A slice of France in Alabama: Kate’s pretty Potagerie-inspired bedroom

your chateau

A slice of France in Alabama: Kate’s pretty Potagerie-inspired bedroom suite

Kate Smith is a British expat living with her husband in the small town of Dora, just outside Birmingham, Alabama, USA.They ‘adore France and everything French’ and wanted to create their own little piece of a French Chateau in Alabama.Kate tells us more about their gorgeous Potagerie bedroom suite inspired by Dick and Angel’s fairytale home…

“I love how the room has transformed into our own piece of France in America. It is no longer just a room that we sleep in, it is a haven for us to relax."

Where did the inspiration for the bedroom design come from?

We were late to the ‘Escape to the Chateau’ party, having only just got access to it on Peacock in the US. My husband and I binge watch all episodes. Our dream is to move to France some day and open up a small B & B/Guesthouse and so we’re hooked on Angel and Dick’s adventures. The inspiration for the Potagerie bedroom came from finding the wallpaper online and thinking I would use it just in my en-suite bathroom. Once this was complete I had fallen in love with the wallpaper and bought more to decorate our master bedroom. I just love the fun element of the wallpaper along with the beautiful colours and the calmness that comes from it.

What vibe did you want to create?

We adore France and everything French so I wanted to create our own little piece of French Chateau in Alabama. Our bedroom is very large so we had no issues with adding patterns, textures, and pieces such as the bed and reading nook. I wanted to create a room that we didn’t just sleep in and now I find myself spending more time in the bedroom, reading, relaxing, and enjoying the view from the balcony.

Describe your suite…

We have extended the theme throughout the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom. The room is vaulted with a loft and balcony facing east, so it gets the sunrise in the morning and floods with light in the summer.

Can you tell us about the lovely individual touches…

I was inspired by Angel’s pieces of taxidermy and butterflies, so I found butterfly pieces from a website called Insect Mother and some Victorian glass frames with amazing scenes made from butterflies, honey bees, beetles, and flowers. She also made me a cloche with an Edgar Allen-Poe poem, butterflies and roses inside. I also fell in love with a French-style balloon chair I found online (it was a nightmare finding one in stock). I eventually found one (although it was delivered late and the delivery guys dropped it and broke it!), so I had to find another one which I did on Esty from a store in Chicago called TrendsinHomeDecor. They were amazing and got me my beautiful balloon chair for the reading nook within a week. I had roman blinds made for the French doors by a company on Etsy. I purchased butterfly prints from a company on Etsy and we found interesting ways to frame these over our bed.

Did you DIY any of the ornamental touches or other elements of the room?

I ended up becoming a little obsessed with taxidermy butterflies. I gave it a go and created some wall pieces with the butterflies that I spread myself. These turned out ok, but I definitely need practise. As the sun comes through the windows for much of the day, I created some window hanging art work from pressed flowers that are normally found in France (poppies and lavender) - these give the windows just a little something more. My husband is exceptionally handy so when I told him I wanted shutters he set his mind to making these himself, which he did, very successfully as you can see in the pictures. We were also struggling to find some lamps for the nightstands, so he repurposed some candlesticks I was no longer using, along with pieces from the original lamps to create some beautiful lamps that just look amazing.

What did you do in terms of decoration?

The entire room had to be painted on three walls and the loft. Mom and Dad helped during their visit to us over winter - they hung the wallpaper and painted some of the woodwork. My husband and I painted the remaining wood work, the walls and loft, then my husband made wooden shutters for the windows. I bought The Chateau by Angel Strawbridge Potagerie wallpaper, the Potagerie cushions and doorstop.