An American designer created the interior of an old house in Normandy almost from scratch, but tried to preserve both the spirit of the place and the beautiful oak paneling of the rooms on the first floor.
Designer Catherine Ireland was born in the UK, lives in Los Angeles, but spends her holidays in France. One summer, she received calls from clients in Texas asking for a local designer who would agree to work on the interior of an old house in Normandy, beautiful but a little run-down.
Catherine quickly convinced them to give this order not to some unknown Frenchman, but to her. And really, who can better strike a balance between French ease and charm and American comfort than an American woman who, a few years earlier, also bought a house on the continent and made it as convenient as possible for modern life?
The new owners had full confidence in Katherine and hoped that she would maintain the rustic, casual feel of the home while renovating it. But in order for the house to live at ease, a lot had to be changed.
Firstly, there was a catastrophic lack of bathrooms, and the kitchen was in a deplorable state. It was quite possible to arrange another bedroom in the attic. Catherine received carte blanche for all the changes she considered necessary to make, and soon the house acquired its current appearance.
In the living room we only had to slightly restore the beautiful oak paneling, arrange a few antique items bought at local flea markets, armchairs brought from overseas and a deep sofa.
Katherine redecorated the bedrooms with fabrics custom made from her designs. The new room, which appeared under the very ridge of the roof in place of the attic, received its own bathroom, which was added to the charm by a high ceiling with an open beam and a claw-foot bathtub. As the designer admits, the most difficult thing was to find sinks that matched the style. But now none of the American guests doubt that everything was the same in this house a hundred years ago.
