French beauty guru Frédéric Fekkai and his wife, Shirin von Wulffen, own a lavish vacation home at Domaine Chantecler, the Aix-en-Provence estate.
One of the featured celebrity homes in Architectural Digest, the property was featured on the site this February. According to the site, outside the vacation home, anyone would be amazed with the beautiful surrounding covering the residence. It has a drive that leads to an entry court bordered with hand-cut stone pillars and framed with lush garden. There are cypresses, olive trees, and lavender bushes. An olive orchard there also grows lavender.
"As soon as you get here, your shoulders come down two centimeters. It is a paradise," Fekkai said.
When the couple purchased Domaine Chantecler in 2010, Fekkai claimed that the place was all hills covered in pine brush. His wife Von Wulffen said that they fell madly in love with the lush nature and the home's great location. One of the important aspects of the property is its proximity to the capital of Aix. The New York-based pair is living with their two kids, six-year-old Cecilia and four-year-old Philip. However, they admit that they adore Fekkai's native provence.
After acquiring the 17th-century property, Mr. and Mrs. Fekkai decided to remodel it as the main part was almost ruined. The construction lasted for three years under the work of architect Jean Paul Bernard and decorator Jean-Louis Raynaud. Since then, the property became the family's vacation home. They also used it as a work retreat especially now that Fekkai is relaunching the Provençal beauty and fragrance brand "Côté Bastide." The French villa has also become a venue for their parties and welcoming their guests across the world.
The result of the renovation is a fusion of fashionable contemporary and the spirit of an 18th-century Aix summer house. The home features a front hall with flagstone floors from a Burgundian abbey. There is also a living room decorated with antiques, including 19th-century seating and a 1940s chinoiserie cabinet.
