Elska x Maison Galles

LIAM C
Oct 11, 2016
2 min read

I didn't know exactly what to expect from Maison Galles, or rather my expectations were far exceeded. In my mind, it was going to be a typical apartment rental, something you'd expect from Airbnb, but the place had so much style and grandeur. When I arrived I expected to be ushered into my bedroom, handed a key, and left alone... but as the owner toured me around I discovered that I had the full run of the house rather than just a bedroom. There was a sumptuous living room and dining area, a full kitchen, massive modern bathroom, and even a garden to enjoy. And although the house is imposing at first, it has just four bedrooms, making it still feel rather intimate - perfect for Elska.

Most impressive was the character of the place, with a strong a French sensibiity that was apparent throughout the property - ('Pays de Galles' is the French name for 'Wales'). Various pieces of furniture are French antiques, there's a big 'bienvenue' word sculpture in the lounge, and little pieces of francophilia could be found everywhere. But there's also Welsh flavour in the art (my favourite being some sheep-themed pop art in one of the bedrooms.

I had planned to do a shoot outside in the area (it's right opposite the wonderful Danish Café Brød by the way), but so special was Maison Galles, that I had to do some shots inside too. So I invited Joejoe F over. There were some lovely images created, but frankly a lot of wonky ones too... something about the atmosphere of the property 'forced' us to get a bottle of French wine, which somewhat impaired our photographing and modelling abilities. But then I suppose the images at least were authentic, 'cos Maison Galles just made us feel so relaxed, too much in a holiday mood to do actual work... so I guess it was a good thing that I only spent two nights here, even if I could have stayed forever.