Designers Charlotte Taylor and Pauline Leprince have found a shared sanctuary in the French countryside, merging their distinct creative backgrounds with a mutual appreciation for nature and heritage. The couple first connected in September last year when Taylor, a British designer specializing in interior renderings, commissioned Leprince, a French architectural designer and former theatre professional, to create a lamp for a female creatives’ exhibition during the London Design Festival.
Taylor, 31, whose career has evolved from accompanying her lighting-designer father on site visits to establishing her studio Maison de Sable, has developed a following for her three-dimensional interior space renderings. Her work includes commissions such as Space Talk, a 1970s-inspired listening bar in London’s Clerkenwell district, and an Art Deco residence currently under development in Vienna’s Hietzing quarter. Leprince, 35, transitioned from acting and production to interior design and architecture, gaining recognition for her minimalist approach as seen in the retrofuturistic renovation of Karl Lagerfeld’s Paris apartment.
Their relationship has been profoundly shaped by a shared affinity for rural environments. Leprince’s family estate, Le Grand-Parc, is located in Soizé, a commune in the Centre-Val de Loire region of northwest France. The estate encompasses 68 hectares of ancient woodland and meadows, featuring mature oak and chestnut trees, wild blackberries, a small farm with livestock, and a productive vegetable garden. The property’s centerpiece is an elegant three-story mansion built in the 1820s, owned by Leprince’s family since 1902 when her great-grandmother Virginie Vavin inherited it.
The residence reflects a mixture of neoclassical architecture and Art Deco interior elements, the latter gradually restored by Leprince’s mother, Eva Ann, who focused on preserving original features and enhancing sustainability, including the installation of geothermal heating. The home balances historical character with lived-in comfort, evident in its double-height hallway, original terracotta floors, numerous bedrooms, and a library filled with decades of family books. Notable interior details include a stone fireplace, Victorian wrought iron chandelier, and a kitchen adorned with red and cream checkerboard tiles.
Taylor and Leprince have embraced the house’s rustic charm, spending time cooking in the kitchen and enjoying the estate’s natural surroundings alongside their dogs and newly adopted Andalusian sheep and miniature goats. Weekends are often devoted to local culinary and cultural excursions, underscoring their preference for a slower pace away from urban life.
Despite their retreat to the countryside, the designers continue to collaborate professionally. Their current project involves redesigning a rental apartment in Paris’s fifth arrondissement, a venture that blends their individual styles into a modern, functional space. The couple describe their partnership as seamless, with a shared creative vision.
Le Grand-Parc remains a place of inspiration and refuge for Taylor and Leprince, combining personal history, design innovation, and a profound connection to the natural world.