When we are scrambling to pull their spaces together in preparation for big crowd of family and friends, we take a cue from the unexpectedly chill interiors of this 12th Century château in France that Isabelle Dubois-Dumee and Hubert Bettan of the interiors brand Les Petites Emplettes have been gradually restoring.

Perhaps restoring isn’t quite the right word: more like stripping down. We love the low sofa, created with bleachy ripped cotton fabric or drop cloths, and a bunch of pillows. That rug may well be a drop cloth.

Got some chairs you’re not so crazy about? Drape a cloth around them.

We love the stacks of books and magazines, another inviting cloth-covered sofa, the mismatched chairs at the dining table, at top, and the string lights that add illumination in a dark corner or wherever you need it.

The feeling is loose, easy comfort…just we we need.

Via Remodelista; photography via Chateau de Dirac.