Eclectic dream
Living in Provence taught Cathy Bullen to embrace bright colour and a riotous mix of old and new – and never to save things for ‘best’. Now she’s brought all that Gallic charm home to Suffolk
by RACHEL CARLYLE
LUCY J TOMS PHOTOGRAPHY
INTERIORS / RECIPES / GARDENS / TECH / BEAUTY / WINE
(above), and the French hand-blown vases (right) she couldn’t part with
What do you do when you have lived in France long enough to develop a serious brocante habit then come back to Britain with so many antiques that they won’t all fit in your house?
Attach price tags to your precious finds then invite your friends (and all their friends) over for a glass of wine – or at least, that was Cathy Bullen’s answer. She sold the lot, and it led to the birth of a highly successful business, selling French brocante and flea market treasures at fairs in the garden and outbuildings of her home in Suffolk. Each now attracts upwards of 3,000 visitors.