Château d’Ivoy

Take a picture-perfect château set in a splendid forest, add an owner who is a professional decorator and a family who welcomes guests as friends, and you have all the ingredients for a perfect bed and breakfast. The exceptional Château d’Ivoy is the artistic creation of Marie France Gouëffon-de Vaivre. She and her husband purchased the property from a famous ethnologist who was using it as a laboratory and even had chickens living in the majestic reception hall! After years of intensive renovation, this handsome château once again glows with the splendor of the 16th century. The Gouëffon-de Vaivre family has private living quarters, but the rest of the home is open to guests who are free to wander from one incredible room to the next. Each is a showplace displaying Marie France’s great flair for decorating along with many whimsical touches that make you smile. Every room has its own distinct personality, running the gamut from the masculine hunting room with plaid fabric on the walls to the alluringly romantic parlor. I loved them all, but my very favorite was the Lord Drummond room with its gorgeous canopy bed, rich paisley fabrics, and tall windows capturing a marvelous view of the beautiful park behind the house.