Follow our French chateau renovation journey as we peel back the layers of time & craftsmanship
Tim Gosling is delighted to bring this former noble French chateau back to life through his love of authentic restoration and interior design. Built-in 1820 this Normandy gem had the good fortune to be redesigned by the designer of The Ritz, Monsieur Georges Farcy for the Bon Marché family in 1910. The chateau has been untouched since the retreating German army removed the heating system in the 1940s. Eisenhower moved into the chateau when he was appointed supreme commander of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of north-western Europe.
Restoration Chateau is a classical Parisian design, with 57 rooms, 22 ensuite bedrooms (revolutionary for its time), 8 staterooms, and 27 acres. Over the coming months please join us on a journey of discovery as we piece together history and restore this classic building back to its former glory.
View our chateau restoration journey so far below. For more information about our interior design renovation projects, please contact Gosling.
We’ve been a bit quiet because we’ve been busy working on getting this extremely important farm and knights Templar chapel,built in 1148 , back once again as part of the chateau estate .
The original family who rebuilt our chateau have been incredibly supportive, and have owned this since the 1890’s …so it’s a really remarkable moment to have this now all part of the Chateau’s once great legacy.
We’re going to need lots of help with the chapel - and so are going to try and organise an Easter Escapade next year when if anyone has time , to join us in felling trees and pulling off ivy from all the buildings with a delicious banquet in the evening to celebrate all our hard works during the day !
More details to follow !!!!
#knightstemplar #medieval #landscape #landscapephotography #landscape_lovers #france #monument #monumental #restoration #chateau #escapetothechateau #escapetothecountry
Last weekend we were lucky enough to host the @furnituremakerscompany at the chateau … lots of pieces of furniture to see and as part of the Masters outing, to be able to share the chateau’s extraordinary WW2 history .
It was so great to see so many friends and make new ones, thank goodness for a really brilliant chef from nearby Caen who was able to calmly feed 45 people for lunch… helped by the watchful eye of Hachi of course who sat in her gilt dog chair watching every crumb !
The rooms that are finished are starting to settle in now , a few more things being added to create the layers of design that makes it feel so much like a home … still miles to go but loving every moment.
#interiordesign #interior #interiors #interiordecor #interiorstyling #interiordecorating #interiorinspiration #interiordesigner #interiordesigns #interiorarchitecture #furniture #furnituredesign
We have some really exciting news to share !!!! We got married today two weeks ago ( which is why we haven’t posted !!!)
It was such a special day St Martin-in-the fields church in Trafalgar Square was resplendent, all of Steve’s family and cousins flew in from Australia too .
Every single second of the day was perfect - the music was sublime, the friends and family who came so far to support us, the love in the air was tangible…
So now we’re Mr and Mr - how splendid is that !!!!
#wedding #weddingday #church #stmartinsinthefields #music #love #happyness #england
Well - the door to the summer house kiosk needed a lot of work … but I guess it’s been outside for nearly 200 years and has seen 2 world wars ….
The crowning glory was finally getting in the incredible stained glass that we had had remade by @art_with_glass_ and boy oh boy did they do a stunning job - the colours, sizes and look of both the panels was unbelievable matched to how it originally was .
Time to celebrate !!!
#restoration #diy #chateau #chateaulife #interior #interiordesign
Well getting the 5th Bedroom up and running has been Herculean so we called in the family Calvary - Lesley , Ollie , jofish and his girl friend stormy …. All supervised by Queen Mary of course .
#chateau #restoration #interiordesign #interiordesigner #interiordecor #interiordecorating #interiordetails #interiorstyling #interiorinspiration #interiorarchitecture #interiorarchitecture
Well , we’ve been hard at work on the summer house kiosk on the island on the lake - taking out all the old rose stems and wisteria that has grown up the trellis over the century’s ….
The trellis is in remarkable condition- really incredible with just a few bit broken - but the old vines literally crumble to dust with a few snips of the secateurs and behind them the original Indian red paint colour is clearly visible-
Almost like new …
Next stage is to give the trellis a new coat of pigeon blue wood stain to help them last another few hundred years ….
Thank goodness for Queen Mary and Mark !
#landscape #landscape_lovers #landscapes #garden #gardenlife #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardens #summerhouse #summertime #summer
We were so lucky to buy this stunning huge Savonnerie at auction in the uk , and the only place we could lay it out that was big enough was the drawing room in london ( where it only just fitted !)
It’s in great condition but had a big tear in it on the edge … so we found a company in battersea in london called @londonpersianrugcompany who have repaired it totally by hand using century old Persian techniques…. Not only that but they’ve cleaned it for us …. Simply staggering and so so amazing.
This is going to be the starting point for the morning room design which is pictured here - the details and colours need to flow from the next door grand salon and the fact that both have diagonal cartouches in their designs is brilliant….
The grand salon is an Aubusson and the morning room is a Savonnerie… but they sing together beautifully.
#rug #interoir #interiordesign #interiordecor #restoration #chateau #repair #crafts #craftsmanship
Well the great Festival of taking out the Original poo pipe has begun … the cast iron 120 year old pipe servicing the wing we are using had to go … so in the summer of love it was this summer we choose to do it .
It means cracking open and taking the pipe out - but as it goes 4 floors we’ve used sections into the floors where we have put new PVC pipe inside the old pipe .
It’s not a great job to do but it’s sunny outside and beautiful so all feels fine , plus we have Queen Mary , Hachi and me lending a paw … 🐾
#restoration #restorationproject #chateau #château #bathrooms #diy #diyhomedecor #diyprojects #diyhome
Well the restoration of the stained glass for the Summer pavilion ( the Kiosk as they call it in France !) is now well underway…
Working with an amazing company called @art_with_glass_ in Crystal Palace ( the site of the delicious glass exhibition building in Victorian England ) has been such a privilege…. Their skill and ability is remarkable, colour matching the glass , getting all the sizing right - hand blowing and cutting all the green ‘ bottle ‘ roundels and then creating all the ‘calms ‘ to hold them is truly a work of art .
We’ve also decided that it would be rather majestic to create a panorama for the interior based on a series of 18th century oil paintings which we’ve stitched together using AI and are going to have printed as wall paper …..more on that later as a separate post !
Meanwhile we are now going to work on the front door for the summer house ready for her new gleaming stained glass … then it’s rebuilding the stairs going up and replastering the interior ceiling.
It’s going to be a very busy summer !
@art_with_glass_ #stainedglass #restoration #architect #summer #chateau #château #chateaulife #châteaux #landscape
The library is nearly finished - just the corner mirrors to go up - a tiny bit of painting - lots of gilding on the cornice - and then to hang all the paintings and then the books in … apart from that it’s starting to look like a room again …. The biggest thank you to @therugcompany for their incredible work , support and genius in making this piece ….( I’ve added some stills after this movie so it can see its depth and incredible work )
Also a huge thank you to @zardi_and_zardi for their staggering and very impressive tapestries…an utterly remarkable joy to create with .
Just need some strong 💪 friends now to help get the corner mirrors in place !!!!
#library #diy #chateau
Summer in the Park is starting to happen … the sheer amount of rain that’s fallen has made everything so green and vibrant- everything has grown beyond its normal size - the statue of Apollo is looking divine, and the summer house on the island on the lake looks like an adventure playground…
We’ve taken the door off and a few of the windows while we have the new stained glass restored , made , and repaired .
We’ve also been working on a stunning panoramic wall for the interior which will be really exciting to show you when it’s finished !
We’ve decided to make it a dining pavilion … for those days ahead when it’s warmer and we have more continuous sunshine !!!
#landscape #naturephotography #nature #chateau #restoration
