Today we join Julie of The French Manoir for an inside look at French chateau life. Julie and her husband have worked together to renovate their beautiful chateau located in Pays de la Loire, which is just an hour and half from Paris by high speed train.
In the interview, Julie shares about when they found their home, the renovation process, her love for the Louis XV style, and a few of her favorite places to visit when she’s home in France.
What was the most difficult part about buying a home in France?
I lived in Australia when we started searching for a house to buy in France, flying 16,781km (10,427miles), 46 hours in the air from Melbourne to Paris round trip wasn’t easy journey. I didn’t speak any French, didn’t know anything about French housing market, didn’t know anyone, so many obstacles during the search of the house, however I was determined to look for a house which I could restore and decorate however I desired. Where there is a will, there is a way was my motto.
Was your chateau in Pays de la Loire the first one you looked at when you started your search for a home base in France, or did you look at several châteaux?
Actually, my husband and I were looking for a nice house with a big enough garden where we can create the potager (vegetable garden) and be able to be self-sufficient. I looked at every possible website for the houses up for sale and one day I came crossed the chateaux for sale in Limoges area where I am familiar with the name because of my china collections. I was very tempted to buy a chateau, but we didn’t look at châteaux to buy and instead looked at many farm houses and manoir, like the Georgian style mansion because we really like the architectural appearance of it. Our house was sold as a “Maison de Maitre” (master’s house). We purchased our house in 2013, but our house wasn’t on our list of houses to view when we found it. We didn’t even know it has classified as a chateau by title until after we purchased it. Chateau means the big house in the countryside. Our house is the biggest house in our village therefore came with the title of chateau which was a pleasant surprise.
How many years of renovations did it take to make the chateau habitable, and where in the home did you begin the renovation process?
I started to travel from Melbourne, Australia to our house in France from April 2014 to undertake slow and sometimes painful restoration and renovation. The house had been vacant for 5 years and it wasn’t a good condition when we became the owner. We started from new electrical wiring of the whole house and septic tank while interior of the house was being stripped. I tried to keep most of the original features of the house and worked around it while adding a new kitchen, new bathrooms, toilets which were renovated with a modern comforts.
When you began your search for the decor and furnishings for your home, what was the most prized item(s) you found?
I have to say it was Louis XV style, over a hundred years old, bed and an armoire which are my favorite style of furniture. I am using two beds and an armoire in one of our guest room. I couldn’t help myself and kept buying the same beds and the armoires every time I see them. I currently have five Louis XV style armoires in the house for various use such as closet, bookcase and four more beds in the barn.
Where is your favorite local spot to buy fresh flowers?
Unfortunately, there aren’t many flower shops in the French countryside. Our local flower shop don’t carry many fresh flowers like Paris flower shops or flower markets. As a co-founder of a flower school called ‘Flore Julia Flower Academy” in Korea and France, I have access to a wholesale flower market in Angers (about 1 hour and 30 mins from our house). I also have some flowers in our garden and am currently creating my own “flower garden”. I also have access to an abundance of wild flowers from a field near our house.
Your home is available to rent for vacation, events and workshops. When did your first decide to open your home to guests?
We bought the house as our private residence, however when our house was featured in French magazine (Maison chic 2018) and Victoria magazine in the US, and French Style I got so many requests for rental of the house for family holidays, workshops and small events. I rented out a few times a year while we were living in Australia. We still do rent out the whole chateau time to time for some workshops and to holiday makers. There are so many requests for B & B, but I only open B & B for the guests for my brocante tours and other workshop in our house for now. However, I am planning to open B & B time to time by request only.
Planning a trip to France and want the opportunity to embrace the French Chateau Life? Contact Julie via her website here.
You’ve previously divided your time between Australia and France. When you return to your home in France what do you look forward to the most?
I always get so excited to go back to France. From sleeping in my bedrooms to buying freshly baked baguette is a pure happiness to me. As soon as the plane touches down at CDG airport, even I have to drive three hours to get to my house in the countryside straight after 23 hours flight from Australia. I can feel my adrenaline level go up with an unknown excitement. It always feels like that I am going to meet love of my life. Every weekend, visiting the Brocante market is the highlight of returning to our home in France. I love old objects, I think I definitely have an old soul, or maybe I was French in my previous life.
Are there particular places (shops, restaurants etc) that you like to visit near your home or in Paris that is accessible by TGV (high speed train)?
I live in a pretty remote area where I have more cow neighbors than human neighbors, however not far from our house there are many little villages I can visit. There is a place not far from our house called “ Bagnoles de l’orne” It’s a quaint spa town where there are many restaurants, cafes. I love to the restaurant near the lake “ Le 1927.” I can sit in the restaurant and admire a beautiful view of the lake for hours. I also love to visit my dear friend Franck’s antique shop “ Masion Merouvel Antiquite Deco” in Mortagne au Perche, Normandy where many Parisienne have their second homes. As for Paris, I love to meet friends at “Salon Proust” in The Ritz in Paris. I like it there because it’s both quiet and relaxed.
What room or rooms do you find yourself spending the majority of your time in when you are at the chateau?
I love spending time between the home library and the kitchen during the warm months, but during the winter months, I spend the majority of my time in the kitchen living room. We change the kitchen to a winter living room by adding a Chesterfield sofa and a Bergère in front of the fire place. It’s the best spot in the house during the cold winter months. Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time in my home atelier (shop) on the top floor for various projects. I haven’t yet show the room anywhere on the web or print as it’s still a work in the progress to make it beautiful.
In 2019 you wrote a book (in Korean) about your home in France. What was the most exciting part about seeing your home in book form?
Restoring an old house was my dream, a dream that I wanted to achieve before I die. People say “You only live once / YOLO” but I say “You only die once/ YODO”. I became a writer by accident, but it was most serendipitous thing ever happened to me. I still can’t believe that I have written a book. I didn’t think I could write anything in Korean, which is my first language, because I haven’t used it for over twenty-five years while I was living in overseas. When the book was published in Korea and seeing my name printed as an author was such an amazing experience.
Keep up with Julie and the French Manoir through the following links…
Website: https://www.thefrenchmanoir.net
Instagram: @french_manoir
All photos in this post are by photographer: GiHae Kim
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