My love of history and interiors has often gone hand-in-hand, most especially when it involves historic architecture whether is be a castle, mansion, palace or a remnant of Hadrian's Wall. Seriously. On a trip to Scotland I think I may have made my parents stop the car at every single ruin along Hadrian's Wall. At about the third, they had this wearied, chagrined look about them. Not another pile of old rocks! But to me, as I ran about explaining roman fort structure to them for the umpteenth time, every single stone was a remarkable pieces of history. I think this passion for historic architecture is why out of all the lovely homes in this month's House Beautiful, I was most intrigued by the feature on Le Batiment, the private home of renowned conductor William Christie, in France.
Built in the 16th century by an aristocratic family, the home fell into ruin, at one point serving as a tenant farm with livestock living in the grand salon! Christie purchased what was shell of stone , listed on the historic register, and set about restoring the home to it's glory days. And he added historically appropriate gardens, acres and acres which keep evolving. These gardens, based off French and Italian designs of the 17th and 18th centuries, were even recognized my the French Government as a "National" monument in their own right. They're truly marvelous, I'm so glad that the digital edition of the magazine included these bonus images.
P.S. Happy pinning, Mom (she's a gardening guru).
{Photography by Simon Watson for House Beautiful}
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