Belgian Luxury B&B ‘Vaucelles - The Little Monastery’

 

Those who are following my blog since a few years, will have noticed that in September 2009 I wrote a blogpost about the opening of the new showroom of Belgian renowned antiques dealers Brigitte & Alain Garnier (click HERE to read this blogpost).

Years ago the Garnier family bought the old property ‘Vaucelleshof’, used to be an abbey with about 10 monks living there. The family restored the house with passion and with respect for its history.

‘Vaucelleshof’ is wonderfully situated in the green and open surroundings of the medieval village of Damme, only 10 minutes from Bruges. The property now consists out of buildings of the 17th, 18th and 19th century, all carefully restored.

‘Vaucelleshof’ Sources : Image 1 website Garnier; Image 2 photo by me; Image 3 Claude Smekens Fotografie; Image 4 Magazine Vivere Country 2011 Photo credit Claude Smekens Fotografie; Image 5 Photo by me; Image 6 Magazine Vivere Country 2011 Photo credit Claude Smekens Fotografie; Image 7 Magazine Veranda March 2011; Image 8 Claude Smekens Fotografie 

Who doesn’t remember the cover of Veranda Magazine March 2011, where the dining room of the Garnier family was shown. Or the orangerie of Vaucelleshof that made it on the cover of the gorgeous book Quiet Living.

‘Vaucelleshof’ is not only the residence of the Garnier family, but also accomodates the showroom, full of antiques!

To discover the antiques collection, please visit their website http://www.garnier.be.

Opening Showroom Garnier Antiques – Summer 2009 Photo by me

The property with its facilities is even rented out for several events as weddings, parties, photoshoots and seminars.

Wedding table setting at Vaucelleshof Photo source website Garnier

 

Four years after the opening of their antiques showroom, the Garniers are pleased to announce the opening of their Luxury B&B ‘Vaucelles’ – The Little Monastery.

The small hotel currently counts 3 rooms. Two more rooms will be finished in 2014.

All rooms are decorated by Brigitte Garnier.

Let’s take a look inside the rooms.

 

The Landlord’s Room

A luxury mezzanine room with spa-haman & sauna and a large livingroom. Offering minibar, nespresso coffee & tea facilities, flat-screen TV, WIFI, custom made bedlinen, bathrobe.

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Landlord’s Room

 

Marguerite’s Room

A second luxury mezzanine room with minibar, nespresso coffee & tea facilities, flat-screen TV, WIFI, custom made bedlinen, bathrobe.

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , Marguerite’s Room

 

The Summer House Room

Romantic room above the orangerie, offering coffee & tea facilities, custom made bedlinen, bathrobe.

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room

Vaucelles – The Little Monastery , The Summer House Room 

 

For more information and reservation :

 info@garnier.be 

www.vaucelleshof.be

T + 32 50 313119

The new website of  B&B ‘Vaucelles’ will be online soon.

 

If you plan to visit Belgium and if you love to spend some time in the countryside, then B&B ‘Vaucelles – The Little Monastery’  is definitely your place to stay !

 

xx

Greet

All images posted with permission of Brigitte Garnier.

White Rooms in Bruges

 

 

The past weekend the charming guesthouse ‘White Rooms in Bruges’ opened its doors.

My friend Natalie Haegeman of Natalie Haegeman Interiors is the lady behind this gorgeous brand new guesthouse in Bruges, the most romantic city of Belgium.

Combining her passion for interior design with her fascination for historic buildings, Natalie restored this typical Bruges house, respecting the original features, and created a uniquely charming environment that she wanted to share with her guests.

White Rooms in Bruges

 

Bruges by night

As an interior designer Natalie has decorated the rooms of her guesthouse in the most wonderful way. She made of White Rooms the most cosiest guesthouse of Bruges, decorated in the typical Belgian style.

Let us take a look inside the house.

The living room with an open fire place and original oak floor. As you can see Natalie’s dog Billie definitely feels at home!

Who wouldn’t love to sit here, curled up with a good book, having a glass of wine, after an inspiring walk in the city of Bruges?

 

The kitchen, with its Belgian limestone floor, is completely decorated in the Belgian style.

Even a small Aga cooker is at your disposal!

Beautiful kitchen table and table lamp.

Natalie is renown for her hand made lampshades. She offers a wide range of hand made lampshades, for sale in her webshop here.

Notice the beautiful pottery and wicker baskets.

 

I so love this view from the living room towards the kitchen.

 

The guesthouse has a small terrace that Natalie decorated with garden pots and wooden barrels.

 

The living room is decorated with antique furniture and objects. Paintings are of the artist Jean-Marc Louis, for sale in Natalie’s webshop here.

 

Let’s go upstairs to see the bedrooms of the guesthouse.

The house can accomodate 4 people who will be torn between choices of these 2 beautiful decorated bedrooms!

Both rooms are painted white and decorated with accents of celadon.

First bedroom

 

 

What a gorgeous idea to hang this group of wicker trays above the bed here!

 

Second bedroom

 

All bed linen available at Natalie Haegeman Interiors.

 

Love this bathroom with the marble topped bath, placed in an alcove.

 

As no other Natalie knows exactly how to choose the right fabrics for every single room.

 

A Suzani tablecloth on the table in the dining room.

 

‘White’ flowers, of course!

 

Not to forget to mention that a bike is at your disposal.

If you are planning to visit Bruges and if you want to know how it feels to live in a house completely decorated in the Belgian style, then WHITE ROOMS IN BRUGES is your place to be!

Or maybe you might think about surprising friends or family with a weekend stay in Bruges… ? WHITE ROOMS will offer them a memorable stay.

 

For online reservations click HERE.

www.white-rooms.be

Niewe Gentweg 94

8000 BRUGGE

Belgium

info@white-rooms.be

 

Next to all the historic monuments, gardens and picturesque streets that the medieval city of Bruges has to offer, this guesthouse really is a fine acquisition!

 

White Rooms in Bruges, guesthouse by Natalie Haegeman 

www.white-rooms.be

www.nataliehaegeman-interiors.be

 

I wish you a wonderful stay!!!

xx

Greet

 

Images with permission of Natalie Haegeman

Belgian B&B De Corenbloem and Artist-Painter Angèle Boddaert

 

 

A heaven of peace, surrounded by art and culture, that is what house ‘The Corenbloem’, a Belgian B&B, stands for. I am pleased to share this Belgian Pearl with you today!

House ‘De Corenbloem’ is an 18th century manor house, situated in the heart of Bruges.

The core of House De Corenbloem is late medieval. In the 18th century it was refurbished for the first time. The guest drawing-room for example is partly rococo and partly Louis XVI. Around 1810 the house obtained its neo-classical character with a spacious empire room and a stately vestibule. Everything has been carefully preserved from the old doors to the original floorboards and mantelpieces. The owners, Dirk and Hilde Verbeke, have restored the house with respect for history. The restoration of ‘De Corenbloem’ lasted for over two years and was done with a lot of artisanal craftsmanship.

The stately vestibule - Swedish Gustavian style inspired

.

The entire interior has been redecorated and repainted based on traces found of the original decoration and colour palette. Because the Gustavian style inspired the original decoration and colours, it has become the leading inspiration. The colour shades of the North Sea match the regional neo-classicism perfectly. The house has been furnished with authentic 18^th century furniture.

 

The guest’s drawing room with a rococo styled mantelpiece and…

 

…Louis XVI trophies over the doors.

 

Beautiful Swedish inspired dining room.

 

Let’s visit the rooms!

 

The Bouquets Room

The original 18^th century wallpaper served as a model for the lively blue wall paintings.

 

The Bouquets Room bathroom.

 

The Rocaille Room

The doors, floorboards and stucco frames go back to the 18^th century. The trompe l’oeuil decoration of the walls with rocailles and festoons is Swedish inspired.

 

Notice this detail of painted wall decoration!

 

The Rocaille Room bathroom.

 

The Empire Suite

This very special room was created in 1810. The green colours, the painted friezes, the ceiling frames and the doors of the wall cupboards are all female Empire style, rural and soft.

 

The wall cupboards.

 

The Empire Suite bathroom.

 

The Peer Gynt Suite

The name ‘Peer Gynt’ from Henrik Ibsen’s play and Edvard Grieg’s music evokes the magic of an isolated cabin in the North.

 

 

The Peer Gynt Suite bathroom.

 

The Garden

The garden is surrounded by high age-old walls still betraying the traces of medieval buildings.

 

One of the reasons I was blown away by the interior design of House’ The Corenbloem’, was that I could feel and see that the owners had restored the house with respect for history, appealing to Belgian artisans and craftsmanship!

For the repainting of the walls and the restoration of the gold leaf and the antique doors they commissioned the art historian Angèle Boddaert-Devletian. She is renowned as a designer and restorer of historical interiors. Found traces inspired her to design and repaint the walls of the rooms with elegant motives and trompe l’oeil frames.

 

Angèle Boddaert restoring wall paints at The Corenbloem.

 

Detail of a wall decoration at The Corenbloem by Angèle Boddaert.

 

Angèle Boddaert at work.

 

Angèle designs and restores wall decorations with imitation marble and wood, and trompe l’oeil. She uses traditonal techniques but works in both historical and contemporary buildings. She also designs folding screens and tables. Angèle is an art historian and an alumnus of the famous decoration school Vanderkelen-Logelain. She works in Belgium and abroad. Renowned magazines as The World of Interiors, AD Italy, Elle Décoration, Côté Ouest and Madame Figaro featured articles about Angèle and her work.

If you visit Paris you really should go to see Angèle’s work at The Patisserie Meert with its strong reputation in France and beyond. Angèle was responsible for the complete decor which combines traditional painting with playful creativity.

 

Patisserie Meert in Paris, decor painting by Angèle Boddaert  (image source : here)

 

For more information about B&B The Corenbloem, please visit www.decorenbloem.be.

B&B de Corenbloem
St. Jorisstraat, 6, 8000 Brugge

BELGIUM
tel +32 476 277 547

info@decorenbloem.be

 

If you would love to discover more of the work of Angèle Boddaert, please visit her website www.angeleboddaert.com.

Angèle Boddaert - Devletian
Carmersstraat 128
8000 Brugge

BELGIUM
Tel. + 32 50 33 17 26
Gsm + 32 475 64 46 99

Angele.Boddaert@Pandora.Be

 

I hope you enjoyed my Belgian inspired post about The Corenbloem & Angèle Boddaert. If you ever visit or if you have already visited B&B The Corenbloem, I would love to hear your thoughts about this Belgian Pearl!

xx

Greet

 

  Source images and text : www.decorenbloem.be & www.angeleboddaert.com unless otherwise mentionned.