The Chic Catroux

It's interesting how you see some designers all over the place and some nowhere at all.  I wish we could see more work of the interior designer François Catroux.  Maybe staying under the radar and a lack of self promotion is a French thing or a European thing.  It's certainly, as we all know, not an American thing.  I think it's even more interesting since François Catroux's wife Betty was a model and muse of Yves Saint Laurent who was has more than her fair share of publicity.  The scarcity of published projects makes it that much more exciting when you do come across one and especially when it's their own home.  Enjoy!

Betty and Francois Catroux, 1970

Chateau de Groussay: Part Deux

The gardens at Chateau de Groussay are just as amazing as the main house.  Charles de Beistegui was inspired by 18th-century Anglo-Chinese parks and gardens and created many "follies" to surprise and delight his guests. 

The most famous is the Tente Tartare that was built in 1960.  It was inspired by the tent that King Gustav III of Sweden raised in Drottningholm. 

The exterior is painted wood and not really a tent.

 

The interior is completely clad in Delft tiles that must be amazing to behold in person.

The Chinese Pagoda was found in Rome by Emilio Terry in  1968.  The pond and island were created specially for the Pagoda.

Pagoda interior.

All of the follies are just as beautiful inside as out.

The Palladian Bridge was designed by Emilio Terry in 1960.  It recalls the bridge at Wilton Park in England and the Guglie Bridge in Venice where Charles de Beistegui owned his famous Palazzo Labia. 

The Column Observatory was inspired by the Vendome column in Paris and was built in 1962.  You can view the entire countryside from the top.

The Temple of the Labyrinth sits at the center of a small maze and was built in 1967.

Garden photos from Alan Rosenberg

Chateau de Groussay: Part I

One of the key members of key figures profiled in Cafe Society is Charles de Beistegui (also known as Carlos de Beistegui).  I first heard his name after seeing a watercolor by Jeremiah Goodman of one of his rooms. He's a fascinating aesthete who was best known for the "party of the century" he gave at his Palazzo Labia in Venice in 1951. Chateau de Groussay in Montfort-l'Amaury, France was built in 1815 and after de Beistegui purchased it in 1939, he set about expanding it with the help of Emilio Terry.  Even though the chateau was in France, he took his cue for the decoration from the English.  It was warm and comfortable and because of de Beistegui's Spanish neutrality, the chateau was never occupied during the war.  Instead, it hosted parties for all of Paris society and his friends who included Baron and Baronne de Cabrol, Cecil Beaton, Alexis de Rede, and Jacqueline de Ribes.  Dominique Dunne wrote a very thorough profile of Charles de Beistegui in Vanity Fair in 1998 entitled All That Glittered which is available online.  It's definitely worth the read. You might be able to see in the photos of Chateau de Groussay that the decoration influenced many decorators including David Hicks, Mark Hampton, Daniel Romualdez, and even Miles Redd.  After his death, the chateau was passed to de Beistegui's nephew who later sold it to Jean-Louis Remilleux who has opened it for tours.  I'll post photos of the garden and its follies spearately. Enjoy!

Photo by Cecil Beaton