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Garden View 1 and 2 at Château Destinée
These two bedrooms on the first floor still carry the grand character of the château’s central section, built in 1904. With their four-metre-high ceilings, large skirting boards, and generous ceiling cornices, they immediately give a sense of space, elegance, and history.
Both rooms have marble fireplaces which, although no longer in use, still bring warmth and presence to the rooms. Modern heating solutions and fire safety requirements have meant they can no longer be lit, but their original mantels continue to give each room a sense of status and charm.
Rooms that had seen better days
When we arrived at the château in February 2020, these rooms had certainly seen better days. The wall murals did not feel at all in keeping with a French château, the mirrors above the mantels lacked the grandeur the rooms deserved, and the curtains were only just still managing to be called curtains.
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Black, green and purple taps
The ensuites also needed attention. With black, green, and purple taps, we could not wait to update them. In Garden View 2, the bathroom had real potential. There was a bathtub set against a marble wall that lit up, and that was a feature we absolutely wanted to keep. The rest of the room, however, felt overcrowded and tired. We completely replaced the shower tray, screen, and entry, removed the bidet to create more space, and repositioned the toilet on an angle to improve both the layout and access. With matching chandeliers in both the bathroom and bedroom, the whole space was transformed.
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Feature walls and the Peacock Room
In both bedrooms, we stripped away the old plain wallpaper, which had been painted over several times, repaired the walls, and created a feature wall in each room. Garden View 2 became affectionately known as the Peacock Room, thanks to its Laura Ashley peacock wallpaper. Linda’s aunt cross-stitched a peacock to hang on the wall, and we found two cushions for the chairs that matched the wallpaper beautifully.
We added velvet bedheads, sourced old bedside tables for Garden View 1, and in both rooms installed armoires and marble washstands for the coffee machine and kettle. We also added large, more elegant gold mirrors above the fireplaces to bring back some of the grandeur the rooms had been missing.
Finishing touches from Australia and a brocante
A special delivery from Australia arrived with Linda’s mother, a former antique dealer, bringing two iron statues that completed the look in Garden View 2, the Peacock Room. In Garden View 1, a ballerina statue found in a local brocante provided the finishing touch.
These beautiful rooms face north, which makes them comfortable in every season. For weddings, birthdays, and anniversary groups, we often recommend them for parents, as they offer generous space, comfort, and the feeling of staying in what were once the château’s principal bedrooms.
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