I'm a child of Provence, a flower of Ollioules (an expression used by the mayor of Ollioules at my wedding!).
I grew up with the smell of gouache, the strokes of the chisel, the crunch of the charcoal on the paper, the painting easels on the dining table, models of naked women, pieces of olive trees, art exhibitions... from my father, artistic genius (Lucien LONG).
I grew up with the smell of garlic, thyme and rosemary, aïoli, bouillabaisses, pistou soups, farcis, tapenade, and anchoïade... all around big tables of friends orchestrated by my mother and Arlette, an old family friend.
I grew up at the Maison LONG in the center of the village and on weekends in the heights of Ollioules at the cabanon with its canisse pergola and cobblestones... between farniente and walks in the garrigue.
I grew up with the sense of home decoration passed on by my mother; constantly designing interior decor together; first seeing my mom doing it, then doing it with her. Changing just the placement of furniture and objects, a matter of 1 cm in our family. Finding the right balance between emptiness and fullness, between lightness and strength, between strict straight lines and warm diagonals.
I grew up in this family of creative monsters, including my sister Mylène, 14 years my senior, who is also an artist - a painter-sculptor-stained glass artist (“Derzou” is her artist name)!
As the daughter of a painter-sculptor father and a decorating enthusiast mother, I try to make the most of the precious “artistic eye” inherited from my parents and express my creativity through home renovation.
For the past 10 years, I've been renovating my family home to sublimate its exceptional historic architecture. A giant task, a great love story.
Passionate about renovation, old stones, and heritage preservation, I work daily to restore this magical place steeped in history, with the bonus of living in San Francisco (9-hour time difference) and New York (6-hour time difference)!
Deeply attached to this Provencal house and my Ollioules roots, I want to share with our guests the too-rare experience of experiencing the South in an authentic setting, capable of multiplying the sensations of Provencal slow living with the sun, the crashing of the waves, the song of the cicadas, the color of rosé and pastis, the smell of thyme, garlic, and tapenade.
I can't get enough of thick walls that aren't straight (!), imperfect terracotta tiles that have been carefully preserved, Provencal ceilings with authentic beams, and old materials to honor the past and transport me back through the centuries. I love imperfections that reflect the passage of time and create a home full of soul and character.
When it comes to renovating such an old place, the challenge is immense: the renovation must, in my opinion, be as unobtrusive as possible and blend in with the past using noble materials; it must also reveal and sublimate the building's original forms, make the effort to unearth old materials to be as non-disruptive as possible and restore everything that can be discovered in the walls to honor our ancestors, restoring them with love. Quite a program... one that lasts for years!
With love,
Stephanie