One of my favorite things in Paris is the marche aux puces – the flea markets – up at Porte de Clignancourt. It’s a long way up there on the metro, only to get out and push your way through a bajillion people trying to sell you knockoff Louis Vuittons. There’s lots of immigrants in this neighborhood and as you press on pass the Boulevard Peripherique, you can get easily discouraged by not knowing where to go as it seems that all the cheap clothing & knock off junk is the famed flea market.  Where’s all the good stuff, you might be thinking. In fact, today I was listening to a guy talk to someone about how he took his kids to the flea markets and he was so scared because it was so ghetto and full of nothing but junk.  He didn’t go far enough — keep pressing on past all that, and you’ll find it’s perfectly safe and there’s more than enough for you to see in one outing.  Jordan Ferney wrote an excellent guide to the flea markets here at OhHappy Day.

This visit was Simon’s first experience at the flea markets. We had such an excellent time, exploring the stalls, and it was so inspirational to me. I’ve been so bored with everything home decor for awhile, and this was like a fresh shot of inspiration.   And Simon felt validated in our purchase last summer of our Tolix chairs as everywhere we turned were ancient similar chairs that are still in great condition. Now I’ve got the fever to find some more Tolix tabourets (the little stools) because they are just so darn cute.

One of my favorite stalls — les affiches anciens.  Vintage travel advertising.  Upstairs, the lady will take you and show you stack upon stacks of old posters, depending on the year and type of advertising you prefer.

I was dying over all of these nautical items. There were lots of stalls full of this same kind of stuff.

Animals from a carrousel.

I really wanted that St-Tropez sign.

Isn’t this just the cutest little double-desk ever?

One thing Simon and I both realized is that Restoration Hardware is spot-on right now with their redesign of their furniture.  Everything they’re doing right now looks like something that I saw in the flea markets there.  From the beige linen pieces to the industrial accents, it was identical.  Additionally, the industrial items seemed to be a running theme as they are everywhere and apparently quite popular.  I could have gone nuts, you guys. NUTS.