h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today, a former colleague was visiting, so we went to Villa Demoiselle.

It's an Art Nouveau villa in Reims. It belongs to a Champagne Group (Pommery-Vranken) and is directly across the street from their headquarters.
It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, and was inhabited until the 1970s, after which it was left to fall apart.

Then, in 2004, they began renovating it. That took several years, as all of the furniture, the wooden floors, the wooden wall panelling had been burnt for heating by squatters, and the metal (radiators, lamps, ...) and marble (fireplaces, wall decorations, ...) had been taken apart too, either sold off or just destroyed.
It had also been damaged by the big storm of December 1999 and by time, and broken into multiple times, ...

I remember it was on the bus ride between my student accomodation and the University, so for a long time I saw it falling apart, until one day they put up scaffolding and it started looking better and better.


The house itself is amazing, and te renovators have done a great job.
All the wallpapers were hand-painted, after research on photographs that had been taken in the 1920s, and careful studying of the (very few) remaining bits (for the colours).
There are stained glass windows, again reproduced from pictures.
There is a room with a mozaic floor that was just given a good wash: it wasn't damaged, just a bit worn, as it would have been anyway.
There are beautiful blown glass chandeliers, stunning wooden panelling, and a monumental staircase.

The furniture was not reproduced: the owners decided to stick to period furniture, so went around the antiques shops and auction sales to find pieces that would go well together.
And they managed it pretty well.

Here's the outside:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Demoiselle_Reims_Art_Nouveau.jpg
And here's a slideshow with pictures taken inside as well:
http://www.lunion.presse.fr/accueil/villa-demoiselle-un-bijou-de-l-art-deco-a-reims-ga0b0n191624


So guess what we're doing for the next Reims Meet?

[Amy P]

That is utterly, utterly stunning.

Deb

Exactly the word I was looking for -- stunning! I think art nouveau and the craftsman style are my favorite architectural forms. And the roof! Wow!!