Restoring a French Château: Tim Gosling x Watts 1874 for WOW!house 2025

Earlier this week we had the exciting opportunity of hosting the world-renowned British interior & furniture designer Tim Gosling’s discussion on renovating his 1719 château.  

After a two-year search for their next project, Gosling and his husband Steve Holmes had faced little success; it had proven almost impossible to find any untouched architecture in England, and searches in Italy resulted in exquisite architecture but a distinct lack of surrounding land.

The search came to an end, however, with Château La Commanderie de Baugy. Gosling describes it as having been impossible to leave behind; it needed to be rescued. After parting with just €380,000, Gosling and Holmes embarked upon a vast project characterised by fascinating discoveries. 

Historical Discoveries

Starting with just two original photos, Gosling has since compiled a vast archive of photos, stories, and original furniture. The blank page he began with soon became a vibrant historical map consisting of a Nazi occupation; a study in which President Eisenhower resided for a period; floors produced in the same workshop as the Titanic’s rival, the RMS Aquitania; and a signature on the roof by the roofer who worked on and repaired the Notre Dame. That is to name just a few of the historical gems the renovation has unearthed.

The Renovations

To approach re-envisioning and revitalising such a historical monument, an incredibly high level of precision and sensitivity is required. Gosling outlined the intricacies involved in decorating the château authentically. In the Grand Salon, it proved difficult to accurately recreate the space since there are few paints available that have the correct 18th-century colouring. Our passementerie team could, however, work with our weavers to create bespoke pieces that colour matched the room’s palette. This allowed Gosling to create the exact look he was aiming to achieve, through an ongoing dialogue with us. 

This dialogue continued when two of the Château’s original chairs were re-upholstered in our Versailles fabric. The pink velvet foliage gives the chairs a depth that helps frame the Grand Salon. Inspired by the French palace, the fabric also facilitates the use of interiors to express and hark back to the château’s past, since the blueprint designer of Versailles designed the neighbouring château, Château de Balleroy, where the saloon contains the original Versailles floor.

Design Narratives

Gosling discussed the power of designs for creating narratives within such large projects. He made the decision to fill a bedroom's pre-existing wall panels with chinoiserie wallpaper; a signature style in the majority of Europe's grand homes during the 18th-century. 

Our Queen Mary Chinoiserie was part of our Eastnor collection created in collaboration with Imogen Hervey-Bathurst, when she was in the process of rejuvenating Eastnor Castle. A similar project to Tim’s in many ways, we worked closely alongside the team at Eastnor to retell the castle’s story through design. This demonstrates why chinoiserie works so well in Gosling’s project; adorning the walls with leaves, butterflies, and birds, the design - as Gosling discussed - brings the château’s parkland into its interiors. This creates a flowing narrative throughout, integrating the parkland’s contribution to the château’s character and history. The delicate colours of the chinoiserie also bring out the pinks and blues that have been so popular throughout French history, compounding the room’s sense of a historical narrative. 

Mock Tapestries

Another key aspect of renovating a château is the careful consideration required to decide where money needs to be spent, or saved for other elements in the château. Gosling faced this issue when looking at the tapestry in the dining room; re-weaving the original tapestry would likely have cost more than he paid for the château itself. He discovered, however, the revolutionary process of printing tapestries on linen. He used the ceiling of the room to create colour references, and used these to print a mock tapestry. Our Murals collection, such as Wolterton Verdure or Birds of Paradise, therefore provide a more financially and time efficient solution to creating a highly effective tapestry effect.

Our captivated audience thoroughly enjoyed learning about Gosling’s renovation process. Our designs that Gosling discussed are - like all of our wallpapers and fabrics - redrawn or recoloured from our original 18th-century designs, and therefore offer unique opportunities for the authentic renovation of historical homes.

Written by Molly Wraith