The Library and Le Trait d'Union
The Library
The Library is the result of years of careful consideration and preparation in order to produce a space for writers in or traveling through Paris to find refuge in order to actualize their own creativity, not far from the city geographically but very far psychologically.
It was designed and renovated by the host herself with the generous support of a friend. The subsequent results are deeply personal and meaningful and take into their design several important considerations: that the space honor and reflect the original character of the historical home while also reflecting its important resourcefulness, that the materials be predominantly repurposed, sometimes donated, that its homemade quality be worn proudly, that its residents feel comfortable and conscientious of the unique beauty of their surroundings.
It was designed and renovated by the host herself with the generous support of a friend. The subsequent results are deeply personal and meaningful and take into their design several important considerations: that the space honor and reflect the original character of the historical home while also reflecting its important resourcefulness, that the materials be predominantly repurposed, sometimes donated, that its homemade quality be worn proudly, that its residents feel comfortable and conscientious of the unique beauty of their surroundings.
Le Trait d'Union
Le Trait d'Union was built at the beginning of the 19th Century, when the Seine waterfront was a popular retreat for the bourgeoisie and their entourage to retire from time to time from Paris. Due to their grandeur and imposing size, the houses were dubbed the Affolantes and are of an eclectic architecture boasting half-timbering, grand terraces and balconies, sometimes turrets and other various ornamentation.
Artists, painters, musicians, and writers gathered for salons including the likes of Degas, Bonnard, Renoir, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Corot, and Rousseau. The presence of female figures were hardly if ever recorded in such a manner, but it is known that Impressionist painters including Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzales, Marie Bracquemond, and Mary Cassatt lived in part or visited the Fontainebleau forest and painted its natural wonders.
The writer Leonie d'Aunet occupied the three-home set of Affolantes that includes Le Trait d'Union in the 1840s with her husband, the landscape painter Francois-Auguste Biard. D'Aunet was the first woman on a scientific expedition to the Arctic.
The Library is on the ground floor of Le Trait d'Union with your host on the upper floors.
Artists, painters, musicians, and writers gathered for salons including the likes of Degas, Bonnard, Renoir, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Corot, and Rousseau. The presence of female figures were hardly if ever recorded in such a manner, but it is known that Impressionist painters including Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzales, Marie Bracquemond, and Mary Cassatt lived in part or visited the Fontainebleau forest and painted its natural wonders.
The writer Leonie d'Aunet occupied the three-home set of Affolantes that includes Le Trait d'Union in the 1840s with her husband, the landscape painter Francois-Auguste Biard. D'Aunet was the first woman on a scientific expedition to the Arctic.
The Library is on the ground floor of Le Trait d'Union with your host on the upper floors.
Your Host
Your resident host is also a writer.
