Château de Vignée

Château de Vignée was a classic hunter’s hotel strategically located between Brussels and Luxembourg. The brief was to transform it into a top travel destination in the luxury segment in the Belgian Ardennes region, offering an all-encompassing hospitality experience. The project included a boutique hotel with 25 rooms, a bar area, a Gault&Millau listed restaurant, a private dining, 2 event venues and a spa.



The design concept sprouted from the hotel’s history and impressive surroundings. Intrigued by the chateau’s century-long link with hunting, we imagined the sensorial experience of a hunter exploring the Ardennes. How it must feel to wander the woods at 5AM in the morning. The first sunlight shimmering through the leaf canopy, the textures, the sounds. We aimed to capture this feeling in the interior design, because it’s a sensation guests will resonate with during their stay.



The hunter’s journey is expressed throughout the interior. Entering the main chateau building sets the tone. A seasonal faux flower installation descends from the sky in the lobby. Rays of sunlight pierce through the greenery. In the bar, a custom designed bas-relief in the backbar catches the eye. The hunting scene is carved out of Ardennes sourced Blue Stone. Native marbles and natural stones, like Rouge Belge and Gris d’Ardenne, were used throughout the project to add to the main design concept.



The hunter’s journey continues in the lounge, where the custom designed lighting branches out across the ceiling conjuring the same early morning, gloomy forest atmosphere. It was key to appeal to both the modern-day traveler as the more conventional existing clientele of the estate, so we reinterpreted classic hunting elements. Traditional taxidermy pieces made room for morbid, yet humoristic art objects created by design duo Les Deux Garçons. The magpie’s fascination for all things shiny resulted in an unusual wall unit, while a beaver is nibbling on the curiosity closet in the restaurant. The rooms echo the fluid beauty of the Ardennes region. Expressive and flamboyant on occasion, but equally pure and tranquil at other points in time.