Antiquing in Pézenas

Even though we had purchased our house fully furnished, we knew we would have to replace most of the furniture items that came with the sale, as they were not good quality and definitely meant for the use of potentially raucous renters. A couple of chairs were downright dangerous; they were falling apart!

A small sample of what we inherited:

Bargain basement metal lamps and a basic bed on four screw-on feet 

Set of 4 kitchen chairs that were made of lightweight, composite wood.
We couldn't find an antique dealer who would take them as a trade-in,
so we left them with one who said he'd donate them somewhere.

A built-in, cinderblock bench in the kitchen - 14" high... so low you could barely
get down onto or up out of it, without assistance (and it's not just that we're getting old!!)
The rough, homemade table and chest of drawers (fiberboard) were removed from the kitchen,
and put in the hallway, until we can find something better.

Apparently, the guest room beds were made of sawed-off pieces of newell posts.
The mattresses were soft and saggy.

Before we came here, Jack had done a lot of research on where to find all the best antiques (antiquités) and vintage (brocante) shops. On our very first day in Montagnac, after café au lait and a delicious breakfast, we were off to the medieval town of Pézenas, 10 minutes from our house, to start looking for furnishings.

Pézenas is renowned for its many antique dealers, and we found an incredible selection.  Since we arrived in March, before the start of the annual tourist season, we have had our choice of some pretty amazing stock, and the prices have been ridiculous - as in ridiculously affordable! Still, I am amazed that we have been able to find so many of the pieces of furniture I had always dreamed of as THE quintessential French home furnishings! Since that first trip, we have been to Pézenas almost every day, and have become friendly with several of the antique dealers.

Jack with Jean-Louis Koenig, from whom we bought a number of items.
The two carved and upholstered chairs behind them are now in our master bedroom.

A collage sampling of what the antique shops in Pézenas have to offer:

If you love antiques (especially French ones) like we do, you can imagine what absolute heaven this was! We bought so many lovely pieces, some of which I had always dreamed of having, but had thought would be nearly impossible to find or unaffordable. Much to my joy, "impossible" and "unaffordable" did not seem to be in the vocabulary of these fabulous shops!! Stay tuned for before-and-after pictures, as we have replaced and redecorated. It has been such FUN!