Set upon a hilltop in the French Pyrenees, Château de Gudanes is one of the most magical homes I have ever seen. And one of my favourite Instagram accounts to follow, to watch the progress of this huge restoration project and dream…

Once upon a time a thirteenth century fortress, a fifteenth century castle, and then an eighteenth century palatial château, Château de Gudanes was then left abandoned and in ruins… Until in 2013, she was discovered by a West Australian family, the Waters, who have taken on the responsibility to awaken this sleeping beauty after years of neglect – at the time they purchased the building only three of its ninety-four rooms still had floors and ceilings. Château de Gudanes still stands proudly in the south of France in the small village of Chateau-Verdun.

In October I shared this home designed by the great Robert Couturier and I could not stop at just one post so now I bring to you a smattering from his portfolio. Grand homes designed in a grand way.

Cozy British vibes from designer Caroline Holdaway. What a fabulous sitting room with the double height ceiling and massive window. (Photos: Simon Brown)

This property is a former Victorian purpose built artist’s studio brimming with north and south facing light. The façade is filled by an over scaled two storey window the generosity of which we matched by the addition of a double height oak framed bay window at the back. This gave us the additional space we were looking for and the glorious play of light. The roof came off so we could remove dividing walls and put in a new staircase, two bathrooms and a delightful generous landing that had the ability to be used as a work space should that be required in the future. The galleried double height sitting room is a rare and coveted luxury in the heart of London two minutes walk from the tube, an urban paradise in the centre of leafy London.

I was a tad embarrassed to realize we have never featured iconic British interior decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler before. This round up of spaces from their portfolio shows their style is quintessentially English but with some fun subtle touches that make it a bit more modern and edgy.

Notting Hill based design firm Barlow & Barlow embraced colour in this project for a fashion stylist who appears to take family life pretty seriously. 😉 This home has such a great energy for children to grow up in and is so lively and whimsical. I’d take this over stuffy and over-done any day.