An Invitation to the French Château of top designer Timothy Corrigan

 

Yes, it is finally here! The book we all have been waiting for!

Timothy Corrigan’s newest book ‘An Invitation to Château du Grand-Lucé, Decorating a Great French Country House’.

 

Cover  book ‘An Invitation to Château du Grand-Lucé’ by Timothy Corrigan – Rizzoli – Photographer Eric Piasecki

 

Timothy Corrigan is one of my all times favorite designers who not only recognizes interior design styles of different ages, he really is passionate about earlier design styles and knows all about 18th century castles.

As being an avid student of French architecture and design history, in 2004, Timothy purchased the historic French Château du Grand-Lucé, located outside of Paris, in the Loire Valley in France.

The beautiful images in this book show the efforts Timothy made to restore this historic landmark and to create a warm, inviting and livable country home he wanted to share with friends.

The initial major restoration took approximately 5 years!

Click the trailer below to see the restoration of the Château du Grand-Lucé.

Restoration of the Château du Grand-Lucé by Timothy Corrigan

 

The Château with its formal gardens. Image source Architectural Digest – Photo credit Eric Piasecki

 

The book travels from the welcoming entry hall to the delightful bedrooms.

 

In the Salon Chinois, neoclassical paneling borders 18th-century painted-canvas scenes by Jean-Baptiste Pillemen. Image source Architectural Digest – Photo credit Eric Piasecki

 

Rose-pink formal dining room. Image source Architectural Digest – Photo credit Eric Piasecki

 

In the master bedroom, the headboard is painted in the Italian Renaissance style. Image source Architectural Digest – Photo credit Eric Piasecki

 

Partial arial view of Château du Grand-Lucé taken by Eric Piasecki (source blog Timothy Corrigan)

 

If you are like me and you love to see and to learn more about 18th century casltes, this book is a MUST HAVE !

I already received my copy!

Me, browsing Timothy’s book …

To purchase the book online, click HERE

To know more about the book signing tour, click HERE

 

And if you are interested in reading my earlier blogpost about Timothy Corrigan, please click HERE.

To see more of the design work of Timothy Corrigian,

please visit his website at http://www.timothy-corrigan.com

 

With respect to you Tim, for the tremendous work and huge efforts you made to restore this château to its former glory !

Congratulations !

xx

Greet

Is white the next big color trend in interior design?

 

According to the famous interior designer Timothy Corrigan, the color white will be the new color trend in interior design for the next coming months.

Visiting Maison & Objet, the big design trade fair in Paris this month, Timothy spotted new launches and new trends and concluded that the color white was seen at the booths of a lot of the world’s leading furniture and design manufacturers. Timothy tells us that the most significant trend he spotted was the bold move away from multi-colored, almost rainbow splash of the last couple of years to the ubiquitous use of white.

‘White is everywhere!’, he explains. ‘Furniture, accessories, carpets, lighting,….’

‘What’s interesting to note’, says Timothy, ‘is that you can do some pretty outrageous design concepts but they somehow seem more accessible when they are pitched up all in white.’

According to Timothy we can expect to see a lot of white in catalogues and home stores starting this winter and extending into spring.

With permission of Timothy I posted some of the pictures he took at Maison & Objet which all confirm his conclusion that the color white was indeed omnipresent.

Pictures by Timothy Corrigan at Maison & Objet September 2012

 

Pictures by Timothy Corrigan at Maison & Objet September 2012

 

Picture by Timothy Corrigan at Maison & Objet September 2012

 

Picture by Timothy Corrigan at Maison & Objet September 2012

 

I would love to thank Timothy Corrigan for sharing with us his thoughts about new trends he observed at Maison & Objet.

And a huge thank you to Timothy’s assistant Elaine Maltzman, who is always so kind to share with me the latest news about Timothy’s design work, as she did now by sending me usefull pictures and information.

I have always been a huge fan of Timothy’s work and for my readers who are not familiar with his design, please visit Timothy’s website at http://www.timothy-corrigan.com, you will not regret it.

 

White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection.

White is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion.

White is a color of protection and encouragement, offering a sense of peace and calm.

White is the color of new beginnings, it is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon.

 

 

Presumed one of my clients asks me to decorate their home in the new trend using white! What would I suggest?

I was curious about the use of white as new color trend and started browsing the web and tried to search for examples of using white in a future client’s project.

These are examples of how I would love to see bringing in the color white into a home.

 

Entry hall source hereWhite painted paneling.

 

Living room source hereWhite slipcovered sofas, white curtains and white carpet.

 

Dining room source hereI just love the way Anouska Hempel created this ambiance by using white in the restaurant at Dansfield House.

 

Kitchen source hereWhite painted beames, ceiling and walls. White floortiles. White slipcovers for the chairs.

 

Master bedroom source hereWhite paneled walls and mantelpiece. White seats, white bedlinen, lamps and even a bouquet of white flowers.

 

Bathroom source hereIn the bathroom I defintely would bring in carrara marble and would love to cover the bathtube with white paneling.

 

Children’s room source hereCompletely white.

 

What do you think about this white painted attic room? Ceiling, walls and floor painted in white! Even if you don’t want to follow color trends, this room will always be beautiful. White is a wonderful base.No matter which colors you want to bring in afterwards.

‘This room is as a blank canvas waiting to be written upon.’

 

Imagine you create this ambiance as Axel Vervoordt did in this white painted attic room!Source Magazine MoreThan Classic april-mei 2010

 

If you are not ready yet to make such a significant changes, you can always start with the purchase of some white decorative accessories as the ones I found here :

A beautiful and huge white chandelier for your entry hall.Source here

 

A Philippe Starck chandelier for your dining room.Source here

 

A work of art to decorate your bedroom.Source here

 

A white painted mirror for your entry hall.Source not known

 

A work of art by Lucio Fontana.Axel Vervoordt. Source not known

 

White tableware.Source here

 

Are you happy to see white as the new color trend? Let’s talk!

I wish you all a fresh start of this new week!

xx

Greet

If I had a Château…

… I definitely would ask Timothy Corrigan to help me with the restoration and decoration of it !!

Timothy is one of my all times favorite designers and is mentionned on the Architecural Digest list of the World’s Top 100 Architects !

A lot of you know this famous designer, especially my readers from the US, but I wanted my Belgian and other European, or readers from around the world to meet Timothy and to discover his wonderful work.

Timothy grew up in Mexico and California and as an advertising executive he lived in Paris for several years. There he decorated his apartment and when it was completed, a friend asked Timothy to design his apartment. So Timothy discovered a new passion and made of it ,his, now successful, career.

Timothy Corrigan has an office in Los Angeles as well as in Paris and counts clients from Europe, the United States and the Middle East.

As well as having a good eye,Timothy has a huge knowledge of history and styles that one can feel and see, discovering his work.

To recognize interior design styles of different ages, is indelible if you want to restore ancient castles and houses. And next to that, you really need to be passionate about the earlier design styles and in the case of Timothy, especially about 18th century castles and buildings.

The restoration and decoration of a house is only successful if the owners feel that they can live in their house, that all the rooms are of a practical use.

As Timothy explains in an article at Architectural Digest.com : “Even the most beautifully decorated room is not a total success unless you, your family and your guests feel that they can really live and use the room. A well-designed room is one that is both comfortable and elegant.”

These words reflect the slogan on his website “A world of comfortable elegance”.

I so love the work of Timothy Corrigan, I love his style, his respect for history and I might think that Timothy has a preference for the French 18th century architecture and design, as I have.

Interviewed by Diane Dorrans Seaks, Timothy said : “ For a dream dinner I would invite LXIV of France, because he really is the inventor of style as we know it today. He is directly responsible for France being the center of fashion, fragrances, fine furniture and decorative arts for three hundred years!”

And I am so agree with him !!!

Timothy is also a knowledgeable antiques collector. Discover his collection on his website HERE.

   All the gorgeous realizations on his website, and publications in so many interior design magazines, are a real source of inspiration for my work! I have to admit that I am fairly influenced by the design of Timothy.

For more interesting read about Timothy Corrigan, I would refer to the blogpost of my blogger colleague and friend Diane Dorrans Seaks at the Style Saloniste, where she posted the interview she had with Timothy Corrigan. To read, click HERE.

Or of course at Timothy Corrigan’s website HERE.

Timothy ownes this gorgeous 18th century Château du Grand-Lucé, situated in the Loire Valley in France.

image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

18th century Château du Grand-Lucé – Loire Valley France, built as summer palace in the 1760s. It features 26 acres of formal gardens.

image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

Timothy Corrigan

So, If I had a Château, I would love to ask Timothy to help me to create an entry hall as this one here.

And to create a “salon” as this one here at the Château du Grand-Lucé.

 image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

And a dining room as this gorgeous one at the Château!

image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

If I could sleep in this beautiful bedroom?! No doubt.

 image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

Or in this one ? I certainly would !

image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

The following pictures are all rooms I very love! They are my favorites.

So enjoy!

 image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

I do love the wood paneling designed by Timothy.

I am truly inspired by these ones.

Isn’t that kitchen beautiful! Look at that chimney piece !!

A few weeks ago, I received an email of the Timothy Corrigan’s office announcing a video of Timothy’s apartment in Paris ! Oh my goodness, I had to see this ! And of course, I couldn’t expect anything else… the apartment, situated in a 18th century Haussman building, is just gorgeous !

And I was very pleased to see that Timothy is not only designing and restoring castles, but even apartments! However, this apartment seems to be of a larger scale than I am used to !

Living room at the Paris apartment.

Source photo of Video You Tube

Timothy at the balcony of his apartment.

PLEASE CLICK ON LA TOUR D’EIFFEL AND ENTER TIMOTHY’S PARISIAN APARTMENT ! YOU WAN’T REGRET IT !   IT IS GORGEOUS!!!

Source photo of Video You Tube 

For those who are like me and adore castles, please watch the videos of the Château du Grand-Lucé below!

 image source Architectural digest –photo credit Marina Faust

Château du Grand-Lucé

Click on image to watch the restoration of Timothy’s Château du Grand-Lucé !

Timothy tells about the restorantion of the castle.

Click on image to watch the landscaping of Timothy’s Château du Grand-Lucé !

Timothy tells about the landscaping of the castle.

WWW.TIMOTHY-CORRIGAN.COM

And don’t forget to visit Timothy’s blog HERE !

If only I had a Château…
…Timothy could help me with the renovation and my company Lefèvre Interiors could create all the required wood work. Wouldn’t that be great?

Special thanks to Elaine, director of Marketing/Products at Timothy Corrigan Inc. for always sendeng me the latest news about Timothy and his work, and for allowing me to use website pictures.

xx

All photos : website Timothy Corrigan www.timothy-corrigan.com exept otherwise mentionned