Store Review: Montreal – Country Living

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I met Judy Weiss at a Digital Eve Israel event. She is an architect who until recently was busy working in hi-tech and raising four kids, and is now looking to get back into architecture. I told her about Tchochkes, she sent Patti and me a sample of her work – and we were sold. Judy has an amazing eye (as you’ll see in the post below) and I hope all Tchochkes readers give her a warm welcome (in other words – write a comment!).
A couple of months back I was in Montreal, when I stumbled upon an American country-style store in this big city.

It looked so inviting (especially since it was -6 C outside!) that I just had to step inside.





Vie de Campagne or Country Living (in English) has ladder rungs and table tops that are draped with bedding, rugs and antiques. It makes you want to touch everything.

These jars have salt written on them (sel in French) but they would be great for storing anything from beans to buttons to dried herbs. I love their old fashioned sturdiness and the way they capture the warm light.

Chantal Boule is the charming owner who brings both country chic and coziness to this store. Check out this mirror with the tree bark frame, the caramel pottery and the “hammock – lounger” cards!

Here is a painting or tray that I didn’t much care for. It looks a bit dowdy.

You can see how she picked out shades of green and ran with them!


Perhaps you could get dishes like these at Ikea or Naaman. But I think the pillow slipcovers, linen serviettes and water pitchers are exceptional.




Above are some examples of the lighting fixtures. My favourite was the chandelier reflected in the wrought iron mirror. I could picture it over my dining room set.
I googled their site www.viedecampagne.ca but it only pulled up a homepage with “Coming Soon” under their heading. I hope it will be up and running shortly. Maybe we could get some good ideas even if we can’t order (but I’m sure they’ll ship internationally for a large enough order.)