Our Story

"Every story has a beginning - before the walls of Troy, at a certain house in Ithaca, on the road to Thebes..." ours starts in Paris, with a young and impressionable student, a wide-eyed wanderer who found a home and style in the elegant boulevards and chic apartments of this city of lights.

We found a sleeping beauty...

Walking around town in the late spring – cherry blossom a sugar pink froth we were struck by the sight of tall windows looking down on the scene. It kindled memories of happy days in Paris, and Normandy: a cosy flat with coffee brewing, a country château with books, a crackling fire, and good friends. When we first saw the spaces there was an air of expectancy…of new beginnings and of hope...

En français s'il vous plaît...

We found ourselves looking towards an informal chateau style for our rooms, as each is dappled by the shade of leaves in the morning light and looks onto a secluded courtyard. Combined with the beautiful countryside views framed by each window we felt as if we were in the heart of the country rather than a bustling town!

So we set about the translation of one of Ilkley’s historic buildings into a set of French-styled boutique rooms, unifying the spaces with panelling and introducing some favourite antique pieces to create a cosy, chic and welcoming location, a real sanctuary from the world. Her bones were already good so our work was a joy: refining and adding a dash of our own unique style.

Handmade in Yorkshire

Having fallen in love with the spaces and elegant volumes, our vision quickly blossomed into a plan - and a frighteningly long to-do list! First, we wanted to start with a truly blank canvas, to get a feel for the mood of the rooms and their shifting light throughout the day, from the brilliance of morning sun to the warm golden glow of evening. Colours suggested themselves for warmth under lamplight and a soft welcome during the day, rich tones to comfort and soothe.

We then measured up to design a panelling scheme that would bring the most defining feature of French interior styling smoothly into our rooms – which was not as easy as it looks, but is a secret we’re keeping. Transferring that onto our walls was brilliant exercise, and kept us in trim – as was building and fitting the woodwork! We think that the results (and the miles we notched up in steps!) were worth it though, even if we climbed ladders enough to stretch up Mont Blanc.

A small sanctuary

We hope that you love our rooms as much as we do – and they can be a place for making happy memories and starting new adventures. As we occupy one of Ilkley’s historic buildings (put up in 1855), we do have to sound a note of caution, the stairs are not for the faint hearted (or those with mobility issues) as they climb all the way from street level up into the hidden attics

With a little help from our friends...

While we swung hammers, wielded paintbrushes, caulked timber and sanded filler, we couldn't have managed without some wonderful people, and so Chez Vivienne would like to thank: