The first time we heard about the Salon Privé concept was when we were invited to a Salon Privé evening organized by luxury PR company All Details, at the Carpe Diem furniture showroom in Dubai.  This showroom is home to some of the best French furniture and interior décor companies. We sure felt like royalty walking through the showroom entrance and into a Provençal France dream. We’d say, a must try, considering that we loved the awesome atmosphere for a lovely, delightful, cozy evening surrounded by La Cornue for cooker ranges, soft yet luxurious Belgian linen from Libeco Lagae, handmade carpets and fabric from Limited Edition and Kinnasand, not to forget the Grange French furniture.

We were enlightened about what Salon Privé was all about.  It was kind of evening that one was invited to in the 17th century and was often held in the drawing rooms (or the salons) of an aristrocrat lady’s home.  We are talking a modern day version of an ensemble of like-minded people, usually about a dozen of them, indulging in a literary gathering.  The subjects discussed were arts and academics, the sole purpose being to increase one’s knowledge  It is believed that in such a setting, the Enlightenment movement , supported by the likes of Voltaire, actually evolved.

This fine evening at the showroom, the theme of the Salon Privé evening was, well, ‘Carpe Diem,’ which, in Italian, means ‘Seize the day. ‘ It was a well chosen theme.   One of Dubai’s leading life coaches, Rawan Albina, owner of Leap Life Coach, gave a talk on standing up, seizing the day, and taking control of our lives where we are at.  It seemed liked a quiet coaching serenade sitting amongst lovely people, feet resting on comfy carpets and reclining against royal purple sofas.

We also had the chance to walk around the showroom.  The Grange furniture was just amazing. In existence since 1904, this French furniture company abides by your wishes. Their tailor made consultancy services ensures that you can choose from a myriad of furniture finishes. They also have a cute blog termed ‘Handcrafted News’ – we like the way that they contrast the current fashion clothing trends with the colours of their handmade furniture.

The evening ended with a delightful array of light sandwiches with sumptuous fillings.  The kitchen was a world away from the familiar world of Dubai.  The handmade ovens from La Cornue are a must see – we’ve never seen such handcrafted work of cookers, from the doorknobs of the oven to the spectacular finish.  La Cornue Middle East director gave us a brief history about the brand’s beginnings and how this 100 year old brand has withstood the hardship of a recession to become the world’s most loved handmade cooking ranges.  This brand comes  with a ‘made to measure’ option. Imagine cooking up lovely culinary ideas, but after imagining the perfect cooker for your home that La Cornue can stew ‘n brew up for you.

We had a peak at their website and came across some videos on the La Cornue recommended recipes. The next time we visit France, you can be sure that we will attend the Atelier des saveurs where we take cooking lessons with one of the La Cornue chefs! In the meantime, stand up, get going and seize the day – this perfect, lovely day that you can craft into whatever you like to fit in with your destiny and dreams!

And here questions of type such if honestly strike me not much as I wrote everything higher. It is visible you simply you don’t want to read all this. As my parrot does.