Before & After
Before & After: A French Manor House Inspired by Houzz
Taking cues from his favourite Houzz projects, this homeowner combined modern glam with respect for his family's roots
In Charente-Maritime, France, in the Petite Champagne region near Cognac, sits Fontagard, the property owned by Adrien Granchère. All white in its country-stone livery, the manor towers over a hamlet of only 12 residents, and is known in the region for its distillery. Founded in 1870 by Granchère’s ancestor, Ernest Granchère, this cognac and spirits distillery has been passed down through the family for four generations.
Granchère, 34 years old and an only son, took the reins of the company six years ago. Since then, the young proprietor has been working to diversify the distillery’s business. He has also modernised the adjoining property where he lives with his partner Mathilde and son Louis. After four years of work, he shared the results with Houzz. “Houzz is a great source of inspiration for architecture and decor from all around the world. We used it a lot to visualise most of our rooms. I wanted to thank the site in my own way by sharing the work we’ve done,” he says.
Granchère, 34 years old and an only son, took the reins of the company six years ago. Since then, the young proprietor has been working to diversify the distillery’s business. He has also modernised the adjoining property where he lives with his partner Mathilde and son Louis. After four years of work, he shared the results with Houzz. “Houzz is a great source of inspiration for architecture and decor from all around the world. We used it a lot to visualise most of our rooms. I wanted to thank the site in my own way by sharing the work we’ve done,” he says.
Before. “The building probably dates back to the early 19th century; the two windows on both sides of the entrance, the five upper windows and the small dormer windows are typical of the region,” says Granchère. “I found a photo of a similar neoclassical facade on Houzz, renovated with black frames. That’s what helped me hold my ground against my friends who came together to tell me that black on the windows would be ugly. In the end they admitted that I had made the right choice.”
After. About 50 of the damaged stones in the facade had to be replaced with similar material. The windows were fitted with black aluminium frames and solar-control glazing. “I didn’t want to put the shutters back on, and this choice has paid off because the house is cool in summer,” he says.
Ready to renovate your own home? Find an architect near you on Houzz, browse images of their work, and read reviews from previous clients
Ready to renovate your own home? Find an architect near you on Houzz, browse images of their work, and read reviews from previous clients
Before. Originally, a French door opened out into a spacious entrance hall, typical of these houses in the region, with high moulded ceilings and a remarkable wooden staircase. The doors on either side open into the kitchen and the living room. Outfitted with fireplaces and herringbone timber flooring, these rooms also benefit from southern exposure.
Granchère not only laid new flooring in the entrance, but also carried out extensive renovations here. “The roots of a tree in front of the house had grown under the entrance hall, causing the floor and staircase to collapse. It was necessary to excavate and repour a screed, and I took the opportunity to lay the electricity and plumbing lines in the crawl spaces and to wire the home for central hi-fi [audio] and ethernet,” he says.
Granchère not only laid new flooring in the entrance, but also carried out extensive renovations here. “The roots of a tree in front of the house had grown under the entrance hall, causing the floor and staircase to collapse. It was necessary to excavate and repour a screed, and I took the opportunity to lay the electricity and plumbing lines in the crawl spaces and to wire the home for central hi-fi [audio] and ethernet,” he says.
After. Granchère turned the old dining and reception room into a kitchen. “I kept everything I could from this house as well as the family furniture and decor,” he says. The dressing table mirror at the entrance is an antique from his grandmother. It echoes the contemporary painting in the background, which adorns the chimney breast. “It is by my cousin, Julien Graizely, who is a painter.”
After. To come up with the kitchen design, Granchère utilised Houzz Ideabooks, which helped him organise the layout, materials and colours. He recalls being particularly inspired by the colours and space in this London kitchen. “I then visited the kitchen designers, who gave me the idea for the final layout,” he says.
In arranging the kitchen, Granchère wove his family’s soul into the space, as well as their love of nature and all that is organic. He chose sustainable materials, such as kitchen fronts made from recycled bottles.
The solid oak dining table, which a miller had given to his grandmother, is from the original kitchen.
The solid oak dining table, which a miller had given to his grandmother, is from the original kitchen.
The solid oak benchtops contrast the matt-black cupboards. The benchtops were made by a carpenter and Granchère treated them with an edible oil to protect the surface. The floors were sanded then covered with an environmentally friendly oil as well.
The pantry was another sustainable choice. A pocket door in the tall unit to the left of the oven hides a recess that Granchère has lined with 30-centimetre breeze blocks that provide natural insulation. “The idea was to have a cool and safe place to store vegetables that we grow in our square-foot gardens and the eggs from our hens, who roam freely around the property,” he says.
After. The colours in the living room were inspired by a project by Atelier Mep. Granchère fell in love with a petrol-blue sliver of wall, and this colour now covers almost all the walls in this space; the walls in the bar area contrast in a mustard yellow.
Acoustics are regularly overlooked in renovations, but Granchère paid particular attention to this in the large living room, which has a 3.4-metre-high ceiling. “We listen to a lot of music, and in these big houses, it tends to echo quickly. That’s why I covered all the walls in fabric with a padded lining,” he says.
Nestled in the old hall, the bar was a must for a distiller. The bottles are displayed in niches made from an upcycled cupboard from the old hall.
The portrait gallery combines two centuries of family history with old print engravings from L’Illustration, an old French publication. Granchère’s grandmother had subscribed to the title, and he found copies in an old mail trunk in the attic. The trunk itself is now being used as a coffee table (pictured in the previous image).
The portrait gallery combines two centuries of family history with old print engravings from L’Illustration, an old French publication. Granchère’s grandmother had subscribed to the title, and he found copies in an old mail trunk in the attic. The trunk itself is now being used as a coffee table (pictured in the previous image).
After. Heavy sanding brought out the gorgeous natural colour of the maritime pine, which Granchère did his best to salvage. Combined with the white stairwell, it once again makes a statement in the entrance hall.
Before. On the second floor the stairs open out into a long hallway that runs the length of the house, branching off to private rooms. “This arrangement is also typical of manor houses in the region. The hallway is on the north to leave the south side –which is the best exposure – for the rooms,” says Granchère.
After. An anthracite-black paint (RAL 7016 on the RAL colour chart in France) adds character to the hall. “This was another idea we spotted on Houzz. We were one of the first to choose it even though we’ve seen quite a lot of it this year,” says Granchère. Tom Dixon-inspired black-and-gold pendant lights present a touch of contemporary sophistication and are reminiscent of light fixtures that had belonged to Granchère’s grandmother.
Another of Graizely’s paintings adorns an empty wall in the hall.
Before. The guest bedroom had been done up in peach and outfitted with an ensuite bathroom that hadn’t been renovated since Granchère’s grandparents installed it.
After. This graphic open partition made of steel and beech replaced the walls of the old ensuite. It screens off the new bathroom, which includes a basin and walk-in shower.
“The industrial-style inspiration was a shop window in New York. The clothing brand All Saints had stacked an impressive number of old sewing machines on shelves in the window,” says Granchère.
The wall was painted olive green. This organic colour and the hanging plants create a nature-inspired alcove.
Before. This bedroom had been adorned with a grey marble fireplace and gold-framed mirror.
After. Granchère changed the style radically by removing some of the plasterboard to reveal the stone underneath, and walled in the fireplace. This more simple style of decor gives the room a holiday feel.
Before. Keeping cool was a concern in a region prone to summer temperature spikes, and Granchère addressed this by installing double glazing. However, he chose not to update other elements that may seem essential, such as heating and insulation, for a surprising reason.
“The distillery heats us. The steam out of the stills is 85 degrees and needs to be cooled. Fifteen years ago, in order to limit the cost of the fuel heating system that had only been installed in the 1980s, my father had the idea of killing two birds with one stone and using the house as a cooling system. When we’re too hot, we open the windows!”
“The distillery heats us. The steam out of the stills is 85 degrees and needs to be cooled. Fifteen years ago, in order to limit the cost of the fuel heating system that had only been installed in the 1980s, my father had the idea of killing two birds with one stone and using the house as a cooling system. When we’re too hot, we open the windows!”
After. As in the living room, Granchère paid attention to the acoustics here, lining the ceiling with acoustic panels. Hundreds of small perforations break the echo effect of smooth, hard surfaces and muffle the sound.
Positioning the bed in the centre of the room allowed Granchère to partition the very large bedroom and create a sauna area at the back.
Positioning the bed in the centre of the room allowed Granchère to partition the very large bedroom and create a sauna area at the back.
After. This bathroom is the very first room Granchère renovated. He used charcoal-toned tile paint to cover the dated brown tiles and replaced the basin with a contemporary vanity unit fitted out with bathroom storage.
After. Graizely, whose paintings adorn walls throughout the house, painted this mural based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book, The Little Prince.
And what does Granchère’s grandmother, who spent most of her life in this house, think of the results? “She had a difficult time during the renovation phase, and when her rooms were torn down she didn’t even want to come see the work. But today, she is amazed,” says her grandson. His approach – modernising the home while respecting his family’s roots – certainly helped.
Your turn
What do you love most about the transformation of this grand manor house? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Do you love renovation transformations? Don’t miss this Before & After: Design Tricks & Secret Storage in a French Studio
Your turn
What do you love most about the transformation of this grand manor house? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Do you love renovation transformations? Don’t miss this Before & After: Design Tricks & Secret Storage in a French Studio
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here? Adrien Granchère, his partner Mathilde and four-year-old son Louis
Location: Charente-Maritime, France
Size: 460 square metres
“When we started the work and were looking for ideas, Mathilde downloaded the Houzz app on her laptop, and that’s how we started making Ideabooks for each room,” says Granchère.
One of his first Ideabooks was for the home’s facade. It had lost its lustre and needed a good makeover: the shutters were missing every second slat and the local white stone had cracked around the windows because of corrosion around the hinges.