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.
Happy New year everyone, so sorry for the radio silence over Christmas, we are all well we just were overwhelmed with so many things so trying to juggle way too many things … I’m sure you all know what that’s like !
We are all fine , Queen Mary is on tip top form and Hachi although getting so much older [will be 14 this year !] is still bouncing off the walls with craziness.
We spent Christmas painting the library in london - step ladder Steve was in his element and I spent so much time trying not to make blobs - lol ….
Sending all our friends here the biggest hugs , love and prayers for 2026 .
![Happy New year everyone, so sorry for the radio silence over Christmas, we are all well we just were overwhelmed with so many things so trying to juggle way too many things … I’m sure you all know what that’s like !
We are all fine , Queen Mary is on tip top form and Hachi although getting so much older [will be 14 this year !] is still bouncing off the walls with craziness.
We spent Christmas painting the library in london - step ladder Steve was in his element and I spent so much time trying not to make blobs - lol ….
Sending all our friends here the biggest hugs , love and prayers for 2026 .](https://www.tgosling.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
#europeanheritagedays #chateau #diy #restoration #interiordesign #france #interiordecor #diyprojects #chateaulife #knightstemplar
This amazing tree lined avenue of chestnut trees was planted in about 1850 and it’s become rather neglected over the last century … it became known during d -day as Eisenhower’s walk as they would plan the moves during operation overlord at the end of this avenue with all the generals - Eisenhower would then walk up and down it on his own contemplating the next strategic move .
Today it still has that magnificent sense of something special , but it’s very overgrown and some of the 175 year old trees have come down in strong winds over the years .
We have to replant about 21 of them now - but thanks to the family work force we can see the wood from the trees at last .
Meanwhile back on the wall - Tim has almost completed its rebuild - which has been an epic three week project for the summer - with much help from the family , Hachi the spaniel and Queen Mary .
It’s been a great summer - now back to autumn projects - floor laying and the start of the morning room interior design .
#chateau #diy #restoration #interiordesign #france #interiordecor #interiordecor #landscape #diyprojects #trees #treestagram
Well, it was over three years ago that during a hard February storm a huge tree crashed through the front wall of the chateau …so this summer Queen Mary and Tim ( using the international approved Hachi scale ) are going to rebuild it and put it back to its former glory .
It’s two feet thick so it’s actually faced on two sides with the ‘Roman mortar’ in the middle .
Sorting out the stones and clearing the mound took three days and now it’s shooting up -a few more days to go with so much wonderful help too from our neighbours Daniel and Jeannot!
#chateau #diy #restoration #wall #buildings #restoration #france
The cornice is up and looking magnificent! Thank you Danny @ovolo_london - truly incredible work .
The gilded carved work is mitered and placed above the dado rail onto the papers - and the chandelier is up !
We did clean the windows but I think I made it worse !lol
The floor is still to go down - but that’s another big job we will tackle after the holidays and the family have gone .
So wonderful to have the magic here .
#chateau #diy #interoirdesign
A room with a view ! Well it’s starting to really come together now the Italian panoramic papers are up …the cornice will add further strength to the room as well as all the carved gilded early 19th century mouldings above the dado rail .
The floor is still to go down - a deep walnut herringbone- then the plaster sculptures - and the breakfast table itself ! lol … it’s so easy to forget the function of this room - which is to eat breakfast in overlooking the Italian garden through the window ! ( which we still have to create and layout - with its 16 fountains ….and massive round fountain base which we bought from Hull in the uk and weighs a tonne … but that’s another story ..lol !)
#inspiration #interiordesign #interiors #interiordecoration #interior #interiorideas #interiordesigninspiration #interiorismo #diy #diyprojects
Still flat out working on the Italian breakfast room will- which requires a great deal of work in the bathrooms and toilets above …. We’ve dropped the ceiling in order to put all the pipe work in and so we don’t destroy the really beautiful original tiles in the bathrooms above .
Steve’s been plastering away - and his father has been brillant at helping having come all the way from Melbourne with Jenny to lend a hand for the summer .
Queen Mary arrives in a few weeks which is exciting so hopefully we will have the rather fabulous but epically complicated cornice up in the next week or so …. A really stunning 18th century design from @ovolo_london which Daniel is helping us put together … each swag and plaster Corbel has to be put on individually - gulp !!!! But it’s going to look so beautiful when it’s up !!!!!
#chateau #interiordesign #interiores #interiordesigninspiration #interiordesign #interiordecoration #restoration #architecture #diyprojects
Happy Summer Sunday ! Just in case you though we were slacking we wanted to share with you the update on the creation of the new Italian breakfast room ( out of the old bathroom ) on the ground floor .
It’s one of the biggest building projects here at the chateau so far as it’s meant taking an entire wall out ( our first!) and putting up a supporting beam .
Then taking all the pipe work and re distributing the plumbing …. Which has been really hard .
We’re now at a stage though when it’s starting to take shape - the idea is for the Rosewood columns to sit where the wall was as a tableau.
Still massive amounts of work to complete- plastering to do … gilding and a wallpaper panoramic to add … can’t wait to share with you those bits … much more interesting than pipes ! lol
#chateau #chateauxdefrance #diy #diyprojects #design #interior #interiordesign #decoraçãodeinteriores
So summer has definitely kicked off at the chateau - a crazy schedule of building work , dinners , trying to create the Italian breakfast room out of the old bathroom on the ground floor , knocking down walls , running new plumbing ….
I have to say it’s a bit bonkers ( total understatement there ) as the park/ garden is exploding with growth and needs everything doing and cutting all at once … where’s that gardening team the chateau used to have ? lol …. But still loving every single crazy minute of it all .
#chateau
#interiors #interiordesign #interiores #interiordecoration #diy
A hive of activity in the chateau - and also out in the park land to now it’s getting warmer ! planting water lilies , Cedar of Lebanon’s ,wisteria, magnolia’s … and then trying to put in new gates up at the entrance to the farm which meant taking the old ones out ( which I guess have been there for the last 100 years )
Oh and on top of all that we’ve been filming for ‘Escape to the chateau DIY Australia’ !….which has been very exciting.
#chateau #restoration #diy #landscape #landscapes #landscape_lovers #naturephotography #summer
What a wonderful week - lunch at Highgrove in England, the private home of His Majesty King Charles to celebrate the collaboration of a range of incredible fabrics and wallpapers that @sanderson1860 have created for the kings foundation all based on the gardens there …. Returning to our very sad orchard it made us feel we really needed to up our game on that ! lol .
We were though very excited to see our roofer here really cracking on with the roof tiles on all the medieval buildings here , plus we bought back the pair of beautifully restored chairs by @pinnock_upholstery covered in the most sumptuous silk velvet by @watts1874 - it’s so exciting when we’ve triumphed in getting another original pair of pieces saved and back to their full glory here .
#interiors #interiorinspo #highgrove #highgrovegardens #sandersonfabric #wattsofwestminster #restoration #restorationexperts #creditrestoration #interiordecor #interiordesigninspiration #interiordesign
Truly so happy and excited that I and my amazing team have been selected as one of the top 100 interior designers in the United Kingdom by @houseandgardenuk
Thank you @hattabyng @mrdavidnicholls @elizabethjmetcalfe @annoush_l @photisphoti @smscottthomas #houseandgardentop100 #top100 #houseandgarden #interiors #interior #interiordesign #interiordesigninspiration Zoe and John and my wonderful husband Steve !!!!!
