Read the Latest Issue
HD MAGAZINE
Inspiration at your fingertips
Sign up for the latest edition of Hospitality Design magazine and HD's various newsletters
DIGITAL EDITION PRINT SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTERS
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
See you in 2025!
Save the date for the industry's leading event in Las Vegas, May 6–8th, 2025
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
        • Projects
          • Development + Destinations
          • Boutique + Lifestyle
          • F+B
          • Hotels + Resorts
          • Retail + Commercial
          • Wellness + Sustainability
        • People
          • Interviews
          • Podcasts
          • Webinars
        • News
          • Business + People
          • Boutique + Lifestyle
          • Development + Destinations
          • F+B
          • Five on Friday
          • Hotels + Resorts
          • Retail + Commercial
          • Wellness + Sustainability
        • Products
          • Accesories + Art
          • Bath + Spa
          • Beds + Bedding
          • Flooring.
          • Furniture
          • Lighting
          • Outdoor
          • Roundups
          • Surfaces
          • Technology
          • Textiles
        • Videos
          • Awards + Events
          • BDNY
          • HD Expo + Conference
          • HDTV
          • Partner Spotlight
        • Awards + Events
          • HD Expo + Conference
          • BDNY
          • HD Awards
          • HD Summit
          • HD NextGen Forum
          • HD Platinum Circle Awards
          • HD CitySCENE
          • HD Wave of the Future
          • BD Forums
          • BD Match
          • Gold Key Awards
          • Senior Lifestyle Design Match
          • Event Photos
HD MAGAZINE
Inspiration at your fingertips
Sign up for the latest edition of Hospitality Design magazine and HD's various newsletters
DIGITAL EDITION PRINT SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTERS
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
See you in 2025!
Save the date for the industry's leading event in Las Vegas, May 6–8th, 2025
HD EXPO + CONFERENCE
Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
PODCASTS
WEBINARS
FURNITURE
PROJECTS
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
M
    
Search IconA magnifying glass icon.
  • News
    • Business + People
    • Boutique + Lifestyle
    • Development + Destinations
    • F+B
    • Five on Friday
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Retail + Commercial
    • Wellness + Sustainability
  • Projects
    • Development + Destinations
    • Boutique + Lifestyle
    • F+B
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Retail + Commercial
    • Wellness + Sustainability
  • People
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
  • Products
    • Accessories + Art
    • Bath + Spa
    • Beds + Bedding
    • Flooring
    • Furniture
    • Lighting
    • Outdoor
    • Roundups
    • Surfaces
    • Technology
    • Textiles
  • Awards + Events
    • HD Expo + Conference
    • BDNY
    • HD Awards
    • HD Summit
    • HD NextGen Forum
    • HD Platinum Circle Awards
    • HD CitySCENE
    • HD Wave of the Future
    • BD Forums
    • BD Match
    • Gold Key Awards
    • Event Photos
  • Videos
    • Awards + Events
    • BDNY
    • HD Expo + Conference
    • HDTV
    • Partner Spotlight
  • Subscribe
    • HD Newsletters
    • HD Magazine – Print
    • HD Magazine – Digital
    • BD Newsletters
    • BD Magazine
Read the Latest Issue
PROJECTS: Hotels + Resorts
February 10, 2021

Château Élan Gets a Posh Makeover Fit for the 21st Century

BLUR Workshop embarks on a three-year renovation of the sprawling Georgia site

Words by: Jennifer Bradley Franklin • Photos Galina Juliana

The sprawling Château Élan site in Braselton, Georgia encompasses the winery and an expansive vineyard, plus a golf course and a convention center
The sprawling Château Élan site in Braselton, Georgia encompasses the winery and an expansive vineyard, plus a golf course and a convention center

Projects:

Hotels + Resorts
February 10, 2021

Château Élan Gets a Posh Makeover Fit for the 21st Century

BLUR Workshop embarks on a three-year renovation of the sprawling Georgia site

Words by: Jennifer Bradley Franklin • Photos Galina Juliana
The sprawling Château Élan site in Braselton, Georgia encompasses the winery and an expansive vineyard, plus a golf course and a convention center

French style might not be the first thing one associates with the state of Georgia, but thanks to a $25 million renovation by Atlanta-based architecture and interior design firm BLUR Workshop, Château Élan Winery & Resort in Braselton has brought it top of mind. “It has a little throwback to the French [origins], but it had to also be Southern, hospitable, and elegant,” says BLUR principal Foreman Rogers.

Originally opened in 1985, and inspired by a 16th-century French castle, the property had started to show its age when Rogers and his team began the project in 2017. They touched almost every part of Château Élan over the past three years, from new exterior stonework to landscaping installations.

One goal was to give the various areas of the complex—which has grown to include 45 holes of golf and a clubhouse, the winery and vineyard, four F&B outposts, 277 guestrooms, a spa, and a convention center—a more cohesive, intuitive, and stylish feel. “We’re really good at taking large spaces, scaling them down, and dividing them in a way that gives purpose,” says Rogers. That ethos is evident in the lobby, refreshed with raised ceilings, stone floors, an oversized custom fireplace, and a gold leaf painting of migrating birds by Atlanta-based artist Thomas Swanston. The space is a gathering spot for guests, with a café that also functions as a wine bar and boutique.

Versailles Restaurant, anchoring Château Élan’s atrium, sits beneath a 90-foot-long glass lighting installation inspired by the property’s vineyard rows

The most dramatic transformation took place in the atrium, home to the Versailles Restaurant. It’s now anchored with an imposing 45-foot-long bar backed by a towering 30-foot-tall wood sculpture mimicking the site’s topography. The center seating area, under a greenhouse-like mullioned canopy that evokes visions of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, is now moveable to accommodate both diners and group attendees, and the custom glass chandelier, made up of more than 1,400 handblown pieces arranged to pay homage to the vineyard’s rows outside, is a showstopper day and night.

While BLUR Workshop has already updated nearly every aspect of the 100,500-square-foot property, it has plans to continue working on new elements to further enhance the guest experience. “Our goal was to help them elevate the space and reach a new clientele,” Rogers says.

A 30-foot-tall sculpture by Formations Studios towers above the bar at Versailles

A gold leaf painting of migrating birds by Tom Swanston hangs behind marble reception desks (left); the lobby connects to the café and gift shop through beveled oak and glass pocket doors (right)

For more information about the project’s sources, click here.

This article originally appeared in HD’s January 2021 issue.

Hotels + Resorts

SHARE

em

ln

fb

pn

tw

PROJECTS Hotels + Resorts

Saudi Arabia’s Desert Rock Immerses Guests in the Land

May 28, 2025

PROJECTS Hotels + Resorts

W Hotels 2.0 Elevates the Brand Into Its Luxury Era

May 21, 2025

← Previous Project Next Project →
HD MAGAZINE
hospitality design magazine august 2024 issue product marketplace

Inspiration at your fingertips

Get the newest issue of Hospitality Design magazine

DIGITAL EDITION

PRINT SUBSCRIPTION
ARCHIVED ISSUES
HD NEWSLETTERS

Join the list

Sign up for HD's various newsletters
for exclusive weekly content
SUBSCRIBE

BD MAGAZINE + NEWSLETTER

boutique design magazine fall 2024 issue

Sign up!

Don't miss the latest from Boutique Design

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

SUBSCRIBE

ARCHIVED ISSUES

About | Contact | Buyers Guide | Advertise | Advisory Board | Sitemap

FOLLOW US ON

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

Subscribe

Emerald Logo
© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

Sign up to stay informed about our latest awards and events.

Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

Sign up to stay informed about our latest awards and events.

Follow Along
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow