Reawakening Château de Purnon
Château de Purnon lies in the Vienne, just south of the Loire Valley and north of Poitiers in western France.
Completed in the late 18th century, just before its owner fled the revolution, it lay neglected and in a state of serious disrepair, before Australian couple Felicity Selkirk and Tim Holding bought the estate in 2020.
They’ve since dedicated their lives to bringing the chateau and its outbuildings back from the brink. And it’s not a quick fix.
Felicity explains: ‘When we first arrived, our architect said that we were reawakening an old lady who had been asleep for a long time, so we needed to reawaken her slowly.’
‘We knew the chateau was on the verge of being lost forever,’ Tim adds, ‘and it was our dream to see if we could save this magnificent estate.’
Staying true
‘Part of the beauty of the journey of saving Purnon is that she was in her original state,’ continues Felicity, ‘and it meant that little had changed in two-and-a-half centuries.
‘For us to do a historic restoration, rather than a renovation, it meant that everything was sitting here waiting to be discovered.’
But it's a journey of discovery that’s been painstaking and complicated.
‘A lot of the work we do takes time and patience to ensure that everything is as historically accurate as possible,’ Felicity explains.
‘One of our biggest challenges, therefore, has been bringing in modern conveniences, and that includes all the plumbing and electricity that had never previously been in the building. We had to plan that provision across all 105 rooms before we could start the restoration, but doing so has made things easier now.’
Adding new details
Felicity and Tim have incorporated our details throughout the chateau, being very mindful of the fact they’re updating the property in doing so.
‘In terms of choosing architectural details,’ Felicity explains, ‘we’re introducing features to a room that have never been there before. These rooms in the 18th century didn’t have electricity – didn’t have light switches, didn’t have sockets.
‘So, when we look at introducing these elements, we need to ensure we choose products that fit beautifully into the old bones of the chateau, and that age beautifully over time. These are the reasons we’ve chosen to work with Corston products.
‘We use the transparent plates a lot as this allows the wallpapers to really shine through.
‘We also love the matt finish of the bronze power sockets, as in the 18th century all the skirting boards in the chateau would’ve been painted matt black and those sockets fit in beautifully.’
Published on 5th August 2026
Featured products
