Inside The Fabulous ‘Vanderpump Villa’ Chateau with Lisa Vanderpump

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Bienvenue Architectural Digest.

Come in.

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We specifically designed this chateau for Vanderpump Villa,

the new show, but this is actually Chateau Roosevelt.

The Chateau was actually built in the late 19th century,

and we're in the middle of the French countryside.

What I love about Chateau Roosevelt is so much

of it is covered in green like an ivy,

and it turns orange in the fall.

It's got this majestic presence, which you need

for a television show.

In the aerial shots as well,

you can see Carcassonne the city, which is incredible.

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When I first found this chateau, one of the things

that really excited me about it was the height

of the ceilings; that was so essential to me

to have the right kind of atmosphere, big windows,

lots of natural light.

Now, the floor didn't look quite like this

when we first got here because the color palette

on the woodwork was very different.

And as you know, the color of the surrounding walls changes

the look of the floor.

So if you look at the floor in here,

it's got this really beautiful, soft pink hues.

But when you look at it in there, the reception

with the white and gray, it looks very different.

So for me, I wanted to have the hall very welcoming.

I wanted it to feel very dramatic.

So we put in big chandeliers

and then we put in these beautiful mirrored consoles.

I really love lots of mirrors,

and normally people shy away from that when it comes

to filming because of reflections.

I have just a brilliant DP who knows how to work around it,

so we have lots of depth.

Well, I chose this beautiful pink paint

by Farrow & Ball.

It's called, Sulking Pink.

Yeah, I love pink, but I don't like Barbie pink.

I like sexy, plush, dirty pink.

And this really puts in perfectly.

These look really beautiful, fresh flowers.

It's essential.

Then we have a full-time florist

to keep it looking sumptuous.

Most people that have watched me on reality television

for 15 years know I love flowers.

I'm often down at the flower market.

It is just absolutely a slice of heaven.

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I remember we only had three weeks to decorate the chateau,

and one of the most exciting things

for me was just to have an abundance of flowers.

We had this beautiful artwork painted on the wall.

I think it's called a grotesque.

I have no idea why they call it grotesque,

but apparently that's the French word.

I'm gonna have to explain to you all the different places

that I found the furniture.

Some has been my own personal stuff.

Some has actually come from a restaurant that I just closed.

Some we borrowed from Parisian dealers.

This is where our guests come and check in.

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And this is my office.

Normally, if you come in here, it's when you're in trouble.

But do come in.

This is a beautiful old French desk

that we actually got from a Parisian dealer.

And this was a wonderful chair that we bought.

I'm going to be taking with me.

We recovered it in an old kind of lilac velvet.

We actually found this velvet downtown in Los Angeles.

So it was something like $5 a yard.

It's supposed to be a lot more, but it was like a scrap.

So I nabbed it.

Yes, puppy.

You're not gonna be barking at everybody that comes in here.

Are you?

Are you?

We've got a plethora of chandeliers.

This is my tea set that I brought from Los Angeles.

I brought many things with me.

Here I'm very comfortable.

It's funny because I keep imagining myself buying a chateau

and living here permanently.

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These are old couches that we just actually covered,

and then we put this damask on the wall.

Now I worked very closely with James McGowan,

who is the production designer.

So he had to execute everything

and did a really terrific job in bringing it all

to life in two or three weeks.

There was a lot to undertake.

It was very neutral,

and I think we needed quite a neutral palette in here

to really highlight flowers and the abundance

of roses we had.

I actually lived in France for quite a few years.

I had a wonderful house in Cap d'Antibes that was owned

by Jack Warner of Warner Brothers.

And in fact, Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra

had their honeymoon there.

Beautiful art deco house on the water.

So I have a love affair with France.

The chateau is Haussmann design.

I think everybody's very familiar with that,

especially if you love Paris.

For me, this chateau is quite unusual here

because there's a lot of more farmhouse style chateau

in this area and Carcassonne.

If you look at pictures of Carcassonne,

it's fortified city, and it feels very medieval.

Whereas this is built much later.

This is built in 1879 I think it is.

So it's got that Haussmann style and it was a style when,

you know also things were quite eclectic.

So things from different periods go very well in here,

but you get a lot of natural light.

You get this majestic style, which I really, really like.

I'm not somebody that loves low ceilings beams.

Some people like that cozier thing,

but I like to go for that kind of grand, taller ceilings,

big curtains, big statements.

I think that's one of the mistakes

that people make when they're decorating is

not the proportion right.

If you've got a big space, I say go big or go home.

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Then we have the bar.

Scenics gave this kind of faux finish to this,

but it works very well.

And the back of the bar,

and I really love this color in here.

I can do espresso martini.

Yeah, that would be amazing.

I love that.

Lemme get the coffee for you.

Perfect.

Do they have the coffee beans?

No.

'Cause we need espresso.

We have no coffee beans.

There are things that we have to work with,

you know, that are permanent.

So we took a a lot of inspiration

from the multi colors in the floor.

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This is my favorite room, the dining room,

because here we were trying

to get this done in three weeks in August,

and everybody knows nobody works in France in August,

they're all in Saint-Tropez or Cannes at the beach.

And so we had quite a few struggles.

These candle holders actually came outta my restaurant

in Los Angeles.

I've had them for years,

but they give us a big, like dramatic effect.

So I brought those over as well.

This mirror here, I actually also brought out

of my restaurant in Los Angeles.

Very interesting kind of classic, old piece.

We really feel it opens it up.

James again, he found this wonderful artist

that was working in Paris and did

these kind of murals on the wall, which really add to it.

And it was a great way of bringing life to a room

that would otherwise be very plain.

In this room, we have these very wonderful dinners.

They're all kind of curated

and bespoke experiences for the guests.

We got a lot of the tableware, dishware

and things like that from flea markets here.

Everything is bespoke and curated to the guest's dream,

and it's just a mixture.

And I'm all about that, you know, mixing it up

and keeping it fresh and putting it all together

and somehow it works.

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So outside, we made a couple of bold design statements

as well, and it works very well.

Oh, I love this little Business and Pleasure umbrella.

Feels very vintage, it's very sweet.

But we totally redid the pool.

James McGowan was here putting all the wood round the pool.

The original pool we made into the tank court

because they'd actually filled it in.

So we came up with all those beautiful sunbeds

from Business and Pleasure.

And then these here are our lights.

This light is by Vanderpump Alain,

and it's called the Duomo, and it's gorgeous.

It goes outside, and we put 11 of them in the trees.

We actually designed this chandelier for a restaurant

that we opened in West Hollywood called TomTom.

To have a chandelier that goes outside is unique.

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So upstairs, we kept it fairly simple.

As I said, time was of the essence,

and we have one of our rooms here, Fleur de Lys.

I can't tell you what goes on in here.

You have to watch the show.

Privacy's not really an option when you check

into Chateau Roosevelt on this series, VanderPump Villa,

and our guests are well aware of that.

We inform them.

There's a camera where we're gonna be recording

their activities and extracurricular activities 24/7.

Not every room is neutral, but this one definitely is.

And I like the choice of wallpaper.

It feels very calming.

Each bedroom has a different theme, a different name,

and it makes it simple to identify where people are.

They each have their own identity,

Sacrebleu, Olivia let, La Fleur de Lys.

You can go around and see the names on the doors.

You've got some amazing windows here

and ceiling heights, wide corridors.

I think it really sets itself up

to be a really dramatic chateau.

Design is one of the things I've just

loved doing my whole life.

Chateau Roosevelt's a lot of fun.

It's got my touches everywhere.

My name Vanderpump stamped all over it.

That's where I like it.

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Au revoir, Architectural Digest.

À bientôt!

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