French Grey for Christmas

If for some reason you ever considered Grey to be a “trendy” color, you should think again.  Year after year, I see it in France, at the Monoprix on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, all over Burgundy and at the stores in Beaune.  The high end store in Beaune stocks lovely grey plates and bowls from lines like Côté Table, one of my favorites for French dinnerware.  The low-end store I shop at in Beaune always has a great selection of grey candles, grey sand, grey feathers and all other things grey, white, and other neutrals.  Last Christmas in Beaune I loved a bunch of the grey pillar candles I bought, and this year in Laguna as I start to plan for Christmas, I’ve been searching for similar.  Hard to find, it’s incredible; items you see everywhere in France are not to be found here.  The shade of grey I had in mind was that of the pigeons at the Parc Bouzaise, a short walk from home.  This is my perfect French Grey. 

The first stop for me in my hunt for grey candles was a score.  My Ace Hardware store carries the French line of candles called Point a la Ligne, which is a Bordeaux-based company that has several stores in Paris.  I bought the grey tapers in two lengths, and I’ll be using them on my dinner table this year.

I will also be gifting a lot of these, tied up with a little grey tulle and finished with a pearl.  The shade is a little lighter than these images; you can buy these candles online HERE; the color happens to be called Dove Grey.

I especially love the light grey paired with metallics and darker tones.

This pair of tassels will be coming to Beaune with me on the next trip.  I have loved these for a long time and now I have just the place for them.  They pair so well with French Grey.

If you want to introduce some other colors, my first choice is shades of lavender and lilac.  I’ll be gifting these~

It’s a very simple package of two $3 tapers, a simple tie with the tulle and a pearl.  Tuck in a little fresh lavender if you have some.  I know a lot of people who would love to receive this~

Think too of other shades of charcoal and lilac, and deep fuchsia and reds.

By the time you get just a little green in there, and crystal and silver, you’ll have a very soothing dinner table.  The other place I recommend for grey candles is Ikea; you can find this grey pillar candle HERE.  This one is unscented, $2.99.  They also have grey tapers, but I prefer the ones from Point a la Ligne.

I’ll be using shades of red and deep purple; thinking of Pomegranates, but I often go back to this satin ribbon, which I will use to tie up grey napkins.  Satin says Holiday, and Party.  Special.   And silver, lots and lots of French sterling please!

Also think about using pops of Orange with your greys; a few clementines in a bowl near the grey is so good and so fresh.  This is a charcoal satin~

I’ve also bought lots of grey tulle; not sure how I will use it yet, but I know I love it and will use up all that I have bought.  This very subtle grey tulle is from Levine’s, downtown Los Angeles.  It photographed a little blue here, but it’s a very pale dove grey; the lavender tulle and satin ribbons (I only buy “double-face Swiss”) in the photos above is also from Levine’s.   The tulle is 85 cents per yard.  I don’t see it in their online store, but their website is HERE.  Call them to order; their are always very helpful.  I can see the tulle skirting an elegant table.

For the moment, we’re using both candles in the kitchen.  Though someone left the door open and the taper dripped; oops.  But I love the grey with the Pierre Deux wallpaper and the French table.  Love love love grey candles!

I have a lot of holiday ideas for menu and decor; working my way through the posts.  In the meantime, hope you will consider grey in your decor for Thanksgiving and Christmas; it also works so well as a color palette for New Year.