La Régie de Courances

Built at the entrance of the Château, the Régie was to show off the wealth and status of the Baron. The desire of nobility and luxury is explained by the wish of showing his social status through the ownership of land and property. In this manner his status changed from an industrial to that of an aristocrat. Till 1987, the Régie always had a manager living and managing the estate Historically, they are the most important person after the owners, as they are in charge of the finances and the management of the staff as well as that of the buildings and the annexes. The architectural neo Louis XIII style of the Régie is characteristic of the huge work Baron de Heber undertook with his architect friend and renowned historian Hyppolite Destailleur. The Régie became known as “a castle of bricks with stone corners” a style using the esthetics of fake red bricks. It deployed high ceilings with moldings and skylights and slates. In addition to the restauration work of the buildings, Hippolytes Destailleur did a numerous amount of reorganization work in the garden with the aim of bringing back its splendor. The primary goal for the Régie, already particularly sophisticated with its high ceilings and marble fireplaces, was to be reorganized in a contemporary way and yet keep the feel of authenticity. Régie, although always having been lived in, had become rather dilapidated, especially the windows (damaged during the two world wars) and its electric system. A new layout had to be thought out so as to create two communicating apartments with a kitchen and a bathroom. During nine months, the current administrator, Patrick Deedes and Manolo Da Silva, the manager, supervised the construction site of about ten tradesmen such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters etc…in order to see through the project. The main constraint in the planning project was to create two communicating apartments with a real autonomy between the two floors without disrespecting the structure of the building. All the elements belonging to the building have been kept: the moldings, the old doors, the wood floors and the fireplaces. On the first floor, the outside pruning of trees has enabled to bring in light. Most of the furniture are from the Château such as the chest of drawers, the mirrors, while other pieces have been bargain-hunted. Pierres d’Histoire wished for the interior decoration to be sober and classic, inspired from the original interiors of the castle. Patrick Deedes chose to add just a few contemporary and modern touches, which can be noted in the kitchen for example.