachée topped it all off—with a beautiful and delicious meal from a rooftop balcony with magnificent views and stunningly artistic dishes. While not inexpensive, just like the products on the shelves, it was worth every penny.

Don’t come to Paris and miss a visit to the BHV. It puts Home Depot seriously to shame. It’s a reason all on its own to renovate a property in France!

THIS WAY OUT!

Not long ago, our client and friend, Dave Wollert, asked me to give his little book a read, This Way Out! I had known that Dave was a funny guy, but didn’t realize he was helluva wordsmith, with a an even better sense of humor in print than in real life, until I guffawed throughout his tiny tome.

As I wrote for a blurb for the jacket cover…

Good news for Dave and you!: The book This Way Out! now available on now available in Kindle, in paperback on amazon.fr , and in eBook and paperback on amazon.com.

And Dave has kindly agreed to come talk at Après-Midi in Nice on March 26, 2026! So, mark your calendar now and be prepared to crack up!…While learning a lot!

INSIDE THE CIA…
With Tim Weiner and Pierre Haski

A rare glimpse into intelligence, global power struggles, and the fight to safeguard democracy in an era of relentless espionage.

Inside the CIA with Tim Weiner and Pierre Haski
Tue October 7th 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Weiner and distinguished journalist Pierre Haski for a revealing conversation about Weiner’s new book The Mission, a definitive account of the CIA’s evolution since 9/11. Drawing on exclusive interviews with former CIA Directors, operations officers, and the top spymaster, Weiner uncovers how the agency adapted to the challenges of the war on terror, rebuilt its espionage capabilities, and now faces unprecedented global threats in a complex and shifting world.

SHADOWS OF ROME IN PARIS

In the morning of September 9th I go for my French citizenship interview. That afternoon I will be welcoming legacy newshound-author author David Downie, along with renowned author Harriet Welty Rochefort, for a lively, entertaining and provocative conversation about David’s new book, Shadows of Rome: A Memoir of War and Love from Italy to California. It’s poignant, unexpected, and un-put-down-able.

Harriet’s latest book—Final Transgression, a novel set primarily during World War II, in France, and based loosely on her husband’s family—gives a very different take on the Resistance, from the French perspective. It’s a gripping tale with unexpected and tragic outcomes.

Anyone who has read David or Harriet’s books, or attended one of their past events—both veterans at these gatherings—know they’re outspoken and opinionated and are irrepressible storytellers. David has said that he didn’t set out to write a timely, topical book with political themes. But with the return to the Oval Office of Donald Trump, Shadows of Rome feels like it’s about more than Italy and California decades ago. His colorful family’s wild experiences under Mussolini and during World War Two, and then in the hippy-druggie days of San Francisco and Berkeley, feel eerily contemporary. David’s mother and grandfather were in the Italian Resistance. His father fought in the Italian Campaign….

Without trying to be, Shadows of Rome is disconcertingly topical in Trump’s America. You won’t want to miss this very special event with two of Paris’ most illustrious authors.

Date: September 9
Time: 3:00 pm-5:00 pm CEST
Venue: Café de la Mairie
51 rue de Bretagne
Paris, 75003 France

No need to reserve in advance, but come about 15 minutes ahead to get a good seat! For more information, see the event’s page on our website.

A la prochaine…