The Château Joli Bois, in Bussière-Dunoise (Creuse), offers itself the decorator of the Queen of England
A clue: it’s an artistic hyphen. Always not ? Perhaps a look at the vault of the castle ballroom will put you on the right track…
They all differ the same decorator. A pure coincidence that makes Vanessa and Ben Leech, owner of the place, smile, not without pride.
When the American-British couple first got in touch with Peter Stoff in 2019, they had no idea. “I discovered it on a Facebook group, on castles or expatriates, I don’t know anymore. He had posted a photo of the “small living room” of his castle, in Mayenne, and it was magnificent”, recalls Vanessa, showing us this photo which gave a new twist to their adventure as squires.
From the castle of the Queen of England to the castle of Bussière
“It’s a living room comparable to ours, as high, with clouds painted on the vault. At the time, I didn’t know Peter was an artist, I just thought the castle belonged to him and he made this set,” Vanessa continues. She emails him saying she has a similar piece and she doesn’t know how to make it look great. “I told him that if he could come and see us to advise us, I would make him dinner, we would share a good wine and that we would be very grateful! “. And that’s how Peter Stoff ended up in Bussière-Dunoise.
“It wasn’t until he walked into the ballroom that we found out that he was actually the artist who had done the decor for his ‘little room’…He spent the rest of the weekend telling us about how he had worked for Queen Elizabeth and when we asked him what we could do in our ballroom, he simply said: I’ll do it for you! »
vanessa leech (owner of the castle of Joli Bois)
In 2020, he is back at Joli Bois after working for months on sketches, of clouds of course but not only. “He was inspired by things we showed him, photos we sent him, we asked him if he could include more personal motifs that he integrated into his sketches. There is for example a cherub which has the face of my son, the same thing for two riders which have the face of the daughter and the son of Ben, details Vanessa. We are both lawyers, we had Lady Justice painted in the center of the vault…”.
@Floris Bressy
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Originally from Austria, Peter Stoff has been living in Laubrières near Saint-Poix in southern Mayenne for about twenty years. He worked for twenty years in England where he was notably recruited by Queen Elizabeth II to decorate her Windsor and Buckingham palaces in London, as well as Westminster Abbey.
He was also a decorator for the royal family of the Sultanate of Oman, but also for hotels and palaces in Dubai and Brunei.
For more than two months, in the midst of a pandemic, Peter Stoff therefore painted new skies at the 8-meter high vault of the Joli Bois ballroom and characters, cherubs, in the pure Michelangelo tradition.
Peter Stoff used the technique of the poncif (drawing on life-size tracing paper with holes in the contours) which he then stamped on the ceiling with a poncette filled with colored powder. He then restored all the gold on the cornices and moldings. “It’s glorious!” “, raves Vanessa. “He had so many ideas and he knew exactly how he was going to proceed, with immediate follow-up,” Ben says, equally enthusiastic.
Peter Stoff, former decorator to the Queen of England, painted the fresco in the ballroom of the Château de Joli Bois using the same techniques used by Michelangelo @ photo by Vanessa Leech
A second phase of work on the ballroom vault is planned for next summer
The Austrian-born decorator continues his work for the Creuse castle today from his castle in Mayenne. “He is in the process of making the canvas panels that will reach the decoration of the vault, explains Vanessa. There are four panels, he has finished two and is currently working on the third. When it’s over, he’ll come back to transpose them to the ceiling. Certainly next summer.
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Peter Stoff, former decorator to the Queen of England @ photo by Vanessa Leech
If the decoration of the ballroom delights Vanessa and Ben so much, it is also because it has frozen in plaster a little of their life and their philosophy: “We want places to separate who we are , confides Vanessa who does not take the restoration of the premises lightly.
“We started there because we ran into Peter, we wouldn’t have done it any other way. We don’t want to do anything without making sure that we can do it in the best possible way. Finding people who can help us do that is the hardest part. I didn’t just want to find someone who paints, I wanted to find someone who understands the spirit of the place and what we want to do with it. »
vanessa leech (owner of the castle of Joli Bois)
This summer, the ballroom hosted the wedding of dear friends Vanessa and Ben. And when its restoration is complete, the couple hope to open it to everyone. “I want the community to invest in it, for musicians to come and play here and there are many of them in Bussière, for it to be full of people! » and that the joy of everyone wakes up this pretty sleeping castle.
On the program, a gym, cinema, bar, lodgings and a family home
Work is progressing slowly but surely at Joli Bois. Especially since Ben and Vanessa are teeming with projects.
Part of the roofs have already been redone. The other part should follow when the roofer has finished in the Dordogne with the considerable damage linked to the storms. “Here, it’s not an emergency, we’re happy to wait because the person we’ve hired is really great. The craftsmen who commit here will be there for six months, a year, so we want it to be people who support this project who take ownership of it, who want to take part in this adventure as much as we do. The squires therefore carried out with great patience and odd jobs.
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Over the past seven months, they have led the development of the old lingerie that they want to transform into a gym and cinema. “That way, we can have a little fun while we continue with the rest of the restoration” and keep busy on the long winter evenings… “We have ideas, and we have time because we have the lucky not to have to make this place a business right away. We can take our time without telling ourselves that we have to finish things quickly! appreciates Ben.@Floris Bressy
For the moment, the leeches come every weekend and on holidays from Paris and stay in the converted former stables. A part of which they are competent one day to make two gites of seven rooms.
“When we bought, in 2017, we said to ourselves that it would take us 10 or 12 years to restore the castle, but every year since then, we say the same thing. It really is the project of a lifetime! But now that we live in France and can come much more often, I think that in five years, we could have our house in this castle! “.
vanessa leech (owner of the castle of Joli Bois)
More precisely around the right wing, which revolves around a stairwell, on two floors, like a town house. “We chose this wing because we can partition it off and fit it out independently of the rest of the castle,” explains Ben. There is already a bathroom, a kitchen, several bedrooms, a living room and a dining room. It remains to redo the plumbing, the electricity and to install a heating system. “We didn’t start because we focused on the things we could do quickly. »@Floris Bressy
Because the Leechs want to think carefully about their project and find the right people who will accompany them on such an ambitious restoration. “It’s on such a large scale, not everyone can do this work. We had craftsmen who came for the heating, for example. They were asked, “Can you heat this castle?” » and they answered « No! and sent us to another craftsman and yet another…”, smiles Vanessa. They finally opted for two huge pellet boilers which will heat both the right wing and the annex building.
… And a more peaceful place to welcome people with disabilities
The latter precisely, whose modern architecture contrasts with the castle, already knows its future use. “It has been integrated for people with reduced mobility or disabilities, it has an elevator, eight bedrooms. Later, we hope to make it a place where families with children with disabilities can come and spend their holidays. A project that is particularly close to the heart of the Leechs.
“We have people who advocate autism on both sides of our families and so we know how difficult it can be to go on vacation, with the eyes of others, the infrastructures that are not adapted…”.
vanessa leech (owner of the castle of Joli Bois)
For the main building, Vanessa may have called on design school students. “We would organize a kind of competition and the project that we would select could be implemented by the students”, enthuses the chatelaine. As for the park, overlooked by a dizzying Virginia tulip tree, it should keep its rural simplicity. The old basin below the castle could become a biological pool.
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A designated first wedding in the castle
This summer, the Leechs hosted the wedding of loved ones on their property. It was therefore necessary to do some work to welcome the few hundred invitations, to provide food and lodging. The ballroom, of course, was cleaned and partly restored, but also the outdoor terrace, the plumbing and sanitary facilities in the left wing had to be operated, the countless rooms cleaned and a minimum fitted out, as well both in the main house and in the modern annex. And above all, toast to happiness with a brand new bar, flanked by a room in the old stables. Ben made the bar himself with the solid wood of an old wardrobe and the rest of the room was decorated with antique furniture and cushions and fabrics that Vanessa had kept since her childhood.
The ballroom has regained some of its former glory
“We don’t try to recreate things identically, I want it to be peaceful, cozy, simple, we don’t want ostentatious things, explains Vanessa, apart from this ballroom ceiling”, unique whim “over the top”, admits the lawyer. “We want to keep the spirit of the place, everything will be of high quality but simple. “.
More information on the Château Joli Bois website at www.chateaujolibois.com
Find Vanessa and Ben Leech’s project on the website of DIY castle broadcast on Channel 4 and which follows all the stages of the restoration
Text: Julie Ho Hoa
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Photos: Floris Bressy, Vanessa Leech and Julie Ho Hoa