Last Home Tour of the Year!

To all my dear readers, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Mine was splendid, we celebrated at home and invited all our relatives over. It was a double celebration as only a few days before Christmas my eldest son sat for his last exam at university and is now an engineer!
Tomorrow we'll be going to a summer place called Chapadmalal where we will have no access to the Internet so I won't be posting again until we come back on January 16th.
So, as I won't be seeing you before, I'd like to wish you all now a very Happy New Year, and thank you for this wonderful inspired year together giving me support through your comments and cheering along which makes all my time spent on blogging definitely worth while! Thanks to each and every one of you, Happy New Year once again and I'll be seeing you soon!

And, of course, before I leave, I give you this stunning house.

Nestled in the old village of Champagne Sézanne, this seventeenth century house belonged to the Marquise de Beauharnais, Marie-Francoise (whose brother married Josephine, the future empress), Pascale and her husband Oliver, bargain hunters and passionate decorators, created a family home that opens its doors to the public twice a year to display their items on sale. Every room has been lovingly staged creating a unique holiday atmoshphere.

A real feast for the eyes. Let's step in.
























Hope you enjoyed our last house tour of the year. See you soon dears!!!

All images from here.

Renovated French Village House

Interior designer Eva Gnaedinger brought life back to this village house located between Avignon and Uzes in France. Most of its original features like the stone and beams, some of the walls and the staircase have been kept. A mixture of rustic, French and modern styles were used.










Bare walls in the master bedroom. At first glance the master bed seems to be floating.






Sitting area in the pool house. Reclaimed stones were used for the edge of the pool.


View of the poolhouse and pool.

All images from here.

Restored Chateau - La Bastide

Happy Mother's Day to me and all my dear mother readers!

To celebrate let's go over to France to a beautiful early 18th century stone building called La Bastide that once produced wine and eau de vie for Napoleon’s troops. The house is on a hill at the edge of a village with lovely views from all the windows and doors. Situated in Gard, South West France, between Montpellieir and Nimes, it is only 30 minutes away from sandy beaches.

The huge beams have been left exposed in the main living area. In some rooms the 14 metre high ceilings give the impression of entering a cathedral. Floors are sand coloured polished cement interspersed with flag-stones.











































I have linked this post over at Melissa's The Inspired Room at Jessica's A Few of my Favourite Things and at Miss Mustard Seed's blog too. Thanks for hosting girls!

More lovely pics at Shootspaces. Based in London they offer a variety of locations suitable for most types of photo shoots. They are situated in London, around the country and in Europe, Africa and the US.

Authentic Château in Cote d'Azur, France

Looking around Sotheby's Real Estate website I came across this magnificent 16th century Château in Tourves, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. There's quite a lot of information about this property but I will summarize it for you. You're welcome, precious.

It has over 250 acres of vines, olive-groves, meadows, forests and river banks (Argens river). The Bastide offers 800 square meters and was renovated in strict observance of antique materials and techniques (stone-cutting, lime coatings, XVIIIth century woodwork, vaulted rooms, tiles, wrought iron). The Château's façade and theatrical stairs and fountain were created in 1784 ; the cedar and chestnut trees avenue was planted in 1848. Older still, a 16th century stone arch-door, a vaulted sheepfold and several tiled water and wine cisterns are to be seen.
The Bastide comprises : 1000 square meters of agricultural buildings (farm, barn, sheepfold, bread oven) 9 rooms on the first and second floors. 2 old-style bathrooms, 3 shower rooms. 70 square-meter vaulted kitchen with castle stove and monumental fireplace. 90 square-meter vaulted lounge + chapel with roman apse and monumental fireplace.






























More images and details of this property right here.

Inspiration day at The Inspired Room where you can find a MckLinky list of other blogs sharing this week's inspiration.