Interior designers across France have created perfect retreats in stunning countryside locations, from Normandy to the Rambouillet forest and the Yvelines region. These architectural gems, featured in Architectural Digest, showcase innovative design approaches that blend comfort with sophisticated aesthetics for the autumn season.

In Normandy, interior designer Joy de l'Hermite transformed a charming thatched cottage that she describes as reminiscent of Snow White's house. The founder of Studio JLH drew upon British influences that distinguish her work to create the dream pied-à-terre for a Parisian family. "They contacted me specifically because they were looking for the Anglo-Saxon style that I use extensively in my projects," she explains. "The context allowed me to explore it fully, as all the codes were present: Normandy's proximity to England, the thatched cottage, and the tree-lined park."

De l'Hermite's design philosophy was shaped by her international experiences, particularly her time working in São Paulo with the renowned Fratelli Campana duo in 2017. There, she learned to master textures and the porosity of boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. "My reference is Lina Bo Bardi's Casa de Vidro," she explains, "a glass house positioned on a tea plantation that gives the impression it's sitting in snow." This Brazilian experience was complemented by time in New York with Adam Tihany, who taught her the local art of visual and sensory comfort.

The cottage renovation required extensive restructuring, as de l'Hermite describes the original state as "partitioned, dark, where you couldn't see anything." She started from a blank page to conceive her project, taking advantage of the cottage's numerous light sources and the opportunity to remove false ceilings upstairs to create cathedral-like height. The interior features a sophisticated dialogue between vintage furniture and custom fixtures, with British-inspired wallpapers, custom millwork, and warm materials like linen and wool.

In the Rambouillet forest, designer and photographer Francesco Balzano of After Bach studio transformed an old house in the village of Montfort l'Amaury in the Yvelines. The village has historically welcomed notable residents including Coco Chanel, Colette, and Maurice Ravel. "The writing we chose was that of a vacation atmosphere all year round," Balzano explains, carefully avoiding rustic and traditional clichés while giving it the feel of a Spanish casa or an Amalfi Coast fisherman's house.

The renovation was comprehensive, preserving only structural elements and a simple fireplace that was revamped with Finnish-inspired black painted brick. The redesigned floor plan features an enfilade of living spaces on the ground floor with dining room and fireplace, an adjoining kitchen with banquette seating, and the master bedroom with private bathroom and a hidden door leading to the garden. Upstairs, two bedrooms and an office complete the layout.

Balzano's design features contemporary furniture, art pieces, and a graphic treatment of Alabastrino travertine flooring that responds to white-painted beams in a soft contrast. "This travertine, we find it in the dining table top and covering a large custom-designed buffet," Balzano explains. "Slightly more textured than Roman travertine, it has a depth that gives it a very authentic character." The material creates subtle color games in two shades of beige against the very white structures, beams, ceilings, and frames.

Another remarkable property featured is a 19th-century Norman manor house acquired by a London couple and redesigned by interior architect Lauranne Elise Schmitt. The property, offering direct views of Guillaume the Conqueror's neighboring castle, required working within certain constraints from France's historic building authorities, particularly regarding color schemes. The 500-square-meter property on two floors functions as "a large guesthouse, a small hotel, capable of accommodating around twenty people."

Schmitt's approach balanced modernity with old-world charm without falling into countryside clichés. "The owners are urbanites who live in London, with a sophisticated, urban lifestyle," she notes. "I therefore endeavored to create an atmosphere that wasn't too rural, but that could, on the contrary, also suit a city house." The entrance sets the tone with pastel hues evoking surrounding landscapes, while a small salon cultivates a warm, confidential atmosphere with sumptuous tones and enveloping materials.

The property also showcases the work of contemporary artist Jean Grisoni, who discovered a bourgeois house built in the early 19th century along the Marne River. "The first time I entered this house, I was greeted by a 40-meter-high purple beech tree," Grisoni recalls. "This tree, sublime in the beautiful season, gave me an aesthetic shock." The Mediterranean artist and his wife had been searching for a calm place to establish themselves with their numerous artworks, including his own pieces and their rich collection of modern art.

Grisoni's property serves as both residence and workspace, featuring three separate studios each with different functions. The conservatory became his drawing studio, offering magical light and views over the Marne. A second studio at the end of the garden is accessed via what friends call the "Kyoto path" due to its lush vegetation. A large basement houses his jewelry, wood, and metal workshop, adjacent to a small music studio equipped with keyboards, drums, and amplifiers.

In the Yvelines, decorators and furniture creators Maylis and Charles Tassin completely renovated a master house built during the Revolutionary period. The couple, who describe themselves as "rural Parisians," created their main residence with "the comfort of a Parisian triplex but in the countryside." Their approach combines art collection, antiques, emerging artists, and ultra-comfortable sofas, cultivating "an art of living in the style of Hubert de Givenchy's Château du Jonchet."

The library serves as the centerpiece of their home, with Charles Tassin designing all the woodwork executed by craftsmen who chose to work by eye rather than square, creating an organic feel as if decades had deformed the ensemble. Ashes incorporated into the plaster coating give it a patina that seems to result from centuries of wear. Their color palette draws inspiration from medieval tones, featuring bronze khaki, burnt red, Prussian blue, touches of gold, and necessary black accents, all reinforcing the interaction between interior and exterior in a prolongation of nature within the house.