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IT IS known as the only property outside continental Europe with an interior by Coco Chanel and long thought to be the home of Scotland’s first bidet.

Now the 20-room Highland mansion which served as the love nest of the French designer and one of her richest admirers is in line for a £6 million facelift as a boutique hotel.

A Scottish architect firm has been asked to restore Rosehall House in Sutherland, where Chanel stayed during the 1920s as mistress of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, then Britain’s wealthiest man, who was known to friends as Bendor, after the family crest which features a Bend Or, or gold band.

Architecture firm Bell Ingram Design has been appointed to lead the project and wants to revive Chanel’s designs. Although the 20-room mansion has been uninhabited for more than 50 years, enough remains of Chanel’s ideas to provide a template.

Remnants of Chanel’s deep beige wallpaper remain, along with her simple wooden fireplaces, hand-painted French floral wallpaper, and green cloakroom colour scheme. She also designed the bathrooms, which included the first bidet to be installed in Scotland.