Who hasn’t dreamed of owning a villa in the South of France… I know. I have… Many. Times. Or at least a modest home. Frederik Fekkai’s vacation home in Provence is a paradise as he himself describes it to Architectural Digest where the home was featured last year. The home, located in Aix-en-Provence where Fekkai was born and raised is surrounded by olives trees, lavender bushes and cypress trees gracing the entrance… it also has an olive orchard on one side of the home.
Fekkai and his wife Von Wulffen bought Domaine Chantecler seven years ago after falling in love with its proximity to the center of Aix and lush nature. The 17th Century property took three years to update and it’s now the base for the couple’s newly Provencal beauty and fragrance brand Cote Bastide and of course is the home for vacationing in the summer with friends and family. The Architect Jean Paul Bernard and decorator Jean-Louis Raynaud oversaw the renovation. Raynaud’s challenge was “to harmonize Frédéric and Shirin’s lifestyle—that of a fashionable contemporary couple who travel the world—with the spirit of an 18th-century Aix summer house. it required audacious surgery ” Walls were taken down to open up rooms, windows were added to bring in light as well a solarium to make the home more suitable for the modern family.
Many of the furniture in the house were purchased in antiques shops and flee markets at the close by town L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Frederik Fekkai’s vacation home in Provence represents “American ease meets French chic” Raynaud.
Sunburst mirrors found at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue embellish the foyer.
1950’s chandelier and cocktail table add a whimsical touch to the French antique furniture.
French linen hugs the costumed canopy bed.
A very Provencal looking kitchen with a La Cornue range.
Cypress trees and lavender bushes lined the entrance to the Domaine.
The romantic roses leading to the pool.
Photos by Simon Watson via AD
