Here’s a discovery that made my heart beat a little faster. I’d been lying on my back, staring at the château ceiling, contemplating how to seek relief for my sore muscles. After all, it had been a cold day’s work in the orchard. And that’s when I saw them properly for the first time. In between the hairline cracks and the damp stains. Lescure’s medallions. Originally designed to keep candles from burning the ceiling, they add character and a modest touch of elegance to the stately rooms on the ground floor. They’re ornamental, but only slightly so. I do love that about Lescure, it’s got just the right amount of grand and no pretense.

Filigree flowers and foliate designs bring nature and the changing seasons inside. In our soon to be kitchen there’s spring’s cornucopia – how befitting! In the sitting room next door you can soak up summer underneath roses in full bloom, and in the future library, intricate vines and acanthus leaves give you a taste of autumn and enduring life. Winter seems to be missing. Could it be hiding under the lowered ceiling in one of the smaller rooms? Truth be told, Lescure’s ceiling ornaments are a bit of a mish-mash, covering centuries of styles and techniques, from Renaissance to Rococo. Which brings me a whole new set of decorating problems. How on earth will I find suitable lamps? But once you’ve had a taste of eclecticism– passion, personality, whimsy and sparkle – it’s the most joyous challenge.