French Stone Fountain Before and After

 It started with a family trip to the Dordogne region of France a few years ago 

where we saw lots and lots of ancient carved limestone.

 

"All this cool carved stone is giving me an idea", I thought, a bit dramatically...

The "before" photo of our little patio

Some internet research helped find Charme d'Antan ("Charm from the Past")

 just north of Malibu.  My husband and I took a Sunday afternoon excursion north
and met the friendly French owner who gave us a tour.

His knowledge of stone carving craftsmanship along with his respect for his ancestor’s work, 

motivated him to bring architectural pieces and antiquities from Europe to 21st century

 homes and gardens (paraphrased from his website).

It's really a fun place to visit.

This 19th century French blue stone 
animal trough was the perfect size and shape.

We also purchased this weathered sunflower spout.

The garden wall was smoothly plastered.  

The base was formed and a trellis from Restoration Hardware (end of summer sale) was hung.

A small hole was drilled in the bottom of the basin and two in the wall where we 

threaded the fountain hose.  The pump is hidden behind the concrete block.

The base was also plastered and the contractor installed an electrical switch in the house 

(good idea, Adrian) to turn off the fountain before the cement floor and slate was installed. 

Some new landscaping was added.

Can you see the little hole in the front of the trough?  

That used to have a stake where the animals were tied to to quench their thirst.
Which reminds me (smile), when our son had his basketball team here for dinner,

we filled this with ice and bottles of Gatorade.  

The fountain at night. 

Kirsten is featuring our home HERE.

  Check out her blog and her stylish online design service.

How have your travels inspired you?  

Best wishes,

Mary Ann

Participating in Outdoor Wednesday.