Timothy Corrigan

By Patrick Wilson

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"The challenge was to make it comfortable while maintaining the magic of the original architecture," designer Timothy Corrigan says of Château de Gallerande, his 15thcentury estate in the Loire Valley, which he renovated.

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The grand salon . Corrigan painted the walls an acid green and hung yellow draperies "so it would be very light, in contrast with the wood-paneled salon next door," he says. Austrian chandelier, low table and round table, Sotheby's. Nobilis drapery fabric; Houlès tieback.

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The octagonal tower is 12th century.

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A 17th-century Aubusson tapestry dominates a wall in the formal dining room. "The space is large, so the tapestry helps create a more intimate atmosphere in the evenings," notes the designer. The dishware on the 18th-century oak table is original to the château.

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A 1696 portrait by Nicolas de Largillière hangs above a commode from Sotheby's.

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The 18th-century chinoiserie wallpaper inspired the design of the Chinese bedroom. An English chaise is next to the Louis XV armchair. Old World Weavers silk-velvet drapery and canopy fabric. Rubelli bedcovering, pillow, headboard and canopy lining silk.

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"It's a cozy sitting room that's fully lined in 18th-century boiserie," Corrigan says of the winter salon. English writing desk, Mallett. Manuel Canovas daybed linen. Rug, Christie's.

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Corrigan used a bright wall paint in the yellow bedroom "to offset the darkness of the antique grisaille wallpaper panels from Zuber," he says. Plaster busts rest on the secrétaire, from Christie's. An ebony lyre serves as the pedestal of the Biedermeier side table. Stark carpet.

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A boxwood parterre takes on a serpentine form in a lower garden, one of several on the 150-acre property. "There are 10 acres of gardens," Corrigan says, "including an Italian garden and a kitchen garden to the east of the château." The fountain dates to the 17th century.