Situated on a large estate of vineyards on the `Mediterranean coast of France, Chateau La Banquière is a majestic and truly unique property.
It was built by an industrialist in the early 19th century as a gift to his wife, replicating a Lake Como castle where they used to spend leisure time together. The castle stayed in the same family for over 200 years until it was purchased with a vision of creating a hotel and event venue dedicated to the unexpected.
The new owners imagined a hotel that felt more like a family home, where each bedroom is decorated differently, and guests have access to a real kitchen, bar, and living areas. It was also a perfect size for groups to rent the property in its entirety for weddings, business gatherings, or artistic pursuits such as retreats, film screenings or even recording an album.
As with any historical renovation, there are always many decisions to be made about what to keep, what to alter, and what to replace. We try as much as possible to re-use and re-purpose, as long as it fits the history and narrative of the project. In this case we ended up keeping locally made cement tiles in several rooms, as well as saving a lot during demolition that we ended up using elsewhere in the project.
The key driving factor in all of the choices was to ensure a final product that was curated but comfortable, much
like a family home.
In order to accomplish this idea, we decided to draw both on the history of the castle’s Italian origins and blend it with local Provencal influences. We went with the dominance of Genovese chandeliers and terrazzo floors (known in the region as granito) which are complemented with French Bagues chandeliers and traditional oak parquet floors.
By far the most important and striking element in the design, and the one which contributes to the feeling of luxury and comfort, is our use of antique fabrics and our own natural dyeing process. This practice has been a core
passion of ours for many years, and we made sure that this influenced the design of every room in the project.
From a contemporary interpretation of a bed canopy using antique linen, to cupboard doors covered in reclaimed fabric and custom embroidered with bees to symbolize nature, we made sure each room had a unique feeling through our use of our custom fabrics. Using the exquisite craftsmanship by the best Parisian couture ateliers, we created privacy screen panels embroidered with a motif illustrating the sunrise scenery at the chateau. Even the bed throws have gold embroidery to contrast with the coarseness of the reclaimed fabrics.