In France's idyllic Loire valley, this French chateau is no ordinary noble home, but then, Joséphine Fossey is no ordinary interior designer. First and foremost an art curator, she reverses the traditional design process, starting by conceiving the artworks for a space and then building furnishings around them. And it certainly seems that this romantic manor home on the famous L’Estang estate in Sancerre was a project waiting for her magic touch. While the region’s grapes have been legendary since medieval times, this chateau, first documented in 1573, is celebrated for its cultural and artistic story, too.
In the 19th century, its master was Jean-Guillaume Hyde de Neuville, minister to Louis XVIII and friend of the writer Chateaubriand. So enamoured was the latter with the beauty of the estate that he made frequent visits and, according to the château archives, planted the huge Lebanese cedar that now stands in front of the house. More recently, the château has been taken over by winemaker Rémy Graillot, who bought the estate in 2013 and embarked on an ambitious five-year restoration programme.
With a new, eco-responsible viticulture and a new wine label, Lestang 1573, in place, Graillot enlisted Fossey to transform the interiors of the chåteau. Their aim was to restore it to its former glory, and to establish a cultural programme for visitors to the winery. “Château de L’Estang has rediscovered its authenticity, centred around the vine, the wine, festivals, art, music and literature,” says Graillot. “It’s a magnificent adventure that brings humanity and nature together.”
Fossey’s starting point for the project was the landscape surrounding the French château. “Sancerre is a particular place, where hills offer a magnificent panorama but are also perfectly suited to vine-growing,” she begins. “The wine draws its distinctive character from the soil, which can be clay, stony or flinty. There’s a constant search for balance between terroir, tradition and respect for the environment, and the interior needed to mirror that.”
Homing in on natural materials and colours, Fossey also drew on her own personal inspirations, and her guiding concept of “total art”. “This is the founding principle of my studio - the prism through which I approach every project,” she says. “I aim to define a new art of living guided by works of art, similar to the precepts of the Arts & Crafts movement - a powerful, free movement in which art asserted its duty to bring beauty into the lives of as many people as possible.” From her Swedish mother, Fossey has inherited a love of “simple, uncluttered spaces”, an ideal that’s clearly reflected in the château’s earth-toned, light-filled rooms.
Fossey also thrives on artistic collaborations. An installation by Parisian artist Matthias Kiss - a free-spirited interpretation of a vine, which trails both indoors and out - is conceived as the first highlight of an evolving art collection. “It uses mirrors to reflect and transform space and to capture light, blurring the boundaries between art and craft, reality and illusion,” says Fossey.
Reflected in this work – both literally and figuratively – is a flax screen by emerging French designer Pauline Esparon, crafted in Normandy. Showcasing the raw fibres and natural tones of the material, it’s a fine complement to the château’s ancient wooden beams and buff-coloured walls, alongside a pair of sculptural plaster pendant lights by contemporary French artist Pierre Castanier. Fossey has teamed these creations with antique tapestries and vintage furniture, such as Tobia Scarpa’s 1959 Pigreco dining chairs for Tacchini. “Our aim was to create a dialogue between generations and techniques, with craftsmanship as a red thread,” Fossey explains.
This is just the first stage in Château de L’Estang’s reinvention. Fossey has plans for several more installations, events and artistic residencies over the next year. “It will evolve with the seasons,” she says. “The winery is becoming a work of art in its own right.”
