An American friend of mine living in Paris, who regularly reads Eye Prefer Paris, suggested that I meet an American couple she knew who just started an online bed linen company for a possible blog post. Alison Ross and Ian Benton, she an American ex-pat, and he a British ex-pat, moved to Paris in 2011 from London. In quick succession, they had three children in a period of five years. Alison quit her job as a lawyer to take care of the children, while Ian worked as an executive at Coca-Cola, frequently traveling for his job. In 2017, Ian’s company wanted to combine two jobs into one, which meant that Ian would now have to put in a 60-70-hour work week. Ian decided this offer was not for him and left his job at the end of the year.
Pondering what to do next, Ian and Alison knew they wanted to start their own business but were not sure what it would be.
During that period, Alison’s mother was coming from Boston to stay with them. Ian and Alison went to a department store to buy sheets and were overwhelmed and stressed by experience. The store staff were not very knowledgeable about the products and they were left trying to choose the right set of sheets from hundreds of different styles. Also, high quality bed linens were prohibitively expensive, ranging from 500€ to 700€ per set.
The disappointing experience was a catalyst to start their new business. Alison and Ian wanted to make shopping for bed linens a pleasurable and empowering experience, and to also have customers become more in touch with the importance of selecting the correct bed linens, as it can be crucial to the quality of their sleep. They launched their site https://www.lachambreparis.com/ in September 2019.
I contacted Alison and Ian to make a rendezvous to meet. Alison was in the U.S. with her family, so Ian invited me to his local coffee bar, after he dropped off the three children at school. When we meet, I complimented him on how relaxed he looked, after he singlehandedly dressed, fed, and got this his children to school in time. Ian was warm and affable, and we shared about our backgrounds and how and why we both moved to Paris. Even before we met, he was generous enough to offer me a complimentary set of sheets.
Perusing the well curated and easy to browse website, I saw they had three main materials to choose from, percale, linen, and satin. Linen was too summery, and I once had a bad experience with satin (my mother had a set of satin sheets when I was growing up and while she was away, I slept in her bed but kept sliding on the floor because they were so slippery), so I chose the percale. Next was color selection, and I chose a medium gray, from a list that included beige, white, light blue, pale pink, and royal blue.
I received the sheets the next day and I was impressed with the packaging. Each item- two pillowcases, one sheet, and a duvet cover- came in a soft, satin pouch with a black, satin cord around them, accompanied by a notecard signed by Alison. I opened the pouches, taking out the sheet first to brush against my face, and could feel the extra softness of the 96 thread count per centimeter.
They say god is in the details, and Le Chambre Paris, runs with it. It’s always a difficult process to stuff a down quilt into a duvet cover, so the ties on each corner were a welcome relief so the quilt doesn’t slide down afterwards. Another useful detail is on the fitted sheet, which has labels that are marked côté court/short side and côté longue/long side, so you don’t fit them the wrong way and have to remake the bed.
Once the bed was made up with the new set of linens, Vincent and I were excited to test them out. The sheets felt great while we were watching television in bed for a few hours, and we both had a restful, comfortable sleep. The next morning was cold, and dark, and the sheets and duvet cover felt so warm and cozy, we stayed in bed an extra 30 minutes.
La Chambre Paris is ecologically responsible and after each order they receive, they plant 10 trees to balance the carbon footprint from the manufacturing of the materials. They work with Eden Reforestation Projects, an organization that has planted 250 million trees in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nepal, Haiti, and Indonesia.
Another attractive feature is that La Chambre Paris will let you test out their product for 90 days, and if you are not satisfied, you can return your purchase for a refund.
Although La Chambre Paris is based in Paris and the website only in French at the moment-the English version will be posted very soon- they are able to ship to the U. S. for $30 to $40 per order.
https://www.lachambreparis.com/
May in Paris- My Marais Apartment for Rent May 12 to May 23
I am renting my Marais loft from May 12 to May 23. May is one of the nicest months in Paris, with temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit during the day and low 60s at night. All the gardens and flowers are in bloom, the outdoor cafes bustling, and lots of cultural events.
Minimum rental period is 7 days/one week, price 1500€ for 7 days/one week,1900€ for 11 days-May 12-23.
Conveniently located by the Saint Paul metro, in the heart of the Marais, the apartment is a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S. The apartment is located on the second floor with a large elevator
Please email me at r.nahem@gmail.com if you are interested.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
