Crumbling Châteaux

With modern times achanging, old money does not warrant stability and continuity: one way or another the estates it relates to likely meet their fate. Heating bills, maintenance and repair costs, and property taxes end up sealing the deal on one remorseless Winter night.

Passed down the generations, the estates increasingly turn into financial burdens (financial money pits!), unless pockets are deep and/ or resourcefulness (return on investment projects), DIY skills, family team spirit and general stamina are unequivocally high.

Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers (dating back to 13th century), Les Trois-Moutiers, Vienne, France

Maybe any land-related business attached to the estate (farming, winemaking, fruit orchards, garden nurseries, crafts, hospitality) which used to support or supplement its income ends up folding altogether due to high running costs and other expenditures - and the implacability of French taxation (so be said). The château lifestyle may then take a turn for the worse and bite the dust...

Likewise the French château dream may turn sour for those idealist buyers and unpractical investors who succumbed to the lure of a quick, cheap and fanciful purchase, only to find out that they are biting more than they can chew. And then the château lifestyle increasingly becomes a distant vision. 

Château de Maupas (built c.1580), Maupas, Dordogne, France

I have little knowledge about the history of the châteaux featured herein - and the reasons that led to their falling from grace. Regardless, my aim is not to blame or condemn. Mirabelle knows only too well how easy - very easy - it is for a property - grand or otherwise - to fall into disrepair, catch you off-guard, and for its maintenance costs to escalate beyond repair, especially when the property has not been consistently looked after or if you have been dealing with cowboy builders and other rip-off con artists from the associated building trades. Those elderly ladies made out of stone, brick, slate and wood require constant methodical TLC: choose to disregard or overlook it at your peril!

Château de la Boissière (dating back to 19th century), Edern, Brittany, France

Some owner-renovators and passionate volunteers are riding the wave high and proud and making a success out of their property venture, through blood, sweat and tears. First expect cold sleepless nights, spartan comfort, improvised dinners out of a camping stove, and chamber pots for toilets... Or best make a caravan your home while a modicum of comfort is being established in your property. All in all, keep at it and never lose sight of the reward at the end of the dirt track, beyond crumbling plaster and patches of dry rot!

Château de Coat an Noz (built 1870), Belle-Isle-en-Terre, Brittany, France

Source: (1-5) French château photography via Châteaux de France. (1) Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers (built 13th century), Les Trois-Moutiers, Vienne, photography by Pierre Mairé. (2) Château de Maupas (built c.1580), Issac, Dordogne. (3) Château de la Boissière (dating back to 19th century), Edern, Brittany, and (4) Château de Coat an Noz (built 1870), Belle-Isle-en-Terre, Brittany, photography by Morgan Corbet. (5) Château de Bonnefontaine (built 1818-1822), Altwiller, Alsace. (6) Château de Blancafort (built 1453), Sologne, Loire Valley. (7) Château de Meauce (built c.13th century), Nivernais.

Château de Bonnefontaine (built 1818-22), Altwiller, Alsace, France

Depressed about the château sorry state? Cheer up and read on...


Château Success Stories:

• Adopte un Château, in partnership with Dartagnans, presents itself as an innovative crowdfunding scheme designed to bring together investing members of the general public willing to be involved in the rescue of a struggling château that has fallen into disrepair. The initial goal is for the investors to collectively meet the seller's asking price. By purchasing one or more shares (affordably priced at 51 euros a share), they become in effect one of the several owners who will be involved in the château's future, with its renovation funded by its conversion into a profitable business. This is exactly what is happening to our featured (1) Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers right now! Now whether the scheme has real potential for the safeguard of a château - or is purely utopic - remains to be seen, especially in the long term.
• Push open the door to a successful privately-owned current château renovation scheme: Château de Meauce (built 13th century), set in Nivernais, the Central area of la belle France. The château is featured on the Adopte un Château website.
• Follow the river and admire the quintessential châteaux of the Loire Valley: those are healthy and wealthy! And while you're at it, take a leisurely stroll through the grounds and the gardens. 
• If your pockets are deep and you envision yourself as the proud owner of a renovated château in Sologne, within the Loire Valley, you are in luck! Château de Blancafort (built 1453 as a fortified stronghold) is up for auction... and already has your name on it! 
• Purchased in 2015 by TV personality Dick Strawbridge and his wife Angel Adoree, Château-de-la-Motte Husson is the star of a (British) TV home renovation series. The Loire Valley-located château (which finds its origins in Medieval times and was rebuilt 1868-1874) also hosts vintage weddings and other hospitality events under the umbrella of The Vintage Pâtisserie, Angel's hospitality company.
• In the French Pyrenees village of Château-Verdun, Château de Gudanes (built mid-1700s) is too enjoying a second youth! Its new owners are a couple of  dynamic Aussies who gave up their home comforts from Down Under for a château life made up of cracks, leaks, drafts, overdrafts... and much joy! The château restoration is well underway now and paying off! In fact, each Summer paying guests are invited to contribute their skills in exchange for a slice of the pie. 

Château de Blancafort (built 1453), Sologne, Loire Valley, France

Château de Meauce (built c.13th century), Nivernais, France (pict source)

How Unopiù Ushers Italian Riviera Into the Home

If there is ONE catalogue release that fills me with both excitement and anticipation, Unopiu's catalogue is it. Year upon year it comes up with a feast for the eyes, as much in terms of innovative product design and quality of materials, as in the photographic style and select photoshoot locations of geographical and architectural interest (Italian lakeside, Tuscany and seaside as appetizers, anyone?). We are talking the stuff of glossies, so if you happen to be an Architectural Digest aficionado, Unopiù is of that sleek calibre.

Therefore no dreaded dingy studio with zero art direction and snapshots on the cheap here! Everything is carefully thought out in its minute detail, and to the highest spec, from the products to the catalogue layout and quality of the paper itself. Talk about immersive experience, you got it right here at Unopiù!

Of course the catalogue's aim is not to detract, distract or deflect from the product ranges themselves. This is a retail company after all. The marketing material enhances what is to be expected when you shop from a place like Unopiù. Expect no-negotiable quality: weatherproof garden furniture, sturdy pergolas, homeware pieces that are made to stand out, and ingenious carports and greenhouses that become one with their surroundings.

All is delivered in style and originality and Unopiù shows us how it's done. I might be French and credit a little patriotic excellence in arts and design to my country where credit's due, there is however nothing like Italian design to tone that French chauvinism right down! Design italiano e bellissimo!

Source: All photography by Unopiù.

Presidential Showdown: Triumph for a New Cultural Era

In the wake of the presidential election of Donald J. Trump, the air has turned sharp and crisp with optimism and the promise of a reborn America like our parents had enjoyed. A new dawn is rising over the socialist paradigm swamp that had gripped the West since before our parents were even born (1930s), namely The Frankfurt School, serving under different guises the socialist agenda that is now in full swing.



Thanks to Mr. Trump, the global agenda of the private interests and corporate elites has been exposed to a wider segment of the population, and the new presidency will tackle it. Mr. Trump assured that under his presidency no dream will be too big. The forgotten man and the forgotten woman will rise and the USA will become prosperous again.

Alongside it, the cultural marxism that has infiltrated, compromised and jeopardised the mainstream media (MSM), education, religion, morality, family, employment, private property, cultural identity, national sovereignty, and thought process, will be challenged further and hopefully dismantled by the powers that be. The population will hopefully join in once they come to the realisation that they have been duped all along under the false premise of freedom of speech and freedom of choice.



Political change in America will send ripple effects and political change to Europe. Now unless you were born in Europe and have been enlightened about the detrimental effects of socialism and communism to a Nation, you will have no idea of the levels of mediocrity that European nations have been forced to sink to under the EU-UN umbrella over the last 35 years, and this includes design and lifestyle.

You will understand that as a design blog, Mirabelle has an obligation to report these facts to you and get political. I do respect voters choice yet I cannot help but be baffled by the Hollywood backlash against Trump and the dissent from the college kids who should know better but would rather burn the American flag and envisage their whole lives under a jobless, future-devoid, open-border, state-controlled economy that only serves the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bilderberg Group, George Soros, Monsanto and nefarious trade agreements like the TPP. Get a grip, kiddos!

(Pict source)

Although Mirabelle has strong reservations regarding Trump's policies for the environment, the new presidency will however redefine a new society, and creativity will soar to new heights like skyscrapers. Mirabelle is launching a new series: TrumpPower. Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring and celebrating the representation of prosperity and success in culture, art, design and fashion. Stay tuned!

Source: (1) The Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump John Lewis Christmas Ad, is based upon (2) the British high street retailer John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016 that was cleverly 'reworked' by the creative crew at Joe. You gotta love Buster the Boxer... and the garden critters! (3) Congratulations to President-Elect Trump and to Vice President-Elect Pence on their electoral win! Thank You America photograph, via Donald J. Trump's official website.

Villa Grecque Kérylos

In the elegant French Riviera resort of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, at the tip of the peninsula, and set against the dramatic landscape of its rocky shoreline abruptly crashing into the bay on its way to Italy, stands a palatial estate from the Belle Époque era. Its architectural style pledges allegiance to classical Greece, to which modern comfort was discreetly incorporated.

The vestibule, photography by Veran.

Théodore Reinach was a gifted, French multi-disciplinarian of German descent, mostly remembered as a historian, archeologist, numismatist, and above all a fervent Hellenist. He joined forces with architect Emmanuel Pontremoli in order to manifest the hellenist vision, in the shape of Villa Grecque Kérylos, palais antique de la Côte d'Azur. In Greek, Kérylos means Halcyon, a bird of good omen, a blessing for the house to be.

The peristyle, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

The property was designed and built between 1902 and 1908; it was inspired by the oppulent properties on the Greek island of Delos (200 B.C.). Like its bona-fide counterparts, Villa Grecque Kérylos is constructed around a peristyle (central courtyard surrounded by a colonnade). The estate incarnates the wish of every architect's worth their salt: a well-appointed, architectural delight that will stand the test of time in its timeless elegance and inspire generations of residents and visitors.

The library, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

Detailed precision was never compromised in the loyal reinterpretation of Greek classicism, no shortcut allowed! The best materials were used throughout, for cost was no issue for this grandiose project in style. And only the most talented tradesmen and craftsmen were tasked to conjure up their skills into the making of this unordinary abode from the ground up. And the brief goes beyond the proverbial brick and mortar, with made-to-spec furnishings and homewares given careful thought and attention. The panoramic garden is too a faithful representation of a classical Greek garden: olive, palm, pine, carob, pomegranate, myrtle, acanthus, cypress, papyrus and more.

The peristyle, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

Villa Kérylos wasn't designed as a showhome. The Reinach family would vacation there. On the death of Théodore in 1928, it was bequeathed to the prestigious Institut de France. Tragically the villa was seized by the Nazis during WWII and one of the Reinach children, Léon, his wife and their children sent to the death camps of Auschwitz, never to return.

After the war, the Reinachs would continue vacationing at Villa Kérylos until 1966 - fifty years ago - when it finally became a French national monument.

Triklinos, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

Troubled wartime aside, a feeling of peace, sobriety and Greek splendour envelops you as you visit the estate that seems cut off from the vagaries of modern day. Should you be on a quest for simplicity that stands tall, noble, luxurious and steeped in Antiquity, this place requests the pleasure of your visit. Step in and you will step 2,200 years back! How regal for a time machine that is carved up in marble, clad in rare woods, sequined in mosaic, assembled together by colonnades and saluted by statues, and with ample space provided in between for enchanted introspection and other errances of the mind...

Andron, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

If 'Labour of Love' were in search of its physical representation, Villa Grecque Kérylos would be it.

Sources: The interior photography of Villa Grecque Kérylos was sourced from the excellent dedicated article by Alain R. Truong; photography by Sophie Lloyd and by Veran. (1) A bronze serpent statue takes pride of place in the vestibule. (2) The peristyle frescoes are a work of art and furnish the space all to themselves. (3) The library bears a little Art Nouveau influence. (4) A stroll down the peristyle is likely to put you in a contemplative mood. (5) Triklinos is the Villa's octogonal banquet room, where daintiness expresses itself. (6) The Andron breaks off with classical lines through its flamboyant marble walls and colonnades, ornate friezes, coffered ceiling and floor mosaics. (7) There is a notable touch of modernity in the Oikos, with the custom-made Pleyel piano, concealed in its lemon tree wood cabinet. Note the delicate garland detail on the white stucco wall. (8) Exterior view of Villa Grecque Kérylos at dusk, uncredited photograph via Concierge Royal Riviera.

Oikos, photography by Sophie Lloyd.

More architectural details about Villa Grecque Kérylos may be found on Wikipedia (in French). Further architectural eye candy from early XXth century French Riviera awaits, via ibid. In order to enjoy their slide show, double-click the top picture to load it on the screen and scroll from there using the side arrows.

The Garden Beckons

A garden is Man's vanity project, a reinterpretation of nature for our own comfort: growing the edible and cultivating the eye-pleasing. It is an extension of the home, a solace, a place where we unwind and kids play safely. A space where we surrender our thoughts; we let our mind wander and there it takes us down its wondrous pathways... There is the private garden and the public garden, and off the charts is the secret garden, a personal host to the unkempt thoughts and the ordered ones, the wise desires and the wilder ones.

A vegetable and fruit garden is a practical way of attending the land and yields crop to our labouring hand. The practical garden certainly was so for our elders living in rural communities and to which land had to be productive, not stand idle. What else is a garden? A garden is a place of observation - an observatory of sorts - where the little seed we planted rewardingly comes to be, and the pruned shrub has been lent a hand so it shall draw the vigour that will make it strong and prosper. A garden is a testimony for oneself and others. There is nothing more satisfying than to be the custodian of a plant or shrub or tree that an elder lovingly put into soil and nurtured, for future generations to enjoy and care for in turn. For I do believe strongly that there is a little of us that lives on with each plant that we commit ourselves to.

Sources: (1) Where to start? Garden inspiration might nudge you down the local flower shop, or it could just be a walk in the countryside or a spot of sunshine... The Little Potting Shed of Tarporley, Cheshire, is the little sister of The Potting Shed of Alderley Edge, an exclusive leafy Cheshire town south of Manchester. (2) There is a lot of action going on in horticulturist, writer and BBC presenter Alys Fowler's garden and its size (20ft. x 16ft.) debunks the assumption that one shall need ample space in order to grow a wide variety of plants. Alys's compact garden is a punch to the senses; it is packed-full with colours, textures, aromas and edible plants! Her facetious Jack Russell Terrier Isabelle lends a hand, oops a paw! Photography via Pinterest and believed to originate from BBC. (3-5) Britain has some of the most inviting nurseries/ garden centres in the world, replete with oodles of style and Venusian charm, an effortless romantic inclination, and an attention to detail and presentation. This craftsmanship comes together as a living Liberty pattern (or other favourite British florals) or a canvas to a poem, that distill your experience as quintessentially British! And wait a minute! Those nurseries also cater for the palate (oh, the plump freshly-baked Victoria sponge cakes!), and the home in equal measures of style. Petersham Nurseries, Richmond, Surrey is one example of that very British quintessence. (6) Wispy Verbascum like this one pictured by Norwegian lifestyle blog Roser og Patina will be noticed in the cottage garden and stand its own amidst lupins, foxgloves and delphinium. (7) Digitalis purpurea, Foxgloves, Ibid. (8) What came first, chicken or the egg? No worries, a hen is always the bearer of good news: fresh eggs! And it gives the garden and the owner a little company, and a country feel. Hens are friendly, social and curious. Photography by Ali Harper in Georgia, USA, to illustrate the Dandelion Greens and Pepper Omelet recipe designed for Kinfolk magazine. (9) Flowering right now in the wild, on the shaded roadsides of northern Corsica, the elegant and statuesque Bear's Breeches (Acanthus spinosus) can also be grown from a packet, from an online place like Crocus. (10) Pink Sunday Sage (Salvia horminum), a heritage seed by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co. (pictured below).

Further Inspiration: Find out more fascinating facts about Alys Fowler's life, from BBC Countryfile. Also catch an episode or two of her BBC TV series, The Edible Garden, from Archive.org. Alys's eponymous book, The Edible Garden may be purchased from Barnes & Noble.

'If I had a magic wand, I’d like to see what would happen if we’d never had the Enclosures Acts and still had small-scale subsistence farmers, where the land was not owned by the few but by the majority. It would be interesting to watch how that played out and whether our lack of understanding about food and where it comes from has partly been caused by the fact we have capitalised the countryside for the benefit of a few individuals.' - Alys Fowler interviewed by BBC Countryfile

P.S: More garden inspiration from Mirabelle, Mirabelle's Secret Gardens, and La Baguette Magique!

Love it! Your gardens are beautiful! https://t.co/BO4uJgho1J

— Baker Creek Seeds (@rareseeds) June 14, 2016

The Hamptons Lifestyle with Aerin Lauder

Aerin Lauder might have inherited her grandmother Estée's surname, she has nonetheless carved a first name for herself (and in capital letters!) above and beyond the beauty counters and her remit as Estée Lauder's Global Creative Director (now Style & Image Director). She is an icon of East Coast elegance and sobriety of style, which the French in the know would aptly qualify of "bon goût" (good taste), with no fashion faux-pas or brash and erratic statements. Her lifestyle is measured and poised and timeless, with spot-on style decisions and loving consideration for heirloom pieces and heritage. Her brand, Aerin, launched in 2012 and positions itself within the global luxury lifestyle market.

Aerin has been on Mirabelle's radar for a few years now and it was high time to pay tribute to a young lady my generation who chose to make a career rather than sit back and capitalise on grandma's dynasty and legacy and play the wallflowers on the Lauder façade, overshadowed by its weighty limelight. Aerin stepped into the limelight for herself and has been stamping her mark on a wide array of areas under the World of Aerin umbrella, including a concept store in Southampton, NY. By becoming a staple of home design and lifestyle magazines, Aerin has demonstrated that beauty goes way beyond the realm of skindeep and cosmetics.

Sources: (1-2) Aerin's Manhattan offices were designed by Jacques Grange. (1) Office desk detail, part of the Office Studio Tour, photography originally sourced by Mirabelle from Erika Brechtel. (2) The entrance hall features a Paul Lange work. (3) Lineham Table Lamp in Alabaster ($714.00), part of the Aerin Furnishings collection. (4) 'The Ultimate Vanity' (as described by Aerin herself), features her sumptuous range of beauty products. (5) Aerin's beauty products take pride of place in her Southampton NY concept store. (6) Aerin's Rose de Grasse fragrance, presented by the lady herself (screen capture). (7) Rose de Grasse Parfum Spray ($185.00), part of the Aerin Beauty collection. "The hundred-petaled Rose Centifolia, hand picked in Grasse - the French capital of perfumery since the 16th century - is at the heart of this meticulously crafted fragrance. Enhanced by Rose Otto Bulgarian and Rose Absolute, and given further depth by warming Musk, this alluring scent perfectly captures the flower that symbolizes beauty and femininity." (8) Footed Deco Large Bowl ($425.00), part of the Aerin Entertaining collection. (9) Porcelain Gardenia ($150.00), part of the Aerin Home Decor collection. (10) East Coast beach babe of the stylish kind, Aerin features on the Summer Fashion 2013 edition of Hamptons Magazine. (11) "Beauty is the best incentive to self-respect." (Estée Lauder), from Aerin Lauder's book 'Beauty At Home', published by Random House in October 2013, page screen-captured by Mirabelle. (12) The Lauder family country home in East Hampton features an English knot garden. Landscape design by Perry Guillot. Photography attributed to Elle Decor (not formally authentified).