Chateau Shopping in Normandy

 

The other night, during our Grand Affair Gala at the art gallery (which, by the way, was one of the best and most fun art shows we’ve ever had), a lovely Huff Harrington  trip alumna approached me about hosting a trip to Normandy.  She had read our blog about Normandy Chateaux and was waiting impatiently for the next installment.  I explained that my chateau shopping was just a mild flirtation with a crazy little idea.  That while I’d love nothing more than to own a chateau in Normandy and that if I did, she would be the first person I’d take on a trip there, such an extravagance was not in the cards right now.

But a girl can still dream.  And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing, ever since she brought it up.  Thinking of of all the antiquing and trips we could do!  Dreaming of the outbuildings, orangeries and chapels we could use to store our Huff Harrington Home goodies before shipping them home.  And salivating over the cost savings we’d have for shipping since Normandy is so close to Le Havre!

Just when I didn’t need it to, my head has been spinning with ideas.

Here’s the first one that piqued my attention, in Avranches, not too far from Mont St. Michel:

 18th Century Chateau with about 14,000 square feet. That could store a lot of antiques!

 I love the sweeping staircase.

And the parquet floors!

I’m a huge fan of boiseries …

 

 But not such a huge fan of yellow, although they do sell paint in Normandy.

 

 The view doesn’t exactly blow me away …

 But oh what a pretty outbuilding, that has an attached chapel. With two daughters, that could come in pretty handy!

While I really love the inside of Avranches, to be perfectly honest, I find the outside a little spooky. I think I’d like something prettier, scaled down, but with lovely proportions. Here’s one that’s piqued my interest in Orne, as represented by the Mercure group in France:

 

 At “only” around 5,000 square feet, this pretty chateau has a better scale I think. And fear not, there is room for guests!

 

 It fills the land beautifully …

 And sits on a pretty piece of property.

 A lovely outbuilding that looks older than the chateau.

 And plenty of room for guests!

 Even better than a swimming pool!

 I might replace the chandelier but I would definitely keep the wallpaper.

 I love the scale of the windows.

And just love the parquet floors in one of the bedrooms and the small panes of the 2nd floor windows.

But just in case Orne isn’t quite big enough, here’s one more that might fit the bill:

This one is around 5,000 square feet and  located in Eastern Normandy, just about 120 miles outside of Paris. I love the outside and the land and I think the interiors have loads of potential.

What a beautiful approach to the chateau.

Such pretty, stately lines …

And a wonderful view from the inside out.

Monet could have had a field day with this view. I can just imagine Nancy Franke and her students, gathered on the bridge …

The inside as it exists now …

And with no offense meant to the current owners, imagine what could be done here!

For the interior redo, I’m going to take my inspiration from a fabulous spread in House Beautiful of interior designer Mary MacDonald’s work, and start by neutralizing the palette.

With a mix of new and old …

And a daring touch of bold …

 

With a mix of styles to keep it fresh and modern …

And pretty neutrals that show off the great bones!

Yes, just think what fun it would be to own and redo our little French chateau. Well it doesn’t cost anything to dream .. and that’s just what I am going to do!

Ta ta …

HH